Concerns flagged about unusual betting patterns in Philip Byrnes incident, says British regulator – The Irish Times

The British Horseracing Authority (BHA) has said it flagged concerns “on multiple occasions” about unusual betting patterns in the controversial race at Wexford last May where jockey Philip Byrnes was unseated from Redwood Queen. However, a stewards’ inquiry was still not held into the matter on the day.

Byrnes was cleared by an Irish Horseracing Regulatory Board (IHRB) referrals panel of any wrongdoing in relation to his unseat from the horse trained by his father, Charles.

That panel, chaired by Justice Peter Kelly, heard evidence in December and concluded that Byrnes’s unseat was the result of “poor horsemanship”. It also dismissed any suggestion that betting or betting patterns formed a motivation for the fall.

At the time, his unseat prompted a huge public reaction and led to the jockey being accused of deliberately jumping off the mare. Although no inquiry was held on the day of the race, an investigation was announced by the IHRB a day later.

At December’s referrals hearing, evidence included the panel being told about betting patterns on the race. It described the betting pattern evidence furnished to it to be “unsatisfactory and unconvincing”.

Redwood Queen was weak in the betting and started a 13-2 shot. Her final flight exit saw the 1-3 favourite Beacon Edge win the race.

On Friday, the IHRB did not comment on whether the BHA, whose five-year contract to monitor betting patterns for Irish racing’s regulator ended in August, two months after the Wexford race, had had any input into its investigation.

An IHRB spokesman merely said: “Betting and exchange activity was monitored through established channels and the evidence presented reflected that monitoring.”

However, the BHA was prepared to elaborate much more on the matter and commented on Friday that it had noticed unusual betting patterns on the day of the race and raised concerns to the stewards on duty at Wexford.

“The BHA’s integrity department flagged concerns about the situation on multiple occasions on the day of the incident,” a BHA spokesman confirmed.

“Firstly, the unusual betting patterns were flagged to the stewards and other IHRB personnel pre-race.

“The BHA’s integrity department then watched the race and, after the incident with the unseated rider, contacted both the stewards and subsequently the IHRB’s integrity department to encourage them to seek an explanation from the rider. This message was then reiterated in the end of day report.

“The BHA also commenced preliminary betting enquiries, this included contacting various operators raising concerns and seeking a review of markets and bets placed, the results of which were relayed to IHRB,” he added.

The BHA’s contract to monitor betting patterns for the Irish regulator ended last summer when the IHRB said it was “reviewing future requirements for investigative support”.

The IHRB did comment on Friday that the decision to clear Byrnes of any wrongdoing in relation to his controversial unseat from Redwood Queen was largely down to “multi-angle video evidence”.

The regulator has come in for some scathing criticism following Thursday’s statement.

At December’s hearing, the former Grand National winning rider, Leighton Aspell, who is now a professional IHRB steward, said he believed Byrnes did not allow Redwood Queen run on her merits. Former champion jockey Davy Russell gave evidence in support of Byrnes.

An IHRB spokesman defended the regulator and said it was justified in investigating the incident. He said the approach taken was “thorough and evidence-led”. He also ruled out any appeal against the panel’s decision.

“The committee confirmed that the investigation and referral were justified, appropriate and conducted using the powers available under the rules of racing. The matter was examined in detail at a full hearing, with the committee’s conclusions reached primarily on the basis of the multi-angle video evidence,” he said.

The IHRB also did not comment on whether it had examined the decision by the Wexford stewards not to hold an inquiry on the day.

Thursday’s referrals panel statement said: “We wish to say that when we first saw the ordinary video coverage of the incident, we were inclined to the view that the jockey’s fall was indeed very suspect and appeared deliberate and contrived.

“However, having had the advantage of hearing all of the testimony, and examining minutely, and in great detail, and from a variety of angles, all of the video and photographic evidence, we have come to the conclusion that such was not the case.

“We have had a considerable advantage over numerous pundits and commentators, who appear to have been quick to rush to judgment adverse to the jockey. Such conclusions were unfair to him.”