British rider Darren Egan has been banned from racing for 12 years after participating in “a conspiracy which struck at the heart of the sport” the BHA said on Monday.
Darren Egan (Photo: Patrick McCann )
The former apprentice was found to have been involved in a tangled conspiracy with gambler Philip Langford with the jockey ensuring two horses did not run on their merits enabling Langford to profit from lay betting on Betfair.
Egan was guilty of breaching rules related to corrupt and fraudulent practice and failing to ride a horse on its merits between June 17, 2013 and July 16, 2013.
Announcing its penalties on Monday, the BHA said Egan and Langford had made considerable profits from their activities. By the time the latter’s Betfair account was suspended, he had risked £838,870 and made an overall profit £53,560.
The BHA said: “This was a conspiracy which struck at the heart of the sport, which both took considerable steps to conceal, which made substantial corrupt profits, and which furthermore involved on two occasions stopping rides by Egan to protect the success of Mr Langford’s lay betting.
“It was a conspiracy which only came to a practical end (i.e. in its effect upon races) when Betfair recognised Mr Langford’s unusual betting patterns.”
‘I needed the money’
In explaining the severity of Egan’s ban, the BHA said there were no mitigating factors that could justify a reduction in the penalty, despite the fact the disciplinary panel noted Egan’s young age, his inexperienced status and the fact the conspiracy was initiated by Langford.
Egan himself explained in an email last November that he understood what he was doing was wrong, but added: “I needed the money desperately.”
The panel also confirmed it had imposed no separate penalty for Egan’s breach of the rules regarding the supply of inside information, as that conduct was considered and penalised as part of his ban.
Egan had been considered one of the country’s most promising apprentices prior to his fall from grace, having ridden 47 winners in 2012 before a broken collarbone ended his hopes of winning the apprentice title.
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