Harry Findlay warned off for six months by BHA
One of Britain’s most high-profile owners has been banned from running horses or attending any race meetings for six months.
Harry Findlay, regarded as one of the country’s biggest professional gamblers, had attended a BHA disciplinary panel hearing on Wednesday to answer a charge of backing on one of his horses to lose. Findlay, who represented himself at the hearing, admitted the breaches of the Rules alleged. The disqualification starts immediately and also means that the horses registered in the name of Findlay’s mother, Margaret, are not allowed to compete while she remains owner or part-owner during the disqualification period.
The BHA brought the charge despite accepting that Findlay had actually staked more money on the horse, Gullible Gordon, winning and that Findlay had no corrupt motive for the wagering. In effect his breach of the Rules appears more of a technicality than an attempted corruption.
The case centres on two races. When Gullible Gordon ran in a novice hurdle at Exeter in October 2008, at odds of 1-3, Findlay laid him for £17,000 before staking £80,000 on him to win. The horse was well beaten and Findlay made a net loss of £62,000.
The second race was a novice chase at Chepstow in October 2009, which Gullible Gordon won at odds of 4-6. Findlay had staked a total of £64,000 on him to win before the race started but, during the race, an associate, Glenn Gill, who was operating his betting account because Findlay was present at Chepstow, laid off £32,000 at shorter odds. As a result Findlay made a profit of £35,000.
Gullible Gordon is trained by Paul Nicholls who also trains Findlay’s best-known winner, the 2008 Cheltenham Gold Cup winner Denman, but Nicholls is in no way implicated in the matter.
The case is different to the offences which led to another professional gambler, Miles Rodgers, being warned off for two years after betting on two of his own horses to lose. Rodgers was later acquitted of conspiracy to defraud, along with former champion jockey Kieren Fallon, at the Old Bailey race-fixing trial which collapsed in December 2007.
The BHA view was that although Findlay’s breaches of the Rules could have been judged as technical they required action to maintain the integrity of such regulations.
Findlay has said that he will appeal the decision, describing himself as “heart-broken” by the sentence and is said to considering quitting owning horses in Britain.
Speaking on attheraces, Findlay said: "The first race in question I made a technical error and pressed the wrong button and in the second one, on Gullible Gordon at Chepstow, as a professional gambler I had a bet before and then a little bit more on before laying back in running.
"When the BHA's top investigators came down we had a good laugh about it because when Glenn laid it [the horse] had basically won anyway. I didn't check the Rules because I'm so busy and the fact I didn't check the Rules and see how much trouble I was in is my own fault and I don't blame the panel.
"I’ve been suspended for six months. I am warned off from racecourses. The horses in my mum's colours can't run. They are trying to arrange the horses we've got with Michael Channon to run in his colours and my mum is still allowed to go racing, though she won't have any owner's badges. The other horses that me or my mother own will run, if we can arrange, in the Sangster family colours."
Findlay has seven days from the receipt of the panel’s reasons to launch an appeal against the decision, when he can also request a stay of penalty.
Tags: