McAlister cleared over Dobbin farewell race Michael McAlister has been cleared of any wrongdoing after a British Horseracing Authority investigation into Tony Dobbin´s final race at Carlisle in April. Dobbin retired after winning the Dobbs Finale & Future Best Wishes Novices´ Chase at the Cumbrian venue on April 10th with McAlister finishing second aboard Lord Samposin. However, the local stewards referred the matter to the BHA after deciding that McAlister had breached rule 157 and not ridden to obtain the best possible placing. The BHA carried out a full investigation and following presentations from McAlister´s legal representative and the Authority´s own team, took the view that "McAlister´s ride throughout the race was a positive one, and as a consequence satisfied the requirement of the Rules of Racing that every horse should run on its merits." The conditional was therefore cleared of any rule breaches.
