The British Horseracing Authority (BHA) has come down hard on one bookmaker charged with a breach of laying rules. Matthew Thompson, a racecourse bookmaker for the past 15 years, has been banned for 18 months after he admitted to breaking the rules. Thompson laid bets on horses from two separate yards where he was a registered work rider. Using his Betfair account, the bookie lost £764 on 34 lay bets and broke the rules thanks to the fact that he rode for Mick Easterby and Bill Moore whilst being taught to ride ahead of a charity race.
A statement from the panel appointed to hear the case said that the bets in question “constituted a small percentage of his overall lay betting”. It also accepted that the BHA “had not alleged corruption”, that “Thompson’s involvement with the trainers came about when he decided to ride on two occasions in charity races, having previously had no experience of race riding” and that he “had a previously faultless record”.
The charges relate to two charity races at Bangor in 2007 and Newcastle in 2008. They were put on to raise money for spinal research injuries following the paralysis of jockey JP McNamara. In the wake of the charges, Jenny Woodcroft, a friend of Thompson, told the Guardian on his behalf, “He’s asked me to say that all he ever wanted to do was to ride a horse in a charity race. He made a loss on the 34 bets and now he’s got to sell all his pitches and make three full-time staff redundant, because there’s no way he can carry the business on with an 18-month disqualification.
“He admitted it, but he lays horses for a living. It’s what he does, he lays lots of horses in lots of races.
“Matt signed the paper [at the yard] and didn’t think much about it. All it meant was that he was on the stable staff list for insurance purposes.”
After breaking the rules, the bookie is considering selling his racecourse pitches and as a result, three members of staff will be out of a job. As an experienced on-course bookmaker, it’s true that he should have known the rules inside out. Saying that innovations in the bookmaking industry may have made it slightly less clear-cut and that has resulted in the ban.
