'One man told me I will get my comeuppance when he sees me on course' - Moffatt appeals for help with online abuse

Jimmy Moffatt has called on the betting industry to help counter the abuse aimed at trainers and jockeys and revealed one colleague had been warned, "I'm coming to burn your house down".

He believes bookmakers should take some responsibility for the actions of disgruntled punters, possibly to the extent of closing accounts of those proven to have vented their anger hurtfully or violently, either directly or via social media.

The trainer hit out at online trolls last month in anticipation of the reaction his rider Charlotte Jones was likely to receive after she was banned for 12 days for riding a finish a circuit early at Cartmel, their local course.

And he said on Wednesday: "What is going on is horrific. We get calls, emails or posts on social media saying all sorts of things.

"One man on Twitter told me 'you will get your comeuppance when I see you on course', another emailed to say 'Give that little b**** an uppercut from everyone' and a trainer I was talking to said they'd been warned 'I'm coming to burn your house down.'"

Charlotte Jones (left, with Jimmy Moffatt) was banned for 12 days for riding a finish a circuit earlyCredit: David Carr

Moffatt is on the council of the National Trainers Federation and said: "The BHA should do more to look after the participants in our sport. Charlotte's boyfriend is a rugby player and I'm sure they do this better.

"But it's different in racing. If a footballer misses a penalty they are seen as incompetent but a jockey – or trainer – who makes a mistake gets called corrupt.

"I understand that racing needs betting and I want to take a constructive approach to what is really a silent problem, not everyone knows about it. But the betting industry needs to take some responsibility. These are all angry punters at the end of the day, upset that they have done their money and they are bookmakers' customers."

Moffatt believes that those responsible for abuse should face the consequences of their actions and said: "I feel we can offer some protection from this vile abuse by simply banning them from having betting accounts for life, sending a clear message that this will not be tolerated.

"There are safeguards for punters but something needs to be done for participants in the sport as this can have a hugely harmful effect. Safeguarding for jockeys and trainers, especially the young, is a key area in protecting participants' wellbeing and the integrity of our sport."

When contacted by the Racing Post, representatives for the bookmaking industry declined to comment. 

In a separate move, Betting and Gaming Council chief executive Michael Dugher has written to culture secretary Lucy Frazer, urging her to put pressure on social media platforms as part of the British government's drive to tackle problem gambling among the young in particular. 

The industry wants a ‘marketing suppression scheme’ which it says would stop 300,000 people registered to self-exclusion tool Gamstop from receiving direct marketing on social media.  

In his letter, Dugher said: “This is impossible to achieve without the cooperation of the social media platforms themselves. This is a sensible solution, which BGC members are keen on implementing, but we cannot do so without the cooperation of social media platforms.  

“I would urge you to help on this matter by calling on social media platforms to finally cooperate with the BGC and make the relevant functionality available, so we can help protect the most vulnerable.”

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