BHA highlights work of its integrity department in light of Altior controversy

The controversy surrounding the withdrawal of Altior from running at Kempton last weekend has prompted the BHA to open up and highlight the workings of its integrity department.

British racing’s governing body has outlined the work of its nine-strong team of investigators and betting and intelligence analysts who monitor the exchange, fixed odds and ante-post markets and the racing itself with constant communication with on-course stewards.

The team of investigators has a wide breadth of experience including former gambling and racing professionals, while in the wider integrity department there are former police officers, home office investigators and ex-racing staff and licensed trainers.

The details of bets that could be regarded as ‘unusual or suspicious’ are available to the BHA through an official request, while it receives regular proactive contact from bookmakers in accordance with licence conditions imposed by the Gambling Commission.

BHA investigating betting moves made before Altior announcement (£)

A blog from the BHA’s integrity department read: “A great deal of our work is focused on the suspected use of inside information. Enquiring into possible links between bets/bettors and connections constitutes an important part of the work carried out by our team.

“The challenge we face is we cannot always put information relating to specific inquiries into the public domain, such as when we are asked by the media or by the public. This is because we cannot comment on ongoing investigations as this might negatively affect the investigation or may unfairly bring attention on individuals where a breach of the Rules of Racing hasn’t actually been committed.

“The BHA as a sports governing body has the right to command co-operation in betting related enquiries from licensed participants, but those not licensed must do so voluntarily. In these cases the only power at our disposal is to exclude unlicensed persons from the sport, which has been authorised on 15 occasions since last September. We are working hard to encourage the Gambling Commission to work with the BHA to bring prosecutions against unlicensed individuals who might try to corrupt our sport from the outside.”

BHA: encourage people to come forward with information

The integrity department has encouraged licensed participants and members of the public to come forward with any information or concerns regarding inside information.

It added: “We would like to assure the public and our participants that any time we have concerns regarding betting patterns and the possible use of inside information, we act to investigate further. It doesn’t matter if these are high-profile events and we do not wait to be contacted before taking action – we are proactively investigating unusual or suspicious behaviour in the markets on a near-constant basis.

"We encourage members of the public and all of our licensed participants to provide any information or to contact us with any concerns. This can be done directly to the BHA Integrity Department or via our anonymous reporting line RaceStraight on 0800 085 2580.

“If you feel that we are not interested in inside information or the damage it can cause to those who work in, bet on and follow British racing – we can assure you that couldn’t be further from the truth.”

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