Panorama was 'tip of the iceberg'

Sunday night’s Panorama programme ‘The Corruption of Racing’ has been described as the “tip of the iceberg” and there could be more to come.

The Jockey Club came in for severe criticism in Sunday’s hour-long broadcast.

Roger Buffham, the former head of security at the Jockey Club, claimed in the BBC’s flagship documentary programme that horseracing is “institutionally corrupt” and that “a whole generation of National Hunt jockeys had close links to organised crime”.

“Racing is not as straight as the Jockey Club and others would ask us to believe it is,” Buffham said.

Panorama’s other principal witness was warned-off former jump jockey Dermot Browne.

As a result of public reaction the BBC are considering a follow-up programme featuring fresh allegations.

“We are still working on the possibility of a second programme. The phones ring as they do when these sort of allegations are made. I’m at the moment looking at some quite serious allegations about a leading bookmaker,” Steven Scott, the producer of Panorama told BBC Radio Five Live.

“There are other stories about a couple of Jockey Club members that we’ve been informed about.

“What we’ve done actually is only the tip of an iceberg.”

Christopher Spence, senior steward of the Jockey Club, has said the programme was “flawed”.

He said: “Although skilfully put together, in my view the Panorama programme was flawed as a result of its over reliance on discredited witnesses with their own agendas.

“Furthermore, it was not made clear enough to the viewers that much of the material analysed related to incidents which took place between five and 15 years ago, well before many new measures were introduced to protect racing’s integrity and deter corruption.

“We take very seriously many of the issues raised by Panorama and their implications not only on us as the regulator but on the racing and betting industry as a whole and we shall be considering all aspects of the programme to consider what further action is appropriate and necessary.”

Following the lifting of the reporting restrictions in June on the trials relating to the drug-trafficking activities of the Wright Organisation, the Jockey Club announced that it would be initiating disciplinary proceedings against seven individuals.

They included Brian Wright himself and the two ex-jockeys Graham Bradley and Barrie Wright (no relation).

Three days have been set aside for those inquiries to be heard. These are November 27, 28 and 29.

Kieren Fallon has given his reaction to the programme which featured the champion jockey being approached by a television crew at York in May.

He was annoyed with the programme and said: “It is frustrating when you know that you have done nothing wrong and have the evidence to show it, but that you have to go to court to prove it.

“It is very annoying to be mentioned in the same programme as someone who has been found guilty of something and had been warned off years ago for it when you have done nothing wrong yourself.

“The lies which have been told can be very damaging to jockeys and trainers because some people believe that if they read something in the papers or see something on television it is fact when it is not. That is why we are taking legal action.”

Panorama cameras went to Jimmy FitzGerald’s yard in Malton where the trainer was quizzed about having a “no-lose” betting account with bookmakers Victor Chandler.

FitzGerald vehemently denied having had such an account.

Reacting to the screening he said: “I thought the programme was rubbish. If that is all they have to put on they shouldn’t be bothered – that’s my reaction.

“I never had any free bets with Victor Chandler. I have the cheque book stubs to show that I’ve paid for the bets I’ve had with them.”

Former top jump jockey Steve Smith Eccles dismissed the claim that “a whole generation of National Hunt jockeys had close links to organised crime”.

Smith Eccles, who rode regularly in races against Browne and Bradley, said: “I think the accusation was a bit far-fetched to say the least.

“I can’t have that, not a whole generation. Nobody approached me.”

The British Horseracing Board refused to be drawn into a knee-jerk reaction in their response to the documentary.

But they felt that the programme deliberately set out to paint the Jockey Club and racing’s integrity in a bad light even though work is going on to keep the sport in Britain as clean as possible.

In a statement, the BHB communications manager Alan Delmonte said: “The Panorama programme was selective and incomplete in a number of respects and was deliberately intended to portray both the Jockey Club and racing’s integrity function in an unfavourable light.”