BHA : Laying horses to lose is corrupt.

Laying horses to lose is corrupt, BHA tells court


LAYING horses to lose is corrupt and against all that racing stands for, the high court in London was told on Tuesday by racing's rulers.

Mark Warby QC, representing the BHA, made the assertion as he was quizzed by both Mr Justice Stadlen and Ian Winter QC, representing warned-off jockey Dean McKeown, about the rules of racing regarding inside information and its use for laying bets.

The revelation came on the fifth and final day of McKeown's appeal against the BHA's disciplinary panel’s decision to take away McKeown's livelihood with a four-year ban, which in effect ended his riding career and prevented him continuing a successful bloodstock business.


The BHA case was based on four rides by McKeown deemed to be non-triers. The jockey was also found guilty ofbeing part of a conspiracy to lay 11 horses trained by Paul Blockley between March 2004 and December 2005 in that he passed inside information on the stable's runners to one of the owners involved, Clive Whiting, who passed it on to accomplices who laid the horses to lose.

Warby was explaining the BHA rules governing passing information and betting by registered owners, licensed trainers and jockeys under rules 243 and 247. In particular, the subsection governing whether information passed at a racecourse corporate hospitality event is in the public domain came under the microscope.

Winter pointed out the inconsistency of a jockey being able to talk freely at such an event, giving inside information which could be either to win or lose, something the BHA found to be a corrupt practice when applying it to McKeown's passing of information to his friend Whiting, for whom he rode.

The BHA's position was given in answer to Winter asking if there was any difference between laying and backing on inside information. “Why is one corrupt?” he asked the court.

Warby replied: "The reason for lay betting [to be corrupt] is obvious. It is against the purpose and enterprise of what betting is meant to be - that is what was found within rule 201 (v) with McKeown."

Owner threatened to kill accomplice during BHA inquiry, high court told


OWNER Clive Whiting broke down in tears three times during the BHA inquiry into an 11-horse conspiracy he was involved in before threatening to kill an accomplice David Wright.

Glimpses of what occurred at the BHA inquiry were revealed by its legal team, headed by Mark Warby QC on the last day of the appeal brought by warned-off jockey Dean McKeown against the BHA's four-year ban.

Warby, taking Mr Justice Stadlen through the evidence the panel relied on to tie McKeown into the conspiracy, said: "In a tearful confession of lying in interview the evidence of Mr Whiting himself was that [trainer Paul] Blockley and McKeown were his sources of information."

The court heard more about what has been coined the Palmer Club conspiracy because of Whiting's business boardroom used to mastermind the Betfair laying of the 11 horses trained by Blockley.

Warby said they had bought a new computer for the job and that after their successes - all 11 horses laid to lose did just that - there was a phone call to Whiting in the room with the owner saying words to the effect 'job done'.

The court heard how Whiting, having broken down in tears, turned to McKeown and asked him if they were still friends, before adding: "Well, I am going to incrimate myself."

He then threatened to kill Mr Wright for making the conspiracy public.

What double-speak rubbish this is. Laying a horse to lose is the same as backing the rest of the field to win. Backing a horse to win is the same as laying the rest of the field to lose. There is nothing corrupt about it at all.

If it's okay for a trainer or other 'insider' to back a horse that he expects will win, why is it any different if he lays one he expects will lose.

The corruption comes in when the result or performance is manipulated. It's not the bet type that is corrupt.

on the stock exchange, insider traders are sentenced..off to jail..see the usa now..we did it too in RSA...white collar crime

in the racing industry, one(bookmaker or anyone with betfair) is a businessman when he lays the fav that cannot win..due to jockey pulling the horse..trainer ensuring the horse cannot win..owner giving instructions to pull the horse...


the stock exchanges are trying to protect their image, ensuring the public that their hard earned money, or pension money is safe,while the racing industry promotes the practice of insider trading with the saying....a bookmakers license is a license to print money.

where there is money, there will always be scheming.
given the volumes on the stock exchanges and the volumes in the racing industry, one can only come to the conclusion that the blue collar crime is practised in the racing industry.
a typical example..the quartet in the first race turfontein..3/10 unplaced..pays

If laying horses is corrupt what does that say about bookmakers?

