Wednesday 14 December 2011

BHA Issue Major Bans


Jockeys Paul Doe and Greg Fairley have been banned from racing for 12 years for "not riding a horse to its merits" after an investigation into corruption.

Two other jockeys are among 11 people barred from the sport following a British Horseracing Authority probe.

Jockey Kirsty Milczarek has been banned for two years for committing "corrupt or fraudulent" practices and passing on information for reward.

Trainers Maurice "Fred" Sines and James Crickmore have received 14-year bans.

The pair were found guilty of betting against a horse they owned.

Jimmy Quinn, the fourth jockey among 11 people to have been found guilty of corruption, received a six-month punishment for his involvement.

Five others - Nick Gold, Peter Gold, Shaun Harris, David Kendrick and Liam Vasey - were also found guilty of "corrupt or fraudulent practice".

Paul Fitzsimons, now a trainer, and Darren May were cleared of all charges.

All those found guilty have seven days to appeal against their bans but are excluded from the sport during that period.

The verdicts were delivered on Wednesday as the BHA published the findings of its long-running investigation into race-fixing in 2009.

The investigation centred on horses being backed to lose races on betting exchanges between 17 January and 15 August 2009.

Milczarek vowed to appeal against the verdict.

Her charges relate to her ride aboard Obe Gold at Lingfield on 15 August 2009.

Trained at the time by Debbie Mountain, Milczarek finished fifth on the even-money favourite in a six-furlong race.

She told At The Races: "I've just spoken to my solicitor a couple of times. We are going for an appeal. It's my livelihood.

"I was found guilty on one particular thing but not a ride, which I'm pleased about."