Cocaine rife at Grand National meeting as racing’s drugs problem deepens

But for what appears an alarming number of the 129,817 who attended the festival, a dance or two, after a race or three, a bet or four, and a drink or five, did just not deliver enough of a buzz. That is judging by the amount of cocaine found at Aintree by an investigation into what former jockey and trainer Charlie Brooks used his Telegraph Sport column to dub the sport’s “Peaky Blinders” drugs problem. As at Cheltenham, the “Peaky Blinders” look Brooks linked with “edgy groups of young men” was among the many fashion choices made by those attending this year’s festival at Aintree. Among its recommendations were: “The increasing use of Class A drugs at sporting events is something that police and clubs should both be taking more seriously; We recommend that further work is undertaken by the police to understand the prevalence of drug supply and possession at sporting events; Alongside legal deterrents to drug taking at sporting events, we recommend that the Sports Ground Safety Authority includes guidance in the next edition of its Green Guide on measures to discourage drug use at sporting events.” In a response published last month, the Government said it encouraged police “to use all available tools at their disposal, including the Drug Testing on Arrest powers to test for the presence of cocaine following an arrest at a sporting event”. Through the strategy, we are implementing an end-to-end plan to disrupt the supply of all drugs, at every stage of the supply chain, from source to street.” In response to the Telegraph’s investigation, the chair of the DCMS select committee, Dame Caroline Dineage, and The Jockey Club both issued statements of concern about what the latter branded “an increasing societal problem”, with each indicating a need for further ministerial intervention.