BLACKBURN rider Carl Lowther was hoping to escape serious punishment at a Jockey Club diciplinary committee inquiry today after a urine sample he gave in July last year tested over the limit for alcohol.

Lowther and another jockey were required to give samples after racing at Newcastle on July 31.

However, they were informed that the tests were not for alcohol and Lowther drank two pints of beer to help him give the sample.

He explained: "The guy who was testing told me they were not testing for alcohol so I thought it would be all right to go for a couple of pints to help me have a pee because I'd had no fluids all day.

"The other jockey hadn't gone light that day and had had his breakfast and everything but I had a couple of pints on an empty stomach so it's come back over the limit for racing.

"I made a mistake, I should have made myself familiar with the rules, but it wasn't like I was drinking during racing -- I'd finished my last ride.

"I have been urine tested after that and the result came back clear."

It is the first time a jockey in Britain has tested over the limit for alcohol.