New Zealand: A former jockey-turned-trainer is facing a lengthy ban from horse racing after both she and her horse tested positive for the recreational drug methamphetamine.
Rochelle Lockett, 50, admitted two breaches of the rules to New Zealand’s Racing Integrity Board at an inquiry that began after the four-year-old mare she trained, Be Flexi, tested positive for the banned substance after winning a maiden in Otaki in January.
The board was told a sample subsequently taken from Lockett also showed traces of meth.
Despite Lockett insisting she was a casual user who had not used the substance for months, both a urine sample and hair follicle tests showed her to be a habitual user, according to a report on New Zealand’s Stuff website. Traces were also found around the driver’s seat in the horsebox used to transport Be Flexi.
While it was accepted the mare was not deliberately drugged, the Racing Integrity Unit’s manager Neil Grimstone called for a four-year ban to be imposed.
Lockett, who had a clean record up until this year, rode 115 winners as a jockey and also raced in Australia, Japan and the US. She has trained 26 winners since taking out her licence in 2006.
She told the hearing the case had been “heartbreaking”, adding: “I feel I have let everybody in my whole life down.”
Meth first featured in New Zealand horse racing in 2014 when trainer Tracey Newton was disqualified for three years after traces of the drug were found in the horse I’m Not Ticklish.
Also in 2014, champion jockey Lisa Cropp was banned for three years after admitting a long-term addiction.
The Racing Integrity Board reserved judgement in the Lockett case.
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