Jockey Tommy Dowson could be back in April after six-month ban for taking cocaine four times

Tommy Dowson has promised to rebuild his career after admitting taking cocaine four times last year. The 28-year-old jockey has been suspended from riding since October and a disciplinary panel confirmed on Monday he would not be allowed to reapply for a licence until April 4 after a six-month absence from the weighing room.

Panel chair Rachel Spearing addressed Dowson directly with words of encouragement as she delivered the verdict. "There are few of us who won't remember your incredible finish on Nautical Nitwit," she said, alluding to the West Yorkshire Hurdle of 2018 when Dowson beat Bryony Frost on Old Guard after a long battle up the Wetherby straight.

"We hope that your riding continues but that you continue to treat yourself as an athlete, so you can regain the future that you deserve. We hope to see you back, well, fit, able, strong, riding those sorts of finishes again."

The case was triggered by a saliva test taken at Southwell in September, leading to a urine sample and finally a hair sample which proved positive for a metabolite of cocaine. Dowson admitted taking the drug and accepted his period of suspension from the outset.

"Mr Dowson apologises to the BHA unreservedly," said the jockey's solicitor Rory Mac Neice. "He has already apologised to those who have helped him in his career.

"This was a bad error of judgement on his part. His view is that the testing regime has, in this instance, protected the sport and it has also protected him. It has brought him up very, very sharply.

"It has left him with a stark choice – his career or the other path. Mr Dowson wants you to know that he has chosen his career.

Tommy Dowson: committed to his riding careerCredit: John Grossick (racingpost.com/photos)

"He previously lived in the middle of town, where he mixed with people from outside of horseracing who he had developed friendships with and it was with that group of people that he took cocaine. 

"He now lives on-site at his employers [trainer Phil Kirby in North Yorkshire]. He describes it to me as the middle of the countryside. It has allowed him to focus on horses and riding.

"When he mixes with other friends, he is circumspect about the circumstances. If they are planning a significant night out, where there will be significant drink taken, Mr Dowson doesn't join them. Whenever he has contact with any of his social circle, in or out of racing, he does so in an environment where drink is not going to be a focus."

Mac Neice said Dowson was now committed to re-establishing himself as a jockey. "He welcomes the enhanced sampling programme and will happily comply with all on-course and off-course testing," Mac Neice said. "He understands that that is a consequence of where he is. He has no difficulties with that.

"He is a talented young jockey, committed to ensuring that talent isn't wasted."

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