Jockey embroiled in race-fix row loses licence application

Fergal Lynch’s application for a licence was thrown out by the British Horseracing Authority (BHA) after it voiced concerns over whether he was suitable to ride professionally.

He was one of the defendants along with champion jockey Kieren Fallon in a £10m trial at the Old Bailey, but all were acquitted of any wrongdoing when the case collapsed in December 2007.

But Lynch was fined £50,000 two years ago after admitting he deliberately rode to lose a race at Ripon while knowing that bets had been placed for the horse not to win.

He left his Yorkshire home in 2008 and moved to the United States, teaming up with his brother Cathal, a trainer at Philadelphia Park.

Despite embarking on a successful career in the US and accruing winnings of $2m, Lynch’s career has been on hold for more than 12 months.

The Pennsylvania Racing Commission refused to allow Lynch to continue with his career in the US state until the BHA itself agreed to grant him a licence.

The BHA’s licensing committee announced yesterday, however, that it had thrown out Lynch’s application, which he submitted in October last year.

In a statement, the committee claimed it had “serious doubts” about Lynch’s suitability and whether he would be able to “resist temptation” in the future.

The statement added: “The sport’s most valuable asset is its reputation and the confidence people have in its integrity and this must be upheld.”

Committee members expressed concerns over Lynch’s lack of openness, as well as his “non-disclosure and lies” to a hearing in 2007.

Lynch was given the £50,000 fine, which he has now paid, but escaped a ban when he admitted deliberately “stopping” a horse that he was riding in Ripon.

He changed his story from the evidence he gave during the Old Bailey trial into race-fixing.

The jockey had previously denied that he had deliberately “stopped” Bond City at Ripon Racecourse in August 2004 despite knowing the horse had been laid to lose by a Yorkshire businessman, Miles Rodgers.

Both Lynch and Rodgers were among the defendants in the criminal trial which unravelled after it became clear there was no evidence any of the jockeys deliberately “stopped” a horse.