Warning from banned Browne
The self-confessed horse-doper, a former jockey and trainer, was formally warned off from racing until 2022 after a lengthy hearing of the Jockey Club’s disciplinary committee.
But before he left Portman Square, Browne revealed that he had left a letter, containing some of racing’s darkest secrets, for the attention of Jockey Club executive director Christopher Foster.
Yesterday’s inquiry came about as a result of Browne’s recent revelations in court cases that he had taken part in the doping of 23 horses. Having already been warned off for 10 years since October 1992, he returned yesterday to be told that he would a disqualified person for another 20 years.
‘‘I will be 61 when I come back,’’ smiled Browne, who looked calm and collected. ‘‘Maybe I could come back in a veterans’ race!’’
The only previous punishment on this scale came in 1984 when owner Ken Richardson was banned for 25 years for his part in the Flockton Grey ringer scandal. But Browne, who was not legally represented, was not blaming anybody but himself as he left the inquiry.
‘‘It’s more or less what I expected,’’ he said. ‘‘I came here today to draw this to an end. It’s something that has been going for a long time.
‘‘It is straightforward. I breached the Rules of Racing and I admitted that. They allowed me to have my say.
‘‘The only thing I can say is that I have been out of racing for some time and there is a big world out there.
‘‘Only 3.4 million people watched Panorama which means that there an awful lot of people who don’t know or don’t care about it.
‘‘I had some good times in the sport and there are a lot of very hard-working and honest people in the game. I got involved with some of the wrong ones and sadly, some of them are still out there now.’’
Browne refused to name those he had been involved with who are still in the sport, but said: ‘‘I’ve handed a letter over today to be given to Christopher Forster and I will let them work away at it.
‘‘I hope they will do something about it. It’s up to them now but the wheels do seem to turn a bit slowly sometimes.
‘‘I’ve read a lot in the press recently about what I have and haven’t done and people saying it’s rubbish and lies.
‘‘But the fact is that I was there and I saw what happened. Jamie Osborne went to court and opened a can of worms when he first mentioned my name.
‘‘Next thing, I’m all over the front pages. But why didn’t he approach the Jockey Club about it if he had these concerns?
‘‘I gave information to the Jockey Club 10 years ago and I tried to give it to them again two years ago but nothing happened. I read that the budget they have for their security department is £17m a year - that’s £170m in 10 years. Well, I could have sorted it all out for £2-3m!’’
Asked if he felt he could dope horses again if he wanted, Browne replied: ‘‘I could if I put my mind to it. I was thinking of myself and I hurt a lot of people. That’s why I came here, to put this to an end.
‘‘A lot of people say they don’t know me but the truth is out there and one day it might just come and bite them.
‘‘They can say what they like. Some people don’t want to admit that I am telling the truth.
‘‘There are still people involved in racing who I know have been involved in corruption, generally in racing, some high-profile.
‘‘But I’m not going to name names now. I thought something might have happened before when I gave information then. Maybe it will happen now. I’ve done my bit.’’
