Kieren Fallon cleared of race-fixing

LONDON - Six-times champion jockey Kieren Fallon and five members of an alleged race-fixing syndicate walked free from court on Friday after a judge dismissed the evidence of the main prosecution witness.

Fallon, 42, and his co-accused were acquitted of fixing 27 races after the judge said an Australian horse racing expert was not familiar enough with the rules of British racing to be considered authoritative in the case.

"I have reached the firm conclusion that even if it was appropriate to admit his expert opinion, it's probative value is so limited in all the circumstances of this case that very little if any weight can be attached to it," Justice Forbes said of Ray Murrihy, the chief racing steward of New South Wales.

"There is no sufficient evidence from which the jury could conclude that the jockeys agreed to stop their horses as alleged," the judge told the Old Bailey court as he instructed the jury to find Fallon and his co-defendants not guilty.

Afterwards, Fallon, whose right to ride in Britain was immediately reinstated, expressed his relief.

"I am of course relieved and delighted, but also outraged," he told reporters outside court. "There was never any evidence against me."

His defence team also called for inquiries into the high-profile, two-month trial, saying it had been a waste of as much as 10 million pounds of taxpayers' money.

Fallon and his co-accused, jockeys Fergal Lynch and Darren Williams, a professional gambler called Miles Rodgers, an Irish middleman called Phillip Sherkle, and Shaun Lynch, the brother of Fergal, had all denied wrongdoing.

Fallon, who was banned from racing in Britain while he stood trial, was accused of being at the centre of the alleged multi-million pound scam.

The Irish-born jockey, who the jury never heard, had been accused of fixing 17 races that defrauded punters of online exchange Betfair between December 2002 and August 2004.

BETTING MILLIONS

Prosecutors claimed the syndicate bet close to 2.12 million pounds on races that cost punters several million pounds.

But they said Fallon "accidentally won" in five races he was supposed to lose, including one on a horse owned by the Queen, which cost Rodgers more than 500,000 pounds.

The prosecution alleged that in order to pay off the debts that came from his "unexpected wins" Fallon continued to engage in the cheating tactics.

Fallon's defence team had labelled that claim "absurd." They said he was gunning for his seventh title because he was a man "driven by a desire to win.

"The reality of this case was that far from proving Kieren Fallon's guilt, the evidence called by the prosecution clearly established that he had never been a party to the alleged conspiracy," Fallon's solicitor Ian Burton told reporters.

"Kieren Fallon did not receive, nor was he promised, a single penny as a reward for his alleged role in the conspiracy which involved him risking his entire career as well as his liberty."

The Crown Prosecution Service, which brought the case, defended its decision to prosecute despite the trial collapse.

"This was a serious allegation of fraud in connection with horse racing, with the potential to undermine the integrity of a historic sport enjoyed by millions," reviewing lawyer Asker Husain said.

"Our case was that there was a deliberate conspiracy to the detriment of the betting public. The judge rejected applications to dismiss the case made before the trial started... Of course, we respect his decision."