Reilly And Williams Warned Off

Jockeys Brian Reilly and Dean Williams were last night warned off for 18 months after a long-running inquiry into alleged corruption reached its conclusion.

Former owner and off-course bookmaker Owen Churchill was excluded for eight years after being found guilty of all four charges brought against him.

The hearing by the disciplinary panel of he Horseracing Regulatory Authority had been adjourned over three weeks ago without a verdict.

Williams was found guilty on three counts, in that he communicated information for reward, aided and abetted a breach of the rules, and misled an investigating official.

The panel saw fit to suspend him for a total of 15 months for those offences.

He was also found guilty of riding Ever Cheerful at Lingfield on December 30, 2004 with the intention of not obtaining the best possible placing, in the knowledge that the horse was being laid to lose on betting exchange Betfair.

For that offence, he was handed an 18-month suspension.

However, as all accrued penalties will run concurrently, Williams was excluded for a total of 18 months.

Reilly was effectively handed the same punishment after HRA officials investigated six races in which he had ridden.

In three of those, namely Shifty Night, Three Ships and Amanda's Lad, Reilly was found guilty on the same three counts by the disciplinary panel.

Reilly was found guilty of riding Three Ships at Wolverhampton on January 21, 2005 with the intention of not obtaining the best possible placing, in the knowledge that the horse was being laid to lose on Betfair.

Like Williams, Reilly was also handed an 18-month suspension that runs concurrent with the others he was handed.

Churchill was found to have committed a corrupt or fraudulent practice, received information that was not in the public domain and misled an official and hindered an investigation, as well as causing jockeys to breach the rules.

He cannot apply to have the suspension lifted within the eight-year period and was also fined #2,000 for his breach of the rules.

Churchill chose to take no part in the proceedings and was not represented at this hearing. Both jockeys were legally represented.

The disciplinary panel, chaired by Matthew Lohn, took the view that 'Churchill, through a carefully orchestrated plan, ensured that he would win a considerable amount of money, £56,339.

'The sum of the liabilities he risked during these races was #262,329. The plan was centred around the corruption of two jockeys, Reilly and Williams (both apprentices at the time), whom he befriended for this corrupt purpose.

'In deciding on what kind of penalty to impose on Mr Churchill for these breaches, the Panel has been mindful that it has not seen any evidence from Mr Churchill apart from the transcript of the first interview with the Jockey Club Investigating Officers.'

It went on: 'Mr Churchill's behaviour in corrupting young apprentice jockeys at a vulnerable stage of their career is deplorable. We therefore consider that Mr Churchill should be deemed to be an excluded person and furthermore be ineligible to apply for a lifting of this order for a period of eight years.'

(C) PA Sport