December 19, 2012 - 5:11 PM
LONDON - A jockey and a former Premier League soccer player were among six men charged on Wednesday with serious breaches of horseracing rules in the latest corruption scandal to hit the sport in Britain.
The British Horseracing Authority said Irish jockey Eddie Ahern, who has ridden more than 1,000 winners in Britain, is accused of stopping a horse running on its merits at a race at Lingfield in January 2011 and also passing on "inside information" linked to four other races between September 2009 and February last year.
Neil Clement, who played for West Bromwich Albion for a decade starting in 2000 before becoming a registered racehorse owner, faces charges linked to the same races in which Ahern was racing. Clement must also answer charges of breaching rules by backing against his own horse, which finished the last of six runners, at a race at Kempton in February 2011.
James Clutterbuck, the son of a racehorse trainer, and three unlicensed individuals — Paul Hill, Martin Raymond and Michael Turl — were also charged.
A disciplinary hearing will take place between April 29 and May 3, 2013.
In October, jockey Andrew Heffernan and three professional footballers, including Ipswich striker Michael Chopra were among nine people charged with corruption offences, including offering and receiving bribes. Their hearing is scheduled to start on Jan. 14.
In 2010, four jockeys and two owners were given bans of up to 14 years after being convicted of race-fixing in the BHA's biggest corruption inquiry.
One of the jockeys, Kirsty Milczarek, had her two-year ban overturned following an appeal.
News from © The Associated Press, 2012