A furious row has broken out between racing’s ruling body and a firm of solicitors whose client, the Yorkshire trainer John Wainwright, was cleared of corruption by a disciplinary panel on Thursday. The British Horseracing Authority was forced to deny an accusation that it had a “win at all costs” attitude to disciplinary cases, following the end of a case in which the evidence of the former jockey Adam Carter proved to be unreliable.
Carter was found guilty of a stopping ride on Blazeofenchantment at Southwell in June 2014, described by the independent disciplinary panel as “about as blatant an example of a non-trier as one could get”. His friend Paul Bradley, a stable lad, admitted Carter had told him of his intention to stop the horse and that he then passed that information on to a gambler, Peter Bennett. Bennett denied corruption charges but was found by the panel to have layed the horse through a betting exchange, risking £1,999 to win £2,000 when the horse finished unplaced. Carter, Bradley and Bennett were found guilty of engaging in a corrupt or fraudulent practice, their punishments to be determined after additional procedure.
But Wainwright, who trained and owned Blazeofenchantment, and a gambler called John Wright were cleared by the panel. It found that Carter, who implicated them at an early stage before changing his story, had been unreliable “in every version of events he has given”.
This prompted a wrathful statement directed at the BHA’s prosecutors from Stewart-Moore solicitors, acting for both Wright and Wainwright. The firm had issued a statement last month, pointing out the inconsistencies in Carter’s evidence and arguing that pursuing charges against their two clients was “a complete waste of everyone’s time”. Harry Stewart-Moore said the BHA case had been based “entirely on the evidence of a jockey who even the BHA believes has been lying from the outset and … has never managed to tell the same story twice. The BHA would do well to remember that as a regulator its job is not to secure a conviction at all costs but rather to ensure that a fair outcome is reached.
“With that in mind, we were extremely surprised that the BHA did not withdraw the charges against our clients after Mr Carter’s extraordinary oral evidence but instead relied on some frankly very odd arguments in an attempt to fill the void where its case ought to have been.” He added that there had been “serious problems” with the BHA’s approach to disclosure and suggested little had changed after the Quinlan review of BHA procedures last year. Stewart-Moore also conducted the defence of Jim Best, a trainer who was suspended after an acrimonious case last year.
The BHA insisted it had been justified in pursuing its charges and pointed to a line in the panel’s reasons recording that it had wanted to hear from Wright and Wainwright. A statement said: “The BHA does not ever set out to seek a conviction at all costs and procedural fairness is at the core of the BHA’s regulatory processes.
“The BHA has a duty as a responsible regulator to bring cases before the disciplinary panel where there is sufficient evidence to be considered. We will not shy from this responsibility, especially where there are serious threats to the integrity of the sport.
“The BHA strongly refutes the suggestion of impropriety related to disclosure. All relevant disclosable material was provided and the BHA instructed junior counsel with the responsibility of reviewing disclosure throughout these proceedings. The BHA is committed to robust but transparent and consistent procedures.
“As a result of the Quinlan review and the BHA’s commitment to implement its recommendations, the BHA has been working on and will soon publish its disclosure policy, underlining its commitment to a progressive approach to regulatory reform.”
An earlier BHA statement said it would soon implement “a fast-track investigation protocol which will allow us to deal with minor rule breaches more swiftly and appropriately. This will free up resource for more complex corruption enquiries to ensure they are completed more quickly.”
Wainwright said he had endured “a nightmare” few months. “It’s been a trying time, especially once I heard there was going to be an inquiry. It was an investigation that had gone on three years and obviously the jockey has changed his story three or four times.
“I was very surprised it went on but I’m glad it’s all over now.” Of Carter, he said: “He’s out of racing now, so it won’t affect him. He wasn’t a bad lad. He was an average jockey but a good work-rider and he rode his winners. Looking at it, they did it for very little money.
“The main thing is to just get on with life. I’ve got a young family and I can focus on the job now.”
Friday’s racing tips
Wolverhampton
1.20 Llamrei 1.50 Midnightly 2.20 Indian Affair 2.50 Chatoyer 3.25 Know Your Name 4.00 Doswell 4.30 Mont Royal 5.00 Royal Loyalty
Nottingham
1.30 Eqtidaar 2.00 Global Passion 2.30 Boogie Babe (nb) 3.00 Maid In India 3.35 Powderhouse 4.10 Quloob 4.40 Indulged 5.10 Diamonds A Dancing
Newbury
1.40 Purser 2.10 Qaroun 2.40 Pursuing Steed 3.10 Machine Learner (nap) 3.45 Out Of The Flames 4.20 Madame Bounty 4.50 Beshaayir 5.25 Paradise Cove
Newmarket
5.20 Finsbury Park 5.50 Samarmadi 6.20 Kind Act 6.50 Pacific Salt 7.25 London Master 7.55 Florenza
Catterick
5.30 All For Nothing 6.00 Lexington Grace 6.30 Demons Rock 7.05 State Sovereignty 7.40 Perfect Words 8.10 Chookie Valentine
