As reported by Jeremy Wilkinson for the New Zealand Herald, a winning racehorse that tested positive for methamphetamine was likely contaminated with the drug by its harness racing trainer.

Now, Ival Brownlee won’t be able to race or train horses for the next 18 months, after also testing positive for the drug, despite denying taking it.

According to a summary of facts released by the Racing Integrity Board (RIB), Brownlee entered the 7-year-old mare Emily Bay into a Waikato Harness Club race in Cambridge at the end of October last year.

The horse won its race and was swabbed and urine tested, and a month later, when the tests were returned, it was found to have methamphetamine in its system.

Racing investigators then visited Brownlee’s training site in Pōkeno and both he and his father, who owns the horse, consented to be drug tested as well.

Forensic swabs were also taken of the truck used to transport the horse and the stables, which were clear of traces of the Class A drug.

While a urine sample taken from Brownlee was also clear, a hair follicle sample returned a positive result for methamphetamine, amphetamine, and THC Acid.

Brownlee claimed he hadn’t used meth since 2012.

While none of Brownlee’s horses have ever failed a drug test before now, he was disqualified from the racing industry in 2012 for a positive meth test, and again in 2015 after racing investigators found cannabis in his system.

The RIB then pressed charges against Brownlee, seeking his disqualification from the industry and noting that methamphetamine use struck at the heart of the industry’s “social licence”.

“The mere presence of the substance has the potential to undermine public confidence in racing outcomes,” the board said.

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by Jeremy Wilkinson for The NZ Herald