John Higgins and jockey Dylan Kitts have received respective bans of 12 and nine years as the long-running Hillsin investigation came to its conclusion.
Kitts and Higgins, an associate of registered owner Alan Clegg and the father-in-law of professional footballer Ashley Barnes, were in September found guilty of conspiring to stop Hillsin from achieving its best possible finishing position at Worcester in July 2023.
The horse's then-trainer Chris Honour was cleared of having any role in the conspiracy but was found to have misled the stewards and has consequently been fined £750. No charges were brought against Clegg.
An independent disciplinary panel conducted a hearing into the charges brought against the trio on September 8 to 10 and 15, and took four days to reach their verdict.
The case revolved around Hillsin’s run in a conditional jockeys’ handicap hurdle in which he finished third under tender handling behind Bensini, beaten a length-and-a-quarter.
During the hearing, Roderick Moore, representing Honour, said the investigation “had quite a severe impact on Mr Honour’s mental health” and that it had “left an indelible mark on Mr Honour’s family that will never be removed or forgotten”.
Moore said: “Mr Honour has learned from his mistake. He knows he has got into trouble because he was too defensive of a young jockey.
"That in itself stands to his credit, but it’s got him into trouble and he will have to be much colder and more objective if he finds himself in a similar situation again.”
A BHA statement read: "The penalties handed down to John Higgins and Dylan Kitts today for conspiring to prevent Hillsin from winning sends a clear message that British racing will not tolerate conduct of this kind.
"Running and riding horses to achieve their best possible position is the minimum standard expected of all participants in British racing. It is vital that those engaging with the sport have confidence that what they are seeing unfold on the track is clean and fair.
"The actions of Mr Higgins and Mr Kitts, which disregarded that basic expectation, undermined the efforts of the tens of thousands of people who work tirelessly across the country to ensure British racing remains a global leader built on a culture of integrity and fair competition.
"We therefore welcome the sanctions imposed by the independent Disciplinary Panel, which reflect the seriousness of this breach of the Rules of Racing.
"This investigation was extensive in its nature, not dissimilar to a complex fraud case. Significant quantities of evidence were analysed and numerous interviews conducted, while this was also the first in which telephone data extraction powers were utilised.
"Such work calls for detailed scrutiny of large amounts of data in order for it to be translated into tangible information and to fore fill our disclosure obligation.
"Given the seriousness of the allegations in this case, it is right that all appropriate efforts were made to reach this outcome."
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