Drugs in Racing? Don’t be so Naïve!
The intention of this article is not to be judge or jury on anyone who has been found
guilty of illegal drug use or possession, rather to comment on the fact that we should
not be so naive to think that it’s not happening in our industry.
In what is a multi billion dollar industry, horseracing is being increasingly confronted
by recreational drug use and possession. In 2006 high profile jockey Corey Brown
served a six month disqualification incurred in Hong Kong for a drug offence.
This week we have seen jockeys that have been disqualified for the possession of
illegal recreational drugs, however jockeys are not the only ones that have been
guilty of this. Owner’s, Trainers, strappers, punters and participants have all at one
time or another been either charged or disqualified for the possession and use of
party drugs. We now have police with drug sniffer dogs waiting outside turnstiles at
race meetings trying to catch anyone attempting to bring these drugs onto our race
tracks. Hollywood movies such as The Godfather and more recently the television
series The Soprano’s have often touched on the involvement of underground drug
lords having involvement in horse racing.
Recently, during the Melbourne spring carnival, we had Melbourne stewards refusing
Pillar of Hercules to race until such time he had an ownership change. The stewards
suspected that Pillar of Hercules had an association in ownership with alleged
underground figure Tony Mokbel, whilst jockeys Willie Pearson and Danny Peisley
have recently been disqualified for the discovery of illegal drugs in the Gold Coast
jockeys room and for failing to provide urine samples. Meanwhile Brisbane jockey
Stathi Katsidis also faces drug related charges. Police alleged that drugs were in
Katsidis’s car when breath tested in Toowoomba on 02Feb'08. If you ask me I am
surprised? The answer to that would be NO! It was once that alcohol was the
problem, now alcohol has a cell mate called recreational drugs.
These types of drug related headlines have proliferated our industry for many years
and will continue to do so; there seems little we can do to stop it. Often I read with
interest how these stories only register small amount of print compared to the
wonderful deeds of our high profile horses, trainer and jockeys achieve. However I
feel that we should address this matter more, and not turn a blind eye to it.
All licensed people in our industry have the responsibility of handling and taking care
of millions of dollars worth of horse flesh, as the recent sales have shown us.
However, licence holders and racing participants are not immune to the simple
failings of human nature, and we are just kidding ourselves if we think it’s not
happening. I think that our racing stewards do a wonderful job in keeping our
industry clean, however this is more a problem faced by society, and not just a
racing matter. Once again let me reiterate that taking illegal drugs is wrong, full
stop! Especially by people in our industry who take on such huge responsibilities.
I’m not sure what the answer is, but not recognising this as a major problem can
only lead to wider concerns. Disqualification alone is not the answer, I would be
much more comfortable with the knowledge that an awareness and
education program be also implemented. Education along with rehabilitation will
always be a better servant than just incarceration or disqualification.
NEWS 
