Owners, trainer and jockey face charges for laying horses to lose
Five owners, a trainer and a jockey face charges of “laying of horses to lose” in 11 races in 2004 and 2005, which are being brought by the British Horse Racing Authority (HRA).
The HRA has mounted investigations into the actions of trainer Paul Blockley, jockey Dean McKeown, owners Clive Whiting, Derek Lovatt and Martyn Wakefield and former owners David Wright and Marcus Reeder.
The charges allege that Betfair customers received information about horses running in certain races which Blockley and McKeown they had gained in their capacity as licensed persons.
The information is said to have given the Betfair customers an unfair advantage.
All the accused are alleged to have been involved in this breach of HRA rules.
The races involved in this case took place at Lingfield, Southall, Catterick, Leicesters, Ayr, Folkestone, Hmilton and Wolverhampton, between March 2004 and December 2005.
In a separate case Neil Leach, head travelling head lad for Nicky Richards, and Neil Allen, who is not licensed, are charged in connection with the laying of horses to lose in 10 races between November 2005 and July 2006.
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No dates have yet been set for the two disciplinary panel enquiries.
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A self-confessed newshound, farmer’s daughter and journalist of many years' experience, Charlotte worked on regional papers before joining H&H in 2007. A regular rider, she visited Ireland in 2010 to investigate the fate of Irish horses through the recession, to much acclaim, and reported from the FEI General Assembly in Rio de Janeiro in 2011. She left Horse & Hound in March 2013.