Following the announcement of today’s Disciplinary Panel findings and the issuing of penalty to the individuals concerned, Adam Brickell, Director of Integrity, Legal and Risk for the BHA, said:

“Today’s findings have confirmed that another network of corruption has been successfully prosecuted by the BHA, resulting in a total of four individuals being disqualified from Racing, including the jockey Eddie Ahern.

“The clear message from this, and other cases heard in the last 18 months, should be that the BHA is better equipped than ever at pinpointing and prosecuting malpractice. The penalties imposed as a result of these cases being heard should serve as a deterrent to others.

“The links we have developed with betting organisations and the advances made in our sharing of data and intelligence mean that we are increasingly effective at gathering evidence that leads to prosecutions. This investigation was another landmark in terms of our intelligence and evidence gathering capabilities as it was the first occasion on which we have received assistance from a spread betting company to bring a successful prosecution.

“We have now sought and received significant cooperation on a voluntary basis from more than one such firm and we hope that this is a resource we will continue to be able to turn to in future investigations. Meanwhile we continue to await Government’s improvements to the overall legislative framework that will ensure all operators are mandated to share such information with us, and other sporting bodies.”