Banned Fergal Lynch fails in his bid to win back jockey's licence | Horse racing

Fergal Lynch, who has admitted stopping a horse from winning a race in August 2004 on the instruction of a punter who had laid it to lose on Betfair, has failed in his attempt to obtain a new jockeys' licence from the British Horseracing Authority.

Horse racing This article is more than 12 years old

Banned Fergal Lynch fails in his bid to win back jockey's licence

This article is more than 12 years old Jockey has admitted stopping horse in 2004
BHA rule rider if not a fit and proper person

Fergal Lynch, who has admitted stopping a horse from winning a race in August 2004 on the instruction of a punter who had laid it to lose on Betfair, has failed in his attempt to obtain a new jockeys' licence from the British Horseracing Authority.

The BHA's licensing committee ruled that Lynch is "not a suitable person to hold a licence", though it did not prohibit him from making a further application.

Lynch, who was acquitted on race-fixing charges in December 2007 when a trial at the Old Bailey collapsed, subsequently started a new career as a jockey in the United States and was a leading rider at Philadelphia Park until July 2009, when the track's licensing authority decided it would not approve him as a jockey unless he obtained a British licence.

The jockey told a recent licensing committee hearing that his involvement with the punter Miles Rodgers, who ran an ownership syndicate, had "started off innocently" but had subsequently "got out of hand". He admitted supplying privileged information for reward, and ultimately to stopping Bond City, one of the favourites for a race at Ripon.

In its findings published on Wednesday the committee said that "public perception concerning deliberate cheating for reward is rightly clear. Jockeys must ride horses to their best of their ability and not 'stop' a horse from racing to that ability in order that bets may be won. Such action is fundamentally wrong and public opinion will condemn it and any sport corrupted by it."

However, it did not disqualify Lynch from the industry entirely, and said that he can still make his living in the sport but without being able to ride professionally.

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