Jockey Nathan Evans took cocaine two days before a race meeting where he was caught with it in his system, a disciplinary panel heard.
The rider was tested ahead of the Goffs UK Premier Yearling Stakes at York on August 20, in which he finished eighth on sprinter Billian.
Seven days later, he learned his urine sample confirmed the presence of benzoylecgonine, a metabolite of the Class A drug. The British Horseracing Authority suspended Evans and on September 22 he admitted what he had done in an interview.
On Friday he was handed a six-month ban. Andy Howell, representing the BHA at the hearing, said the sportsman, who has held a licence since 2015, described how he ingested a "couple of keys of cocaine" while visiting friends in Newmarket.
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