INNISFAIL JOCKEY BANNED

INNISFAIL-BASED jockey Mark Elliott has been slapped with a four-year race riding ban after testing positive to cannabis last month.

On Saturday, Queensland Racing Integrity Commission stewards conducted an inquiry into the analytical findings of a urine sample taken from the local jockey at the Townsville Turf Club race meeting on January 25.

The 45-year-old Elliott pleaded guilty that a banned substance was detected in a sample taken from him.

Elliott has previously had five breaches under a similar rule in relation to the same prohibited substance and that any penalty must serve as a strong deterrent to others, stewards said.

“The specifics of the charge being that on 25 January 2020 when riding at the Townsville Turf Club race meeting, he did provide a urine sample which upon analysis was found to contain a substance banned under AR136 (1) namely 11nor-delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol-9-carboxylic acid,” stewards said.

Elliott has had a chequered history in the saddle, previously being banned for three years after his fifth positive test to cannabis in 2014.

After that lengthy ban, the now Innisfail-based jockey has been back riding in North Queensland for just over a year, mostly for local trainers Stephen Potiris and Scott Cooper.

Elliot’s race riding return has been a successful one, riding 18 winners across the North over the past 18 months.

In determining the penalty, stewards took into account Elliott’s guilty plea and forthright evidence during the inquiry.

“However, they were also mindful of the serious nature of the offence, the danger that riding under the influence of prohibited substances represents …” stewards said.

“Elliott’s licence for a period of four years to commence 15 February 2020 and to expire on 15 February 2024.

‘’Elliot was advised that under he must provide a urine sample clear of any prohibited substance prior to him applying to be relicensed.

“Elliott was also advised of his rights of review and was further offered any professional assistance possible should he require that.’’

Elliott joins a long list of local jockeys who have been rubbed out recently, including: local trackwork rider Braydn Swaffer, a former race rider, who is on the sidelines for seven months, Tablelands jockey Kerry Rockett who was handed a 12-month ban, while Cairns apprentice Amanda Thomson copped six months last year for failing a breath test at track work.