Jockey Dylan Kitts admitted to prevent his Mount Hillsin from ran on his merits after the rider said he was threatened by the father-in-law of a Premier League footballer, a hearing was told.
Kitts finished controversial as third on the horse in a Handicaphurdle in Worcester in July 2023.
He, trainer Chris Honor and John Higgins – an employee of owner Alan Clegg, who has not been charged – are confronted with a disciplinary hearing.
They are accused of breaking the Racing rules by committing a corrupt practice or working together by agreeing to prevent the horse from reaching its best possible places.
When sketching the case of the British Horseracing Authority (BHA), Louis Weston KC said that Kitts made admission about his ride when he was initially interviewed in October 2023.
Higgins, the father-in-law of Premier League footballer Ashley Barnes, was placed on the exclusion list by the BHA for his failure to work together during the investigation.
Burnley striker Barnes was also placed on the list after he and Higgins had not provided their telephone records.
Weston said: “Mr Kitts accepted that the horse was getting a stop ride, but continued to say that he did this out of concern, there was a threat by a gentleman named Mr Higgins, and the confirmation that he should give a stop ride and not win the race because that was given by Chris Honor.”
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