Grffith banned on Crystal Meth positive

On the eve of Darren Smith’s penalty hearing, Racing New South Wales was rocked by yet another drug scandal as the Daily Telegraph revealed that Scone trainer Luke Griffith had been briefly banned from starting horses following two of his charges testing positive to methamphetamine, the drug commonly known as ‘ice’ or ‘crystal meth’. The swabs were taken as part of a post-race test, and stewards are now awaiting results of the B-sample. Racing NSW chief steward Ray Murrihy told Fairfax Media, “We stopped racing out of his stable for a short period and took bio-security measures and tested his horses and staff,” also adding that he wouldn’t comment on ongoing investigations. Griffith told News Corp “he was unsure why horses in his care would return ‘small traces’ of the illicit substance.”

While this is thought to be the first case of a horse testing positive to the drug in Australia, New Zealand trainer Tracey Newton was handed a three-year ban on such grounds in October last year.