GOLDEN GIRL ON DRUGS CHARGES

In the last 10 days, two high profile jockeys have been caught up in
drugs related charges. Barry Lichter looks at whether the racing
industry has a crisis on its hands.

Is it the stresses of riding at the top level, the demands of
energy-sapping schedules, the continual battle against weight or the
truckloads of money our pin-up jockeys earn?

Those are the kinds of questions racing officials must be asking
themselves after a week when two more of the industry's high achievers
were linked to drug cases.

The same day 2004 premiership winner Leith Innes was suspended for six
months by Queensland stewards after returning a sample positive to
Ecstasy, another former high-flyer Leanne Isherwood appeared in the
Levin District Court charged over possession of methamphetamine.

It followed her arrest by armed police during a raid on a suspected P
lab in Otaki 10 days ago.

Isherwood was one of two people arrested at the property which had
been under surveillance.

Police said it was not Isherwood's house but they found 4g of the
class A drug, worth about $4000, in her car.

Isherwood, who has dropped right off the racing radar, was one of the
first jockeys charged over methamphetamine, when she returned a
positive test during a swoop at the Hastings races in January, 2002.

Isherwood denied using the drug and the charges were withdrawn halfway
through her hearing after evidence that the drug testing protocol
might have been breached.

Isherwood, who rocketed to sixth on the premiership in 1995-96 with 74
wins, and won her second Wellington Cup in 1999 on $143 upsetter Miss
Bailey, rode extensively in Singapore and Macau afterwards, and
represented New Zealand in a women's series in Japan.

Since then the drug testing routine has nabbed two other jockeys for P
positives, Kelly Davidson, also in 2002, and Lisa Cropp in 2005.

Cropp, winner of the last two premierships, is still fighting the
charges and the latest delay might not see the Court Of Appeal hear
her case until February, 2008.

Another rider known to have used P is former Melbourne Cup winning
jockey Tony Allan, who confessed to being addicted to the drug in 2003.

He lost his licence, struggled to kick the habit, made an aborted
comeback, then became a trackwork rider in Japan.

The only other recent case was headline hogger Michael Walker, who won
two premierships in 1999-2000 and 2000-01. He has never tested
positive but admitted in a controversial television interview to
having used cocaine while riding in Australia.

With three of these riders having dominated the jockeys' ladder in
five of the last seven years, the logical suspicion is that the need
for endless reserves of energy is the common denominator as jockeys
chase wins all over the country.

Cropp maintained an exhausting schedule in 2004-05, riding 1261
horses, 471 more mounts than her nearest rival Hayden Tinsley.

Methamphetamine could be described as the designer drug for jockeys as
it's known to reduce fatigue, give the user greater energy, heightened
alertness and faster reflexes.

It also increases self-confidence, which often ignores the reality of
personal limitations. Users may experience "Superman Syndrome," and
attempt tasks they are incapable of performing.

With P users also known to take unnecessary risks, it is obvious why
they pose such a danger to other jockeys.

But while several leading riders have now been caught, chief
racecourse inspector John McKenzie is confident the problem does not
permeate the jockeys' ranks.

On the contrary, McKenzie believes that compared to other sectors of
society, where amphetamine abuse is widespread, jockeys are more like
role models.

New Zealand Thoroughbred Racing's random drug testing regime had
detected too few positives to reach any other conclusion, he said.

"We're testing regularly - the last time was on June 2 when I did 18
at Ellerslie - and I guess most riders are tested at least once a year."

More than 130 samples were taken in a year, with previous offenders
likely to be tested more than once.

"And we have a very good intelligence network among the riders, who
don't want those people in their ranks."

McKenzie said the setting up of the testing schedule was originally
driven by the jockeys themselves - New Zealand Jockeys' Association
members were unanimous they did not want to ride against people under
the influence of drugs.

When the first samples were taken from jockeys in 1995, with anonymous
tests at Auckland, Wellington and Dunedin, 33 out of 120 were positive
to cannabis.

"The administration didn't believe the problem was anywhere near as
bad as that," McKenzie said.

But when offenders were given mandatory three-month bans, the industry
was cleaned up.

"We seem to have spent our lives putting umbrellas round the kids -
and the three-month disqualifications for cannabis have been a good
deterrent to their getting into class A drugs."

But McKenzie said he could appreciate how young riders could be lured
into taking drugs, given they earned a lot of money so could afford
it, and had a lot of time on their hands.

Most riders when caught, however, offer weight control as the main
reason.

Both P and E, which are from the same amphetamine family, are known to
reduce appetite, the No 1 enemy for riders.

Racing officials, who recently banned the use of diuretics, will be
hoping riders looking for other ways to control their weight are not
tempted to experiment with amphetamines.

Many jockeys used to rely on the last-minute use of diuretics to lose
weight, taking "piss pills" as they are known on race morning.

Tinsley, outspoken against the ban on diuretics, said he'd found
furosemide was the only way to drop weight in a hurry - "I've tried
every diet.

"But I don't think that the jockeys I know who use diuretics would
resort to illegal drugs.

"I know some who are still taking diuretics but they're taking them on
Fridays instead of Saturdays (it is detectable for only 24 hours).

"That makes them an even bigger safety issue - instead of being
dehydrated for two hours they'll be dehydrated for 22 hours." But
McKenzie said New Zealand was only following internationally set
standards and the prime motivation was for the health and safety of
jockeys.

McKenzie said all reports from the United States on people addicted to
methamphetamine were bad.

Side effects can include seizures, cardiovascular problems, strokes,
paranoia, violent behaviour, anxiety, tremors, confusion, irritability
and hyperthermia.

Contrary to the belief that Ecstasy is safe and non-addictive, it too
poses serious health risks.

First synthesised in 1914 when researchers were looking for an
appetite suppressant, methylenedioxymethamphetamine or Ecstasy has
become the party drug of choice.

It is rated a class B drug in New Zealand, but users have died from
heart attacks, dehydration, hypothermia and seizures.

Longer-term effects include brain damage and higher dosages of the
drug can produce dependence, as with methamphetamine.

Ecstasy produces behavioural effects and toxicity similar to
methamphetamine, according to medical experts.

It can cause mild auditory and visual hallucinations as well as
stimulant effects similar to amphetamine.

But the most problematic aspect of Ecstasy is its unpredictability.
Unlike some drugs, dosage does not appear to correlate consistently
with the severity of symptoms or medical reactions. A dose that
produces a mild high in one person may kill another.