The colourful owner Anthony Knott, who was banned from racing for three years in November 2014 for passing inside information about one of his horses, is free to resume racing activities after the British Horseracing Authority agreed to set aside the remainder of his suspension and remove the offence from his record.
The decision is part of the BHA’s continuing attempt to unravel the chaos caused by its employment of the solicitor Matthew Lohn, when Lohn was also a regular member of disciplinary panels.
Lohn was sitting on the panel two years ago when Knott was found to have breached the anti-corruption rules alongside Andrew Callow, who was alleged to have used inside information from Knott to profit from the defeat of a horse called Theroadtogorey by laying it to lose on Betfair.
Knott and Callow denied the charge, and while the BHA has not formally quashed the decision, the regulator has now agreed a deal with both parties to bring the case to a conclusion.
In a statement on Tuesday, the BHA said that it had come to an agreement with Knott and Callow because it “does not believe it is in the best interests of racing to spend considerable time and money either through arbitration or in the high court” to decide if the case should be quashed or reheard. It added that it has now removed their names from the list of banned individuals, and that both men “have agreed that this represents the conclusion of this matter”.
Knott carved out a niche in the affection of many racing fans in 2008 when he achieved a lifelong ambition by riding a winner at the age of 44. He also owned the prolific chaser Hunt Ball, the winner of seven races in the 2011-2012 season including a novice handicap chase at the Cheltenham Festival.
The case involving Knott and Callow is one of seven to be reviewed by the BHA following the disclosure that it paid Lohn to carry out work unrelated to disciplinary matters in October 2013.
The authority also said on Tuesday that in three of those cases, the parties involved have either failed to respond to an invitation to comment, or indicated that they will not take the matter any further.
Correspondence is still continuing in the three remaining cases, while a provisional date of 13 December has been set for a rehearing of a case involving the Irish trainer Paul Gilligan.
Gilligan was banned for six months this year for running a horse which had previously competed in an unlicensed “flapping” event in Ireland.
