Eight to Face Jockey Club Charges Following Lifting of Reporting Restrictions
Published: 19 June 2002
Following the lifting of reporting restrictions on the trials involving members of the Wright Organisation, the Jockey Club confirmed today that it will hold disciplinary hearings to consider whether or not to impose Exclusion Orders on Brian Brendan Wright, his son Brian Anthony Wright, and associates Ian Kiernan and Paul Shannon.
In addition, the Jockey Club has written to three men, via solicitors or directly, to notify them of the Jockey Club’s intentions to hold disciplinary hearings in relation to evidence given during the trial of Barrie John Wright at Southampton Crown Court in September and October 2001. The three are the former licensed jockeys Barrie Wright and Graham Bradley, and Christopher Coleman, an unlicensed person.
An announcement about when the hearings will take place will be made in due course.
Ex-jockey Dermot Browne is currently subject to a 10 year period of disqualification imposed by the Jockey Club in October 1992. Prior to the expiry of that penalty, the Disciplinary Committee will consider his admission of doping horses in 1990.
June 19th 2002
Notes for Editors:
1. Barrie Wright and Graham Bradley have two options with regard to what form their enquiry will take. As former licensed individuals they have the option of being treated as if they were bound by the Rules of Racing in force at the relevant time or whether the same evidence be considered in the context of an enquiry under Rule 2 (v) of the Rules of Racing.
2. Rule 2 (v) of the Rules of Racing states: “The Stewards of the Jockey Club shall have power to exclude or cause or order to be excluded for any period or for an indefinite period from any premises owned, licensed or controlled by them any person whether or not subject to the Rules of Racing where, in their absolute discretion, they consider the presence of such person on such premises undesirable in the interest of racing even though such person is not and has not been declared, a disqualified person.”
3. Until now the two reasons which prevented the Jockey Club taking disciplinary action regarding the activities of the Wright Organisation were:
– the risk of compromising a major and long running criminal investigation, and
– the reporting restrictions subsequently imposed on a series of trials related to those investigations.
4. Following a trial at Woolwich Crown Court into the drug importing activities of the Wright Organisation, Brian Anthony Wright, Ian Kiernan and Paul Shannon were among those convicted. The sentences they received were 16 years, 20 years and 5 years respectively. Having served two and half years of his sentence, Paul Shannon has recently been released from prison.
June 19th 2002
