Paul Scotney, Director of Integrity Services, Compliance and Licensing for the British Horseracing Authority (BHA), said:

“The charges BHA has issued today are the result of a long and complicated investigation. This process has taken significant time and resources. However, investigations such as these are very similar to fraud investigations and as such are complex and time consuming. Furthermore, we encountered difficulties in obtaining telephone records from certain individuals who refused to co-operate. This resulted in us having to make a number of applications to the High Court for orders against their mobile telephone service providers for disclosure of the relevant records.

“We hope that today’s announcement demonstrates our commitment to deterring and detecting wrong-doing and taking action against those who we believe to have breached the Rules. However, racegoers and those betting on British Racing should be reassured that instances of this nature are extremely rare and that the overwhelming majority of races are free of suspicion.”