Four jockeys have been banned after being found guilty of race fixing by a disciplinary panel of the British Horseracing Authority (BHA).
Jockeys Kirsty Milczarek, Greg Fairley, Paul Doe and Jimmy Quinn were all found guilty of the charge of corruption in racing. A fifth jockey, Paul Fitzsimons – who is now a trainer – was found not guilty.
The case revolves around the fixing of 10 races between 17 January and 15 August 2009. The BHA will now pass the details to the police and the Gambling Commission.
Ms Milczarek, Mr Fairley and Mr Doe were also found guilty of passing on inside information for reward. And Mr Doe and Mr Fairley were also both found guilty of the most serious charge of not riding a horse to win. Both are no longer riding.
Mr Doe and Mr Fairley received 12-year bans. Ms Milczarek was banned for two years and Mr Quinn for six months.
Ms Milczarek said she would appeal.
Owners Maurice Sines and James Crickmore were found guilty of corruption, as well as backing horses to lose. They were both banned for 14 years.
The inquiry started in October, and the verdict was announced today (Wednesday 14 December).
Unlicensed individuals – Nick Gold, Peter Gold, Shaun Harris, David Kendrick and Liam Vasey – were also found guilty of corruption, while Darren May was cleared. Mr Harris receieved a three-year ban, Mr Kendrick four years and Mr Vassey five.
Nick and Peter Gold’s penalties are yet to be announced.
“While it is the names of the jockeys that the racing public will recognise, people should be under no illusion that it is the lesser-known names who were the instigators of these serious breaches of the rules,” said Paul Scotney, BHA director of integrity.
“What lies at the heart of this investigation are the actions of two individuals, Maurice Sines and James Crickmore, who, together with their associates, were prepared to corrupt jockeys and to cheat at betting by the misuse of ‘inside information’.”