Angels...?

IF I am a CEO..
I know that on friday, I will announce that we are going to suspend trading of the comany shares on the JSE..

I tell you this...how much will you make..selling shares..
by saturday..will you be known as a hero..or a.....
will there be many people looking for you...
will you be able to do business with the guys you sold the suspended shares to..

same applies..
trainer got a 5/10..
knows it cannot come back..
tell the bookie..
bookie lays..R1m..if it's possible..
trainer, like the CEO is innocent...????
bookie...angel???...like the guy that sold the suspended shares...
does that answer your question....

nagboy Wrote:

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> If laying horses is corrupt what does that say
> about bookmakers?

There is nothing corrupt about laying horses and offering odds on events where the outcome is unknown eg from black jack to elections.

The offensive bit is when the layer (or a beneficiary of the lay) influences the result, that is outright 100% theft.

Jockeys especially carry the trust of the public, and should be seen to make every effort that they are trying their best. Same as doctors, policeman and judges, some jobs require old fashion integrity, and why they should be well paid jobs.

I hate using the word 'should', but Racing should make sure that at least one area is absolutely squeaky clean, and that is race riding has no shadows as it the window of the sport. Anything else is like casino machines rigged to never pay.

Keeping racing clean is a noble idea.
Noble ideas require people with noble intentions.
Very few, if any people with noble intentions will venture into the racing industry.
Sure many a naive person has ventured into racing, but no one who upfront understands the industry, with noble intentions will venture into the racing industry.
If such a person does venture into the racing industry, he would be considered a rebel and not a fool.
a rebel knows the reality and continues, but a fool is naive and does not know any better.
based on that, we can deduct that a noble person, would be a rebel that came to his senses.
based on that, we can deduct that most, if not all of us are rebels, for we know the reality of the racing industry

The racing industry is certainly not built on noble ideas or good accounting principals like warren buffet would point out, with underlying assets.


It's built on the underlying promise, that I can pull a coup and make a fortune in one day.
the age old accounting concept of steady plodding with compound interest is thrown out of the window and rebel like tactics of bribery and blackmail are employed to secure an edge over my competitors.

speaking of first hand knowledge..been there..done that..got the Tshirt..

Racing may be built on the image that one can make a fortune in one day, but many are the idiots who gave gone belly-up trying, whatever area of the sport they were involved with. So-called "punting" stables seem more prone to sudden death than the others. Trainers and owners who revel in a big bet frequently can't pay their bills. Dispersal sales are often the end result.

Trying to tame racing is a mighty daunting prospect, much harder to do than Andre's rather simplistic Dick Francis-type scenario, I would think. Often tried, not nearly-so-often achieved.

This is not directed at anybody on this board, I hasten to add, but the loveliest bit of racing graffiti I have ever come across was scrawled in the men's room at the TBA in Germiston. "This game is full of penniless experts." Very, very few of them were penniless when they started.

Magiclips,

well said..
the racing industry have made many a millionare...
they were all multi-millionaires before they started...

hence, i say..If I win another R8m..I will have at least half back of what i have played and lost during the last 28 years...

and this is true for everyone in the business that I personally know...perhaps also true of all my acquintances in the business...

I know one thing..the taxman always wins in the racing industry..

Andrewest Wrote:

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> Keeping racing clean is a noble idea.
> Noble ideas require people with noble intentions.

P'nP keeps their floors clean, has bright lights and bakes bread on site. Their intentions are NOT noble, they just know what housewives want...good n clean n fresh!

Casino's show the last 100's of sequences of machines and roulette wheels and croupiers show their empty hands to the camera every time. Their intentions are NOT noble either. But they keep reassuring their customers that they play fair (ha!). Millions lose billions to casino's, and nobody thinks they are being robbed.

But these businesses know what their customers need and want, and they deliver relentlessly, no excuses and they are professional harvesters of money.

It's not noble that racing should BE SEEN to crack down on crookery, rather it is a business imperative...or just business common sense. In fact, there is no other alternative.