Racehorse found to be high on cocaine & crystal meth after winning run as traces of substances found in nose bag
A WINNING racehorse has been banned from the sport after it was found high on cocaine and crystal meth during a race.
Halina Jibay was caught with traces of the highly illegal substances in his nose bag as they also showed up in routine urine tests after he won the race.
The disgraced owner has been fined and banned for two years after the horse galloped past the finish line, high as a kite.
The horse has also been blacklisted from any competitive races in Malta for the next 12 months.
The bans started on November 12.
Local reports also say the owner, who hasn’t been named yet, was fined £305.
Despite it being a major cheating offence the fine was the lowest amount possible.
Jockey Clint Vassallo isn’t thought to be in any trouble over the dangerous drug scandal.
Malta Racing Club officials who oversee the races had their suspicions and gave a sample of Halina Jibay’s urine to an independent lab for testing.
The lab near Paris, France, reportedly found numerous banned substances.
Researchers at the Laboratoire des Courses Hippiques in Verrieres-le-Buisson not only saw a shocking amount of cocaine but also crystal meth, ketamine and steroids.
Cocaine and crystal meth are dangerous drugs for a horse to take especially during a race as it can massively increase their heart rates and blood pressure which could lead to a fatal heart attack.
The white powder of cocaine is said to have similar effects on horses as it does on humans as it acts as a stimulant and can numb any aches and pains for the drugs user.
The drug ketamine – often known as “horse tranquilliser” – is used to manage pain in large animals like horses.
The steroid found in the horses system was stanozolol which is an anabolic substance that helps improve performance.
It is commonly used by bodybuilders in the build up to a competition to help them train.
Halina Jibay was caught red hoofed after winning the 2,140m race on October 1, beating nine other horses.
Unlike typical horse racing where the jockey rides on the animals back, this race was done using a cart that is tied to the horse and has a person in it.
The horse pulls the cart along as the jockey leans back to increase the speed.
Race officials are now understood to be planning a detailed report of what they found to Maltese police.
It is thought the police will question the jockey and the horses owner in the coming days.
In 2022, Halina Jibay won an impressive 21 races.
The speedy mare also finished second 16 times across 160 races.
Back in October, a huge controversy kicked off in the horse racing world as a Grand National-winning trainer bought a horse for £100,000 before it instantly failed a drugs test.
Lucinda Russell’s expensive purchase Flemensface was shipped back to Ireland after the shock positive result came to light – but only after she purchased him at the Cheltenham April sale.
And it isn’t just the horses who get in trouble with drugs as the sports golden girl Hollie Doyle has slapped with a one-month suspended ban for using an illegal painkiller called Dihydrocodeine.
Doyle used the painkiller after having surgery on her elbow to treat severe pain she had.
