- A urine sample by Graham Gibbons tested positive for a metabolite of cocaine
- The 36-year-old attempted to swap his own urine sample with another jockey’s
- Gibbons has been hit with a six-month ban for failing his urine sample
- As well as being struck by a two-year suspension for attempting to swap samples
Jockey Graham Gibbons has been banned for a combined period of two and a half years by the disciplinary panel of the British Horseracing Authority.
Gibbons tested positive for a metabolite of cocaine at a meeting where he attempted to swap urine samples.
Gibbons had voluntarily not ridden since December last year, when he was alleged to have swapped a urine sample with that of another rider, Callum Shepherd, who faced no charges, at a fixture at Kempton.
Graham Gibbons (right) has been voluntarily out of action since December 2016
The British Horseracing Authority (BHA) revealed a urine sample from the Irish jockey tested positive for a metabolite of cocaine and have suspended the racer for six months
The 36-year-old was charged with a breach of rule (D)65 ‘by virtue of the fact that a urine sample taken from him on December 7, 2016 at Kempton racecourse.
The jockey tested positive for benzoylecgonine, a metabolite of cocaine, pursuant to rule (D)58 and schedule (D)3 Part 1, a banned substance’.
He was also charged with breaking rule (A)30.1 in ‘acting in a manner prejudicial to the integrity, proper conduct and/or good reputation of horseracing in Great Britain by his actions on December 7, 2016 when he attempted to present another jockey’s urine as his own when required to submit a sample for testing purposes.’
The breach of the latter rule was deemed to carry a two-year suspension, with the positive test leading to a six-month penalty leaving the bans to run concurrently from June 9, 2017 until June 8, 2019.
While Gibbons (right) was then found guilty of attempting to swap samples with another racer meaning the BHA also slapped a further two-year ban on the 36-year-old to run concurrently
The BHA tweeted: ‘Graham Gibbons, found in breach of Rule (D)65, received 6 months suspension from December 9, 2016 to June 8, 2017 inclusive.
‘Gibbons was also found in breach of Rule (A)30 and receives a two year suspension from 9 June 2017 until 8 June 2019 inclusive.
‘The Disciplinary Panel’s reasons for their decision will follow in due course.’
Among the career highlights for Gibbons have been winning the Gimcrack Stakes at York aboard the William Haggas-trained Ajaya, while he enjoyed a terrific association with John Quinn’s Blythe Knight, twice landing the Diomed Stakes at Epsom and also being victorious in the Lincoln at Doncaster.