Page 23 - December 2008 The Game

Canada’s Thoroughbred Racing Newspaper The Game, December 2008 23 Canadian International Jockey Banned ‘For Life’ by Nigel Grif ths.
Dean McKeown, the jockey who in 2006 drove
a very gallant 8 yr old Collier’s Hill down the Woodbine stretch to take the International from Go Deputy and Sky Conqueror, has collected a four year ban from the British Horseracing Authority (BHA), which in effect means a lifetime to this established UK rider.
meeting, although he was given exception recently to drive a runner to Germany, where his Lady Deauville won the Gr3 Lando-Trophy over 10f under Haley Turner.
the information and was given a four year ban.
Of the others, David Wright and Nick Rook placed
In the UK there are many different forms of
information from both the jockey and the trainer
betting, xed odds, pool betting, internet accounts
involved in this case. He collected a well deserved
and inside those a wide variety of options. The main
eight years disquali cation, little consolation to the
one to emerge in recent years has been through the internet, primarily with Betfair and Betdaq Exchanges and these
allow you to not only
punters having lost their money.
His brother Vincent was the go-between in trading
The main instigator of this fraudulent practice was
many of the bets and collected themselves bans
of six years each, while owners Marcus Reeder
and Martyn Wake eld were given 18 months for their single and lesser involvement. Last but not least is Derek Lovatt. Although involved, he did however make the conscious decision to cease his involvement well before the investigation started and as a consequence received a lesser punishment of a C$40,000 ne.
owner Clive Whiting who laid horses both under his
ownership and those of others to lose after gaining
13635_CTHSStallion_TBTimes:Layout 1 10/31/08 1:34 PM Page 1
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For Further Information Contact:
CANADIAN THOROUGHBRED HORSE SOCIETY (Ontario Division)
P.O. Box 172, Rexdale, Ontario, Canada M9W 5L1
Phone: 416-675-3602 Fax: 416-675-9405
Email: cthsont@idirect.com Website: www.cthsont.com
be the bettor, but also the bookmaker and take bets from other people.
As with all forms of betting, it is open to manipulation and cheating. Such is
the case of senior northern jockey Dean McKeown, trainer Paul Blockley and primarily the brothers Clive and Vincent Whiting. Basically it’s a case of passing inside information to others that a horse is not going to win and the ‘others’ laying the horse to unsuspecting punters to make a pro t.
McKeown passed
on the information and rode these horses and therefore guaranteed the result and as a consequence, was handed a four year
ban by the BHA disciplinary panel, which effectively
puts the 48 yr old into retirement after a 30 year career. It also puts his thriving bloodstock operation, his future after race riding in jeopardy, as the ban will over ow into that as well.
Blockley on the other hand knew inside information was being transferred on all eleven races under investigation and on one occasion ran a horse to, ‘not gain it’s best possible nishing position’. It was ruled he was not instrumental in this conspiracy and was ‘warned off’ for two and a half years. His ban is under appeal. At present he can still have runners, but cannot attend a race
The Game December 2008.indd 23
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2:58:46 AM
DAVE LANDRY PHOTO