Milton Harris has training licence removed indefinitely as committee rules he is 'not a fit and proper person'

Milton Harris will no longer be able to train after a licensing committee found him to be in multiple breaches of his licence conditions and ruled him not to be a fit and proper person and “ungovernable”.

Harris, 64, was found to have breached conditions on being a company director, trading in bloodstock, intimidating and bullying fellow trainer Simon Earle and on safeguarding. He said on Wednesday he was “disappointed” by the result and would be focusing on its impact on his staff, horses and owners.

The licensing committee was damning in its summary of Harris, labelling him dishonest and manipulative, as well as having little or no awareness of what appropriate safeguarding behaviour is, particularly in respect to young people.

In its judgement, the panel wrote: “We consider that Milton Harris is ungovernable, or at least in the regulatory context, not capable of being regulated.

“In the past, either by this committee, or by the BHA in 2018, he has agreed to take a licence on conditions which he has then, by his own admission, completely ignored and taken no steps to comply with. He has consumed a disproportionate amount of regulatory resource in repeated processes for licence applications as well as increased inspections and protracted correspondence and investigations. The BHA in our judgement is entitled to say, enough is enough.

“For our part, we have no faith in his promises. It seems to us that he says what he thinks is necessary to get his own way in the short term, before proceeding to behave without any regard for the promises he has made to others, including previous licence committees and the BHA.

“For these reasons, we are driven to conclude that he is not a fit and proper person to hold a licence to train racehorses and that the addition of conditions would make no difference to that conclusion.”

Harris had his training licence suspended by the BHA in November “as a result of a breach of the conditions on his licence and related matters” with a week-long licensing committee hearing taking place this month behind closed doors.

Speaking on Wednesday, Harris told the Racing Post he would be prioritising the 75 horses and 20 staff in his yard, alongside his owners. He said: “I have only just received the reasons and obviously I am disappointed. My immediate priority is the staff, some of whom are very longstanding, the horses and my owners. That is the focus at the minute.”

Harris’s behaviour towards his neighbour, Simon Earle, and members of his staff were flagged as areas of significant concern for the committee.

Earle was said to be living “in fear” of Harris and “organised his day to avoid him”. The two trainers were found to have had a number of disputes, with Harris challenging Earle to a boxing match “under Queensberry rules” to settle their scores. The panel stated Harris had told them he had done this for other disputes and that he “seemed to think that this was an acceptable approach to dispute resolution by a racehorse trainer”.

The panel also found that Harris had used “invective, belittling and emasculating” language towards Earle, including an exchange on a shared gallop when he said: “Don’t talk to my staff or get out of the f****** (inaudible). You’re a nobody. You’re kept — you’re a kept man, you c*********. Kept. You’re kept. Mummy’s little boy. You’re f****** useless. You’re useless. Pathetic.” Earle did not respond to a request for comment.

The panel highlighted Harris’s interactions with two female members of staff, one of whom was “between 14-16 at the time of the relevant events”, which included significant numbers of WhatsApp messages and the offer of favours, such as paying for exam courses and invitations to family dinners.

A girl identified as SJO was listed under the name ‘Lovely Young Girl’ on Harris’s phone, although the trainer said it was an entirely innocent name based on his first impression of her personality. The panel said it found the explanation “hard to believe” due to Harris’s “willingness to enter conversation with sexual connotations with SJO elsewhere in the messages and his tendency to drive the conversation back towards adult topics”.

The panel further stated that while it deemed the behaviour “inappropriate” they did not think his “conduct with SJO was done for reasons of sexual gratification”.

Knight Salute (right): won a Grade 1 at Aintree for Milton Harris in 2022Credit: John Grossick (racingpost.com/photos)

Harris returned to training in 2018 having had his licence removed in 2011 after being made bankrupt. Since his return, he has enjoyed considerable success, most notably when Knight Salute provided him with a first Grade 1 winner in the Anniversary 4-Y-O Juvenile Hurdle at Aintree in 2022.

In his absence, a temporary training licence was granted to his assistant Tony Charlton last month. Charlton has saddled six winners since taking charge of the yard. A BHA spokesperson said on Wednesday that it remained in discussion with Charlton regarding his licence following the conclusion of Harris’s hearing.

In response to the verdict, BHA director of integrity and regulatory operations Tim Naylor, said: “Racing is a sport that works hard to provide a safe and welcoming space for all and the ruling of the licensing committee in this case sends a clear message that those in positions of authority in our industry must act in a way that upholds these values.

“Some of the details in the licensing committee’s decision make for extremely uncomfortable reading. Mr Harris’s behaviour over a prolonged period of time fell a long way short of what we expect of a licensed person and, as the committee found, would cause damage to racing’s reputation if allowed to continue without repercussion. We are, therefore, pleased with the panel’s finding that Mr Harris is not a fit and proper person to hold a licence.

“As is clear from the decision, the BHA’s concerns ranged across a number of very serious issues. One of these concerns related to safeguarding. The BHA takes its safeguarding responsibilities extremely seriously and, as demonstrated by its bringing this case before the licensing committee, will do everything within its powers to ensure that those working in our sport do so in an environment befitting what should rightly be expected by them and, in the case of young people, their parents or guardians upon taking a job in the sport.”

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