Amateur jockey Peter Bryan suspended for six months after admitting cocaine use

Amateur jockey Peter Bryan has been suspended from riding for six months after admitting to using cocaine to an independent disciplinary panel at BHA headquarters in London.

Bryan had been suspended on an interim basis since May 7 after testing positive for Benzoylecgonine – a metabolite of cocaine – when riding at Perth on April 25.

In an interview Bryan told the panel he started drinking with a friend after riding a winner at Lydstep point-to-point on April 22. The jockey was then approached by a man, who he only knew by his first name, who offered him a line of cocaine.

The jockey went on to say he had taken four or five more lines from the same man throughout the evening and that he had taken the drug on four or five occasions last year.

A remorseful Bryan confirmed he had since stopped using the drug and acknowledged the dangers posed to himself and others of riding in a race with a metabolite of cocaine in his system.

BHA guidelines stipulate a ban ranging from one to six months will be handed down for first-time offences on matters relating to banned substances. However, in the case of a cocaine positive "the rider will normally have his licence withdrawn at the top of the range".

Bryan's interim ban from May 7 will form the first part of his six-month suspension meaning he will be able to reapply for his permit on November 6.

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