Dettori banned for positive drug test

PARIS - The Associated Press

In this file photo, Frankie Dettori (L) celebrates after winning the Gold Cup horse race with Colour Vision, on the third day of Royal Ascot horse race. AP photo

Jockey Frankie Dettori has been banned from racing for six months by French horse racing stewards following a positive drug test.

The British-based rider tested positive for an unidentified banned substance Sept. 16 at a race meet at Longchamp. The ban, backdated to his medical hearing last month, is likely to be extended worldwide until May 19 next year.

The medical committee of the French horse racing association temporarily suspended the Italian on “medical grounds” last month and transferred the case to France Galop - the governing body.

“I have spoken to Frankie since the announcement was made and he has told me he fully accepts France Galop’s decision,” Dettori’s lawyer Christopher Stewart-Moore said in a statement. “He also accepts that he has let down the sport he loves and all those associated with it, as well as the wider public. But most of all, and this is his greatest regret, he has let down his wife and children.”
Dettori’s case was heard on Dec. 4 at France Galop’s Paris headquarters, which Stewart-Moore and another of Dettori’s representatives, Herve Naggar, both attended. Because of French laws regarding medical confidentiality, the identity of the banned substance was not given.

The 41-year-old Dettori is best known for riding seven winners on one day at Ascot in 1996.
Dettori, a three-time champion jockey in Britain, had four rides at the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe trials meeting on Sept. 16, after which the positive sample was returned.

Dettori, who was cautioned by police in Britain for possession of cocaine in 1993, competed in France’s prestigious Arc de Triomphe race in October.

Irish jockey Kieren Fallon was banned for six months by France Galop in 2006 after testing positive for a banned substance. France Galop then banned him a further 18 months after a second positive test in 2007.