Racing: Ban for Fallon as trainer faces inquiry over 'fraudulent practice'

The Jockey Club took its first steps in dealing with the Kieren Fallon case yesterday, banning the jockey for 21 days for throwing away victory in a race at Lingfield last week.

Crucially, though, the Club's decision to penalise Fallon immediately for the relatively minor misdemeanour of failing to ride out his horse for the best possible placing came only after it was assured by its legal advisors that this would not create a situation of double jeopardy and would not preclude further, more serious, charges being brought against the jockey after the investigation into unusual betting patterns on the race, particularly on person-to-person betting exchanges, is complete.

The role of betting exchanges in racing was further highlighted yesterday when the Club, racing's regulatory body, confirmed that the trainer Alan Berry, the jockey Paul Bradley and two others are to be summoned before a disciplinary panel to answer charges relating to the running of Hillside Girl at Carlisle last June.

The filly was pulled up lame after two furlongs, having drifted from odds-on to 21-1 on a betting exchange. The four face charges of "conspiring in the commission of a corrupt or fraudulent practice in relation to racing, namely ensuring that Hillside Girl, a filly that was known or suspected of being lame and therefore with little chance of winning, should run in the interests of bets laid on betting exchange markets".