Jockeys acquitted of race-fixing

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Former champion jockey Kieren Fallon, two other riders and three other people have been cleared of race-fixing.

The judge at the Old Bailey directed the jury to find the defendants not guilty of conspiracy to defraud customers of betting exchange Betfair.

The jockeys had denied trying to make horses lose in 27 races between December 2002 to August 2004.

South Yorkshire businessman Miles Rodgers was acquitted of concealing the proceeds of crime.

Mr Rodgers, who the prosecution had claimed was the head of the conspiracy, insisted throughout he had done nothing illegal.

NOT GUILTY Kieren Fallon, 42, from Tipperary, Irish RepublicFergal Lynch, 29, from Boroughbridge, N YorkshireDarren Williams, 29, from Leyburn, N YorkshireShaun Lynch, 37, from Londonderry, N IrelandMiles Rodgers, 38, from Silkstone, S Yorkshire Philip Sherkle, 42, from Tamworth, Staffs <a class="" href="/1/hi/uk/7020010.stm">The 27 races in question</a>

John Kelsey-Fry QC, representing Mr Fallon, had said the allegations were "absurd" and there was not a shred of evidence his client had tried to lose any of the races in question.

He said the police had not been objective and had buried a key piece of evidence which pointed towards the defendants' innocence.

At the start of the trial Jonathan Caplan QC, prosecuting, had claimed the conspiracy was a serious fraud which "undermines the integrity of the sport".

He claimed Mr Rodgers had laid bets totalling £2.2m on a series of horses in the expectation that the jockeys would connive in losing them.

But the jury heard Mr Fallon won in five of the 17 races he was alleged to have been trying to lose. Mr Kelsey-Fry said that was actually higher than his average strike rate.

The Crown's star witness, Australian racing expert Ray Murrihy, who found fault with the jockeys in 13 of the 27 races, was also forced to admit he knew little about the rules and culture of British racing.

Failure to disclose

The jury also heard that police had not disclosed to the defence a crucial interview with British racing expert Jim McGrath in March 2006.

Mr McGrath, the managing director of Timeform and presenter of Channel 4's Morning Line programme, had seen very little he found suspicious with the jockeys' performances but his favourable remarks were not disclosed to the defence until the trial had begun.

The detective in charge of the case, Acting Detective Inspector Mark Manning, admitted that was an "unfortunate" mistake.

Kieren Fallon has been Britain's champion jockey six times

But he denied claims by the defence that he was not impartial.

Mr Manning, who was due to retire during the trial, admitted he had been offered a job with the British Horseracing Authority, the body that regulates racing.

The defendants denied any wrongdoing and said they were simply passing on tips or betting information.

Mr Fallon, who denied knowing Mr Rodgers, pointed out he exchanged tips with all sorts of people and the trial heard he regularly exchanged texts with Newcastle and England football star Michael Owen, who is a big racing fan.

Mr Fallon has won six champion jockey titles in the UK and won France's biggest races, the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe, on the eve of the trial opening.

The collapse of the trial, which comes after an investigation which lasted three-and-a-half years, will be deeply embarrassing for the City of London Police and the Crown Prosecution Service.

How much damage it does to horse racing is difficult to assess.