Fox cleared over Ice Saint ride
The 21-day ban handed to him by the local stewards was quashed.
As he left Jockey Club headquarters at Portman Square in London, an emotional Fox said: "I have had six months of hell and hopefully racing will accept me back now.
"The dark cloud is not going to get any lighter for a while. I would like to get back to riding. I'll do my best."
The Fontwell stewards had decided that Fox intentionally stepped off the Matt Gingell-trained gelding after jumping the ninth fence in the Cantor Sport Beginners' Chase at the Sussex track on March 8.
He was charged under rule 157, which specifies that a rider's actions must be taken "with the intention of concealing the true ability of the horse or affecting the result of the race".
Had the disciplinary panel concluded that Fox's actions were not deliberate, then he could have been punished under the lesser rule 158, but instead they exonerated him completely.
All the evidence in the case had been heard last Friday, but the hearing was resumed today for closing submissions and the verdict.
The panel heard evidence from Fox, who was legally represented, trainer Gingell and Tim Lane, the rider of Ice Saint in point-to-points, as well as Toby Balding.
Having considered the evidence in particular from five available angles - they accepted Fox's explanation that he had lost his balance at the ninth fence, and that Ice Saint had got in close, dropped its hind legs on to the take-off board and twisted over the fence.
Ice Saint's performance hit the headlines at the time as it came the day after a News Of The World report that made unconnected allegations against Kieren Fallon.
On the day, Ice Saint opened at 2-1 on course before being returned at twice those odds, having also drifted markedly on betting exchanges.
Fox, 33, who always denied any wrongdoing, first took out a riding licence in 1988 and has won a total of 79 races in Britain as well as others in Europe.
However, last season he had only two victories from 58 rides and is yet to have a mount so far this season.
Jockey Club public relations director John Maxse said: "The panel was advised by their legal assessor that when considering the case, they had to be clear in their own minds that Sean Fox had deliberately stepped off Ice Saint before they could take into account any other evidence relating to the race.
"The panel concluded they could not be satisfied that Fox had stepped off and therefore, in accordance with the legal advice, they did not consider the additional evidence presented and upheld Sean Fox's appeal against the suspension.
"Had the additional evidence presented demonstrated a motive for Sean Fox to step off the horse, the legal advice may well have been different."
John Blake, chief executive of the Jockeys Association, said: "It will take a long time for Sean to recover from this, but the Jockey Club has missed an opportunity both in this case and in the one concluded two days ago to restore a bit of public confidence in the sport.
"The Hillside Girl case was not a failure for the Jockey Club. This was not a failure for the Jockey Club. This was a full investigation lasting several months and here we are. Let the public see that racing is straighter than it has been painted."
