By: Tom Biddington
Australian Trainers’ Association president Robbie Griffiths says staff drug testing is something that most trainers will have to look at in the wake of Shockaholic’s positive to methamphetamine.
Trainer Matt Laurie revealed on Tuesday he suspects a staff member using the drug ice is the probable reason behind the positive swab, with stewards testing all current and past employees as part of the ongoing investigation.
Drug use is a major issue in society and the racing industry is not immune to it.
Some stables, like David Hayes and Tom Dabernig’s Lindsay Park, already test staff and Griffiths says more could follow suit.
“I think a lot of businesses have tested staff in the past and it’s something that’s coming into all work places and I think it’s something that we certainly need to discuss to protect ourselves,” Griffiths told Racing.com’s Racing Ahead on RSN.
“Expenses is one of the things that probably comes to mind when you have so many staff members on and some of them you’ve known for a long period of time and you probably don’t suspect that there’s anything’s wrong.
“It’s something we certainly will be discussing moving forward.
“When it hits you, as it has this week, it makes you have that knee jerk reaction that you have to test everyone, but it’s a very small minority of contamination across the amount of races tested throughout Australia but it’s something we have to look at for sure.”
The other issue is contamination between humans and horses – something Griffiths thinks there needs to be more education on, particularly with everyday products like caffeine.
“A lot of positive urine screens have come back – most of them are contaminations, even whether it’s a prescribed medication for a horse and there’s been some mistake with human error between vets and trainers and staff or whoever,” he said.
“Contamination is something we have to really concentrate on awareness, irrespective of whether it’s basic products that we use every day.
“When we’re around horses, we’ve got to be very mindful that these horses are going to be racing in the upcoming timeframe and they’re going to have to pass a urine test.”
