Jockey Adrian McCarthy has been banned from riding for six months
Veteran jockey Adrian McCarthy has told a disciplinary hearing that he attempted to take his own life, such was his dependency on drugs and alcohol.
McCarthy was appearing in front of a panel after testing positive for cocaine at a meet at Chelmsford on 15 October.
His sample contained 1,000 times the amount of the drug needed to provide a positive test.
He has been handed a six-month ban, backdated until October 22.
He will be available to return to the track towards the end of April.
The 42-year-old told the hearing, as per The Sun: ‘Last year and the year before I was really depressed. I’m on tablets now and am having counselling.
‘I’ve had counselling in the past – and I also tried taking my own life. I didn’t care about myself, about anything, about being here.
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‘I was using drugs – cocaine – and drinking to try to make things better but they only make things worse. I’m looking forward to being positive and I’m looking to the future. I’m in a lot better place than I was before and I’m enjoying my work.
‘We all make mistakes and I regret it but we all have to look forward and work hard.’
He was found 1,000 times the amount of cocaine in his system need to give a positive sample
Another jockey, Finley Marsh, has also been handed a six-month ban in a seperate hearing related to drugs offences.
The 22-year-old skipped a meet at Kempton after being informed drug testing officials would be present.
He admitted he decided against attending having taken the drug while playing poker with friends earlier in the week.
The 42-year-old missed Cheltenham (above) and won’t be able to return until the end of April
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