Aga Khan Quits Jockey Club Over Dope Tests

The Aga Khan, owner of three Epsom Derby winners in the past eight years, resigned from the British Jockey Club today in protest at its “scientific and administrative methods.”

His decision to resign from the body that rules British horse racing was linked to developments since a positive dope test earlier this year on his classic winning filly Aliysa.

His resignation was announced minutes after another of his horses, Rifada, who failed a dope test after winning the Warwick Oaks, was disqualified by the disciplinary committee of the Jockey Club. However, the Aga Khan’s solicitor, Matthew McCloy, said the resignation was caused by the controversy over Aliysa, not the Rifada case.