British jockey suspended after positive test for cocaine

Published Feb. 27, 2015 7:17 a.m. ET

foxsports

LONDON (AP) A British jockey has been suspended from riding after testing positive for cocaine.

Danny Cook, a Cheltenham Festival-winning jockey on Great Endeavour in 2010, will not be able to compete until a disciplinary hearing scheduled for March 19.

The British Horseracing Authority announced the suspension on Friday.

The Professional Jockeys Association released a statement on Cook's behalf, saying that benzoylecgonine - a metabolite of cocaine - was found in one of his samples.

The statement says Cook ''accepts the finding'' and ''would like to apologize to all those he feels he has let down through an act of foolishness.''

Cook will miss the 2015 Cheltenham Festival starting March 10.