Police asked to investigate after series of threatening phone calls to trainers

Police have been asked to investigate a series of menacing phone calls made to at least nine trainers on Friday in which an individual threatened to do them serious harm.

A report into the calls has been produced by the National Trainers Federation (NTF) and forwarded to both the BHA and the police.

The NTF believes the behaviour amounts to a criminal act and said on Tuesday it wanted the police to “investigate the matter in full”. The federation added the dossier of evidence provided to authorities included large sections of two of the calls “thanks to the presence of mind of the trainers involved”.

The nature of the threats, and who was threatened, was not disclosed by the NTF, but the organisation said the calls, which came from a withheld number, were from the same person who made “a serious and specific personal threat to the victims”. The Racing Post understands the calls included the threat to do harm to the trainers via the use of a corrosive substance.

The NTF also said it was confident it had gathered enough information for the police to fully investigate the calls, and urged them to look into the matter. Chief executive Paul Johnson said: "Friday's events were deeply unpleasant for the trainers involved but we are pleased to be able to take meaningful action to react to this.

Paul Johnson: Friday's events "deeply unpleasant" for those involvedCredit: Racing Post/Scott Burton

“We are aware of the current pressures on police resources but believe threats of this level must be investigated, particularly given the amount of evidence that we have been able to provide as a result of our members’ submissions. This is criminal behaviour and we will continue to work to see action taken against those responsible.”

Last month the NTF launched a new process for reporting abusive messages with the aim of identifying, and holding to account, those prepared to abuse and threaten trainers in Britain. Assistance is being provided by Sean Memory, a former detective superintendent with Wiltshire Police, with a central database being created to help keep track of the messages.

Racing has increasingly sought to crack down on those sending abusive messages to its participants whether by phone, email or on social media. In August, the BHA issued an indefinite suspension to one individual for “unacceptable use of social media”. The person, who was not licensed or a registered participant in racing, is unable to attend a British racecourse or any BHA-licensed premises.

They were the second individual to be banned by the BHA from racing for use of social media, with another given the same sanction in 2022.

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