'It's been hell for him' - long ban for ex-trainer whose 'loose lips' led to staffer's bet

A former Newmarket trainer has been banned from the sport for more than three years, a consequence of the recent decision of a disciplinary panel that he had passed inside information to a bettor. Luke McJannet's offence was said to be at the lower end of the scale and there was no corrupt intent for him to profit by it, but he has nevertheless been declared a disqualified person for 39 months.

"It's been hell for him," McJannet's solicitor, Mark Edmondson, told a hearing on Tuesday as he sought to identify mitigating factors. In particular he stressed that the former trainer had been found in breach of the rules in relation to just one occasion, when Act Of Magic finished seventh at Leicester in June 2020 after drifting in the betting.

The panel ruled a fortnight ago that McJannet had broken the rules on sharing inside information when he told staff member Ivor Collier that Act Of Magic was "a pig" some hours before the race. Collier, who had earlier backed the horse, then deposited £600 with a betting firm and used all of it to lay Act Of Magic for a place.

"It seems to have been a chaotic friendship but not a corrupt one," Edmondson said. "There's no financial gain for Mr McJannet. He had loose lips. 

"Would he behave differently in the future? Yes. He's learned a hard lesson.

"He is now 34, still a young man. He's no longer a licensed person but would like to return to training at some point in the future. How and when that will be is largely in your hands but racing is all he knows. He left school at 15 to be a stable lad."

Announcing the panel's decision that McJannet be a disqualified person for 39 months, Philippa Charles said: "Within the compass of integrity offences in general, this is a matter which falls at the lower end of the scale." 

The panel, she said, had concluded that: "Mr McJannet was aware of the likelihood that Mr Collier would lay the horse. He admitted having failed to report it thereafter, albeit on the basis of his loyalty to Mr Collier as a friend." 

Collier, who did not attend Tuesday's hearing, was banned for 18 months. His offence was laying a runner from a stable at which he was employed.

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