Leading English rider Oisin Murphy tests positive for cocaine, says he's innocent

Oisin Murphy, champion jockey in England during 2019 and on his way to another title in 2020, tested positive for a metabolite of cocaine this summer in France.

Murphy released a statement on Twitter earlier Thursday announcing the positive test and proclaiming his innocence. Murphy, a 25-year-old Irish-born rider, is a retained jockey for Qatar Racing. Riding at Chantilly Racecourse in France on July 21, Murphy was selected for drug testing and a month later was informed of the positive result for cocaine. Murphy’s statement said he had a hair follicle test performed shortly after receiving notice of the cocaine positive from France-Galop, France’s official racing body, and that the test had revealed no trace of cocaine. Murphy, who contends he never has taken cocaine, said he provided the hair-follicle test result to France-Galop, which still is investigating. Murphy is permitted to ride until the investigation is concluded.