Insight; by David Leppard, Paul Nuki, Gareth Walsh Gangs fix races to launder cash British horseracing has been infiltrated by organised crime gangs seeking to launder millions of pounds of drugs money. As many as one in 10 British jockeys is believed to have been corrupted by gangsters in Britain and southern Spain, an investigation has revealed. They are being given envelopes full of cash to "nobble" horses ensuring they do not win. A racing "supergrass" who has admitted links to the crooks said last week that jockeys were also being bribed with prostitutes and drugs. They had been entertained in casinos and nightclubs in London, the home counties and the Costa del Sol. He said that races at Cheltenham, Ascot and Doncaster had been fixed in recent years. By fixing races and manipulating the odds in their favour, the crime syndicates are gaining an unfair betting advantage. They then place large sums of "dirty" money-often the proceeds of drug trafficking - with bookies in the knowledge that they are likely to win, the winnings paid out in clean cash. An Insight investigation has established that one National Hunt horse targeted by criminals is Night Fighter. The horse was brought to Britain from Germany last year by Graham Bradley, a former Cheltenham Gold Cup winner and one of the most gifted horsemen of his generation. The horse, which is stabled with Norman Mason, a millionaire bingo club boss, is currently serving a 40-day suspension after it was deliberately held back at Perth racecourse two months ago. The whistleblower alleges that the horse was also targeted in an earlier series of races. Insiders say the scam often involves holding horses back over several races to lengthen the odds, then placing bets on a later race that it is likely to win. In December last year Bradley was secretly observed accepting £10,000 of casino chips from an associate of a convicted fraudster in a London casino. The transaction was regarded as so unusual that casino security staff reported it to the National Criminal Intelligence Service. Challenged last week, Bradley admitted pocketing the cash. He denied the money was for inside information on racing and said it was part payment for the sale of Night Fighter. However, he said his association with the criminal had put him "in a difficult position". Scotland Yard detectives investigating race-fixing allegations have interviewed Bradley and at least one of his associates about the transaction. Bradley was arrested earlier this year as part of the inquiry. The charges were later dropped, but the Director of Public Prosecutions has made clear that police inquiries into him are continuing. This weekend the Jockey Club, racing's governing body, said it would be examining the circumstances surrounding the ownership of Night fighter. It also revealed it had recently warned Bradley and other jockeys about the dangers of associating with criminals. The warning followed a golfing trip to the south of Spain last year in which a number of jockeys were said to have been entertained by a top criminal. John Maxse, the Jockey Club's spokesman, said: "Since 1996 we have been able to issue private warnings to licensed jockeys and trainers if an individual's conduct or associations causes us sufficient concern. If the warning is ignored {we] would consider not renewing the individual's licence." Much of the betting is carried out in illegal gambling dens on the Costa del Soles The clubs, frequented by some of Britain's exiled criminals, broadcast British races live on satellite television. Bets are placed each way on rigged horses, so that the criminals get their money back in cleaned cash as long as the horse wins or is placed. The Sunday Times, 24 October 1999
