Some of Britain’s jockeys will get their first experience this week of a new procedure that could eventually be a regular part of their working routine. The Guardian understands that a pilot scheme to conduct pre-racing saliva tests for cocaine on riders, which was announced by the British Horseracing Authority in February, will be launched over the next few days, in a significant step towards finding out whether the weighing room has a deep-rooted problem with the drug.
Recent evidence might suggest that the answer is yes. Benoit de la Sayette, the 18-year-old apprentice who won the Lincoln Handicap on Haqeeqy in March, denied ever having taken cocaine when a video which seemed to show him at a party where the drug was being used started to circulate on social media shortly after his big win at Doncaster. A subsequent hair test, however, was positive, and De la Sayette, via a statement from the Professional Jockeys Association, apologised “both in respect of taking cocaine and of misleading those around me”.
De la Sayette’s case has yet to be heard by the disciplinary panel but he seems likely to be the fifth current or former jockey – all from the Flat – to be banned for a cocaine positive in Britain since November.
Adrian McCarthy, Finlay Marsh, Philip Prince and Nathan Evans are all serving, or have completed, their suspensions, while in another high-profile case involving the drug, Oisin Murphy, the champion jockey, was banned for three months by the French authorities in November. Murphy avoided the standard six-month suspension for a first cocaine positive after a hearing accepted that a test result after riding at Chantilly in July 2020 was due to “environmental contamination” as the result of sexual contact with a user.
Add in the fact that Paul Struthers, the chief executive of the PJA, recently told ITV Racing that there are “a couple more in the pipeline” and it could be easy to conclude that use of a drug which, in the words of McCarthy’s disciplinary panel, “is not only very dangerous to for riders and horses [but also] has a tendency to bring the sport into disrepute” is rife in our weighing rooms.
Easy, but not necessarily correct, which is why the pilot of saliva testing could be game-changer. The new procedure has several big advantages over the urine, blood and hair tests that have been used in the past (and will still be used to confirm results of saliva tests and rule out false positives).
The most obvious benefit is speed. The result arrives in a matter of minutes and so any rider who tests positive can be stood down for the day before they pose a threat to the safety of others. But it is also much cheaper than previous tests and more straightforward to conduct, which means that many more tests can be carried out. A saliva test could, in theory, almost become part of a rider’s daily routine if the regulator thought it necessary.
The initial pilot scheme which starts this week should give at least some indication of whether there is a widespread cocaine problem among Britain’s jockeys. But even if the early signs are that it is not the significant issue that the recent spate of cases might suggest, the rollout of widespread and regular saliva tests should hopefully be an important part of keeping it that way.
And it is not just about clamping down or stamping out. There is an appreciation too that a recreational drug which is widely used in society in general – and does not come with weight issues attached – will always be a temptation, for younger jockeys in particular.
Quick Guide
Monday’s horse racing tips, by Greg Wood
Bath: 1pm Grand Canal 1.35 Sienna Bonnie 2.11 Bay Watch 2.46 Corbulo 3.21 Mumtaaz 3.56 Katherine Place 4.31 Expert Opinion
Beverley: 1.10 Isladaay 1.46 Rhino 2.21 Blissful Song 2.56 Rhyme Scheme 3.31 The Vegas Raide 4.06 Yankee Stadium 4.41 Haija 5.15 Rhoscolyn
Kempton Park: 1.15 Paso Doble 1.50 Adjali 2.25 Light N Strike 3.00 Saint De Reve 3.35 Montys Medoc 4.10 Fidelio Valis 4.45 See The Eagle Fly
Windsor: 1.21 Wiley Post 1.56 Show Yourself 2.31 Spirited Guest 3.06 River Dawn (nb) 3.41 Sevenal 4.16 Bringsty 4.51 Noble Masquerade (nap) 5.21 Lanika
Warwick: 2.05 Papa Tango Charly 2.40 Subway Surf 3.15 Hazzar 3.50 Good News 4.25 For Jim 5.00 Keep Moving 5.30 Iron Heart 6.00 Hello Sunshine
“There is much more to tackling issues such as substance use than pure regulation,” Brant Dunshea, the BHA’s chief regulatory officer, said when the pilot was announced. “The BHA is also working with the PJA to take a wider look at this issue and how we can better educate and protect our participants and rehabilitate those who do become involved.”
Racing will be the first major sport to trial the use of saliva tests on competitors and the BHA deserves credit for taking a broad and proactive approach to what may – or may not – prove to be a deep-seated problem when it might have been easier to look the other way.
This is the last daily Talking Horses column, although the feature will still be appearing every Monday and every Saturday and more sporadically on other days. Our tips for Tuesdays to Fridays will be included in other racing stories through the week. They will also be added to the Monday column through the week – so to be absolutely sure of seeing them, simply return and refresh the Monday column page each day. On Saturday we will provide our usual bumper weekend tipping service.