Club closes on gambling rings in wake of Keightley investigation.

Byline: GRAHAM GREEN

TWO alleged gambling rings involving jockeys riding every day in Britain are set to be exposed in the Jockey Club's continuing fight to stamp out corruption in racing.

Security department investigators working under the direction of head of security Paul Scotney are actively pursuing both cases and it is expected they will be in a position to press charges by the spring.

With the sport already braced for the new round of bail appearances in March in the City of London police's race-fixing investigation, and following recent highprofile cases that led to long bans for trainer Shaun Keightley - who has appealed - and former jockey Gary Carter, racing's reputation will again be in the dock for much of 2006.

Already at an advanced stage is the investigation, first revealed by the Racing Post last June, surrounding the activities of a professional punter and former racehorse owner living in Bolton who controlled a number of Betfair accounts and is believed to have profited from laying horses he was told by licensed individuals would not win.

Significant progress has been made on this inquiry since the Jockey Club successfully applied to the High Court for access to the punter's phone records, which are now being studied in conjunction with his betting exchange accounts.

The phone data is believed to show the punter was in regular contact with jockeys, both before and after races in which he laid horses they were riding.

A copy of one of the punter's Betfair accounts - in the name of his brother and seen by the Racing Post - shows a Newmarket trainer was responsible for four of the five horses who provided his most successful lays in terms of risk. Those four transactions alone won him more than pounds 21,800.

The account also throws the spotlight on a number of jockeys and apprentices.

The punter made more than pounds 11,800 laying two mounts of an apprentice inside two weeks in late 2004, and over pounds 17,000 on three horses ridden to defeat by another apprentice during that winter's all-weather campaign.

Several journeymen jockeys, along with some better-known names, also feature among his successful lays.

The punter insists he never asked any of his jockey contacts to stop a horse, but that claim will go untested as he refuses to co-operate with the racing authorities.

The second case of alleged corruption involves four Flat jockeys and a former Midlands-based racecourse bookmaker thought to have been responsible for corrupt activity in up to 80 races, primarily in all-weather contests.

Phone records have established a large number of calls between the parties, with the riders suspected of advising the bookmaker that their horses would not win.

The bookmaker is believed to have laid the horses to lose on betting exchanges, then offered them at more generous odds while trading at the track.

The Jockey Club is determined to remain tight-lipped about both cases until they have been completed.

The Club's public relations spokesman Paul Struthers said: "It is our policy not to discuss any ongoing investigations until such time as charges are issued."

CAPTION(S):

Paul Scotney Pursuing two cases