Racing in turmoil as Robbie Dunne hit with 18-month ban

Jockey Robbie Dunne leaving the British Horseracing Authority Headquarters in London. Picture: Yui Mok

Racing was thrown into turmoil on Thursday as Irish jockey Robbie Dunne was banned from riding for 18 months, with three months suspended, for conducting a seven-month campaign of bullying and intimidation against his fellow rider Bryony Frost.

In a vindication of Frost’s decision to lodge a complaint, Dunne was found guilty on four counts by an independent panel. Dunne was told by Brian Barker, the chair of the three-person panel, that “professional athletes should behave in a professional way and I’m afraid you haven’t. This was a deliberate targeting of a colleague whose vulnerabilities you exploited.