McGrath banned until October 28
Larry McGrath has had his rider’s licence withdrawn until October 28 by the Horseracing Regulatory Authority’s disciplinary panel after he tested positive for cocaine.
The northern jump jockey was also fined £350 (€510) fine for using a diuretic.
The sample of urine taken from him at Carlisle on March 9 tested positive for cocaine while another urine sample taken at Sedgefield on April 17 was found to contain a diuretic.
“When his second test came up positive his licence was withdrawn to stop him riding because under the protocol he had got two positives,” said HRA spokesman Owen Byrne.
“Normally he would have got a six-month suspension but he had served six weeks so the panel have taken that into account.”
McGrath was detected through the HRA’s testing of riders programme and he is the fifth jockey to test positive for cocaine since the present procedure was introduced in 1994.
Philip Shea was given a six-month ban in October 2000, Dean Gallagher, having already served a six-month ban for the French authorities, was given 18 months for a second offence, that time in Britain, Francis Norton was handed a four-month ban in December 2003 and Robert Miles received a six-month suspension in January 2005.
