Irish Jockey Popped For Being Way, Way Over The Acceptable Cocaine Limit

Either Irish jockey Adrian McCarthy likes to party or he turned in a big time false-positive cocaine test back in the fall when his urine tested 1,000 times over the limit for "a metabolite of cocaine," according to Irish media outlets. To put it bluntly, McCarthy's urine was 1,000 times over the allowable cocaine limit set by the British Horseracing Authority.

"I just got into a bit of a rut. Drinking all the time, using drugs, cocaine, and trying to make things better. Obviously it doesn't make things better," he told the authority during his hearing. "I'm in a lot better place now than I was before, I just want to get my head down and do what's right. We all make mistakes. I made a mistake. I regret it. I just have to look forward and work hard."

McCarthy's six-month ban from running the ponies was backdated to October 22, so he has another month to go before getting his license back and saddling up.

"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," McCarthy said during an interview with The Sun.

Now imagine what Doc Gooden's cocaine tests came back looking like. Don't get this twisted, McCarthy clearly liked to party. You don't check-in 1,000 times over the coke limit if you don't like to get down, but Doc was on a whole other level. Don't take my word for it. Take Doc's word!

Doing coke isn't something new in the horse industry. The Washington Post wrote about drugs and jockeys back in 1990. "On the racetrack, chemical dependency is out of control," a horse racing insider told the Post.

"If any drug was made for a jockey, would be it," another insider said.