Cocaine use appears to have been rife among those attending the Grand National, a Telegraph Sport investigation into racing’s “Peaky Blinders” drugs problem has found.
The class-A substance was present in dozens of toilet cubicles examined during this year’s festival, despite organisers declaring beforehand anyone carrying illegal drugs would be denied entry to Aintree.
The apparent scale of cocaine use at one of the most prestigious events in the sporting calendar has cast major doubt on racing’s ability to tackle the problem, sparking calls for the government to act.
It follows Charlie Brooks, the former jockey and trainer, using his Telegraph Sport column this month to complain “cocaine-taking Peaky Blinders” — young men clad in similar garb to the violent gang from the BBC drama — had “completely changed” the atmosphere at Cheltenham Festival since the coronavirus crisis amid falling crowd numbers there.
After seeking assurances the world’s greatest steeplechase would not suffer a similar fate, Brooks was told organisers had a “zero-tolerance approach” to illegal substances that included the use of sniffer dogs, body and bag searches, and amnesty bins.
But confidence in those measures are in danger of being eroded by the results of tests conducted on surfaces in almost 40 cubicles in 10 public toilet blocks at Aintree using small wipes that turn blue on contact with cocaine.
The drug, which has become cheaper, more freely available and deadlier in recent years, has long been linked by police to a serious rise in football hooliganism.
That has led to a change in the law to ban those caught in possession at matches from attending future games.
Responding to the Telegraph’s findings, Dame Caroline Dineage, chairwoman of the culture, media and sport select committee, said: “Last year, the culture, media and sport committee warned of the growth of drug taking at sporting events. To date, the government’s focus has been on football, but the Telegraph’s inquiry into horseracing underlines that this is a growing issue across spectator sports.
“The committee recommended the police and the government should be doing more to understand the prevalence and impact of drug use at sporting events, and the relevant authorities, including those in racing, must step up their efforts to tackle it.”
The Jockey Club, which operates both Aintree and Cheltenham racecourses, also said it would “actively” support legislation that helped combat all forms of antisocial behaviour.
A spokesperson said: “Tens of thousands of people enjoyed the three days at Aintree last week while behaving perfectly safely and responsibly.
“Unfortunately, cocaine use is an increasing societal problem, and this is something racing has been working hard to combat, with the Jockey Club taking a zero-tolerance approach to illegal substances across all its racecourses.
“A range of measures were in place at Aintree, including detection dogs, bag searches and pat-downs in operation at all entrances as well as amnesty bins. Anyone found to be attempting to access the site in possession of illegal substances last week was denied entry, given no refund on their ticket purchases and reported to the police.”
A government spokesperson said: “The relationship between drug abuse and criminal behaviour is clear, which is why we take a zero-tolerance approach to drug offences and have sought to expand the police use of drug testing on arrest.
“Our 10-year Drug Strategy set out ambitious plans, backed with a record £3 billion funding over three years, to tackle the supply of illicit drugs and build a world-class system of treatment and recovery to turn people’s lives around and prevent crime.”
Special report: Cheaper cocaine and fans after a buzz — Inside Aintree’s drugs problem
It is 7pm on Grand National day at Aintree and I am Maximus has long since galloped to victory in the 176th edition of the world’s greatest steeplechase.
Yet, time is only now being called on the party in the racecourse’s Festival Zone for those not to have had their fill of one of the biggest sporting, and social, events of the year.
For most, it has all been good, clean fun — as has been the case for most of the three-day meeting in Liverpool.
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 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.
Brooks’ decision to sound the alarm about similarities between characters in the BBC drama — a “violent gang from Birmingham who shaved the sides of their heads, wore chavvy caps, took loads of drugs and unfortunately went horse racing” — and “cocaine-taking” racegoers at Cheltenham Festival sparked a fierce debate.
That will only intensify following an investigation by the Telegraph that found use of the class A drug appears to have been rife among those attending the Grand National.
Not just on the day of the big race itself, but throughout the Thursday-to-Saturday festival, during which numerous tests were conducted on almost 40 cubicles in 10 separate public toilet blocks at Aintree using small wipes that turn blue on contact with cocaine.
They included control tests carried out before the gates opened each morning in order to rule out the drug already being present in those same cubicles, which had virtually no trace at the start of day one.
By the end of Grand National day, almost all the cubicles had shown significant evidence of cocaine, with white powder visibly present in several of them.
All this is despite race organiser the Jockey Club reassuring Brooks before the event that anyone carrying illegal drugs would be denied entry to Aintree.
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.
Only two arrests related to drug possession were made
But the focus of one of its biggest security operations was on stopping a repeat of last year’s storming of the course by animal rights protesters that delayed the Grand National by almost 15 minutes.
Indeed, Merseyside police confirmed on Monday there were only two arrests at this year’s festival related to drug possession on the course, with one man also detained at the main entrance on suspicion of possession with intent to supply white powder that was seized.
The police did not respond to questions about whether any of the 13 men and one woman it said on Saturday had been arrested over the course of the event had been cocaine-tested.
Most of those held were in relation to violent offences, something with which the drug has long been linked.
And while most arrests during the festival were over isolated incidents, Ladies Day on Friday did witness a five-man brawl in which racegoers threw punches at one another in front of stunned onlookers.
The police and Aintree operator the Jockey Club would not reveal whether they had conducted any prevalence studies of their own into the use of the drug at the Grand National or other races.
The Racecourse Association (RCA), the trade body that brings together the nation’s racecourses, including Aintree, confirmed it had never carried out such a study, despite previous media investigations finding evidence of widespread cocaine use at its venues.
The scores of arrests of protesters at the National 12 months ago render a comparison with this year’s figures largely redundant, but there was still a marked increase on the four people who were held in 2022, the first festival with spectators since the pandemic.
Drug becoming cheaper amid cost-of-living crisis
Cocaine has long been linked by police to a serious rise in football hooliganism, leading to a change in the law to ban those caught in possession at matches from attending future games.
The drug is one of few products to have become cheaper amid the country’s cost-of-living crisis, with a single gram having fallen from £140 to £87 between 2019 and 2021, according to the most recent United Nations data, despite an increase in purity and potency.
The number of cocaine deaths in England and Wales have also increased for the past 11 years, rising to 857 for the 12 months ended March 2023.
Several jockeys have tested positive for the drug, with the Professional Jockeys Association previously admitting the use of it had become “a problem”.
At the end of last year, Parliament’s culture, media and sport select committee published a report following an inquiry by MPs into safety at major sporting events.
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”.
It added: “Underpinned by £300 million investment, we will reduce drug-related crimes, deaths, harms and overall drug use. 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 investigation, both the chairwoman of the DCMS select committee, Dame Caroline Dineage, and the Jockey Club issued statements of concern about what the latter branded “an increasing societal problem”, with each indicating a need for further ministerial intervention.
The British Horseracing Authority added: “Cocaine is a wider societal issue at present, but it is also an issue for sporting events, and therefore sports must take action to deter its use. We are aware that our colleagues at British racecourses are working hard to reduce the instances of its impact on racedays and we support those efforts.”
– Daily Telegraph UK