Cocaine crisis at the races
SPORTSMAIL’S INVESTIGATIONS TEAM UNCOVER SHOCK SCALE OF CLASS A DRUG USE AT COURSES
THE staggering scale of drug-taking by racegoers at British courses can be exposed today following a Sportsmail investigation. Traces of the Class A drug cocaine were found in the toilets at Newbury and York races last week, on surfaces including a baby changing table.
The findings paint a damaging picture of widespread recreational drug use at racing and highlight the difficulties facing authorities as they try to avoid repeats of the recent brawls at Goodwood and Ascot.
Although the Newbury and York meetings passed off without major violence, our investigation shows some racegoers are not content with fuelling up on alcohol. Cocaine use was rife on Saturday at Newbury, which attracted a crowd of around 11,000 people for a card including the Lockinge Stakes, Royal Wedding celebrations and an official ‘afterparty’.
Drugs were prevalent despite sniffer dogs and amnesty bins at the entrances, and recent attempts by the Racecourse Association (RCA) to combat recreational drug use on courses. All 13 of the cocaine swabs used by
Sportsmail at the Berkshire course came back positive, including four used before the first race.
At York on Thursday, the day of the Dante Stakes, our investigations team came back with three positive samples. All were taken from the disabled toilets near the champagne lawn in the County Stand, the most expensive enclosure. Elsewhere on the course, our samples showed no traces of cocaine.
Representatives of Newbury Racecourse admitted last night they were ‘very concerned’ by the findings, and will be seeking expert advice on what additional measures can be introduced.
A spokesman for York Racecourse said the findings showed preventative measures taken across the racecourse — including the removal of toilet lids and increasing stewarding — were largely working. However, he accepted the positive samples highlighted that further measures could be required to prevent drug use in the disabled toilets where cocaine traces were found.
The swabs used by Sportsmail, which come in a sealed foil packet, turn blue where traces of cocaine are present, and the results were alarming at times.
Although it is not possible to determine exactly when the drugs were consumed, regular cleaning of the toilets would suggest they were from the day our samples were taken. Disabled toilets appear to be a magnet for drug users because of the space they offer and flat surfaces from which drugs can more easily be consumed.
Measures have been taken to reduce the use of disabled toilets by the non-disabled, including the introduction of special access keys.
However, the most expensive enclosures at Newbury and York had disabled toilets open to anyone, and it was in those that cocaine was commonly found.
More shocking still was the presence of cocaine on a baby changing table, in the men’s toilets of the Hampshire Stand at Newbury.
Cocaine traces were also found in the ladies’ and men’s toilets nearest the temporary royal box at Newbury. In the portable loos nearest the paddock, racegoers could be heard taking drugs, with one young man telling his friend: ‘Don’t finish it all.’
The RCA, which has worked with the charity Drink Aware to tackle excessive alcohol intake by racegoers, recently sought to combat recreational drug use, too.
Last month, they launched the drug deterrent initiative: ‘End your day on the right high’ to promote a zero-tolerance policy towards drug-taking at the races.
Paul Swain, the RCA’s brand and experience manager, said at the time: ‘We wanted to be proactive in terms of drugs, not so much because there is a problem on racecourses, but because from looking at research from other sectors, such as the night-time economy, drink and drugs often do go hand in hand. It’s a preventative measure, to try to stop it before it starts.’
Our findings would suggest there is, in fact, a serious problem on racecourses, and much more needs to be done.
An RCA spokesman responded to our findings by saying: ‘Drug use is absolutely unacceptable anywhere in society and this is an issue many venues and leisure sectors are now facing.
‘Racecourses operate a zerotolerance policy to drugs and we work closely with the police
through the Horseracing Police Practitioners Forum to employ sniffer dogs and carry out searches on entry with amnesty bins where necessary.
‘Anybody found with drugs on a racecourse will be removed from the premises and face a ban.
‘Earlier this year, the RCA introduced a number of deterrent measures to help racecourses and we have already seen these have a positive impact.
‘This runs alongside the work we do to promote our refreshed responsible drinking campaign — Pace Yourself Plus — to ensure that the six million customers we welcome to racecourses every year have an enjoyable day out.’ A spokesman for Newbury Racecourse said: ‘We are obviously very concerned by the findings and will be seeking expert advice from other entertainment venues and looking into what additional measures can be taken in the future, as well as running our own tests across the site.
‘The sniffer dogs and amnesty bins seen yesterday at Newbury have been operating for a number of years and are evidence of our proactive approach to a problem which is shared across society, but has demonstrated there is more we can be doing on our zerotolerance policy.’
A spokesman for York Racecourse added: ‘It is an interesting finding and one we will give proper consideration to. We will now need to consider whether for those specific (toilets), where individuals were choosing to act criminally, we need to address those differently in terms of Radar keys.
‘In terms of the sampling of the main toilets... I am encouraged that the wider measures we had in place were working. If individuals choose to break the law, we can keep trying with counter measures, but somebody has consciously chosen to break the law.’