Trainer Henry Spiller speaks out over abuse after receiving death threats

Trainer Henry Spiller spoke out on Saturday about the prevalence of abuse endured by those in racing and expressed concerns about a lack of support for those subjected to it.

The Newmarket-based trainer's wife Niamh tweeted a disturbing email sent to Spiller following the second-place finish of his runner Mashaaer at Bath on Friday in which the sender threatened to kill the trainer, his family and the jockey Ray Dawson.

The email, one of many abusive messages Spiller received after the favourite was defeated, also warned the sender would "burn your stables down and your home".

Spiller has received similar emails, calls and social media messages throughout his career, but his wife shared the screenshot online after finding the message particularly upsetting.

"It doesn't bother me but that email really scared my wife," Spiller said. "They threatened to kill my family. I'm just used to it now and would have left it be, but it should be put out there.

"For sure, those messages were jarring to start with, but if you let stuff like that bother you then you're not going anywhere as it happens all the time. I've never really showed my wife the kind of stuff that gets sent but she picked that email up last night and it really upset her."

Spiller, who has trained at Sackville House Stables at the base of Warren Hill since 2018, had a season best tally last year of 18 winners but has found the increased success has been accompanied by even more online abuse.

He said: "The last couple of years we've had a lot better horses, which means we've had a lot more favourites and when one gets beaten that's what you get.

"You have to have a social media presence as a trainer nowadays, that's just the way it is. The messages come through calls, emails, Twitter, Instagram and Facebook. I just don't engage with it. That's about the worst thing you can do. Never argue with an idiot."

Ray Dawson: email sent to Henry Spiller contained death threat against the jockeyCredit: John Grossick Racing

Spiller has felt a lack of support within the industry for those facing abuse, claiming the problem is widespread and comes with the territory of working in sport.

"I had a couple of mates around last night who were trainers and they get it all the time too," Spiller said. "I travelled with our jockey Ray Dawson to Bath and we were just laughing about it on the way home. There were about 30 to 40 messages across all the platforms accusing me of all sorts of things.

"I don't think people realise the pressure we're under constantly and with little support. It can be a pretty lonely place out there and for the younger generation coming through it's awful.

"It's so difficult to police. It's just an avatar who is tweeting something, there's no name or face, they're just cowards. I've got enough to worry about without them too, but I suppose it's no different to any sports people.

"You miss a penalty, you drop a rugby ball, you miss a wicket and you get the same abuse. That's the world we live in."

The National Trainers Federation has reached out to Spiller in light of what chief executive Paul Johnson called "yet another incident of online abuse aimed at one of the sports participants in recent days."

Johnson added: "We must not tolerate this repeated abuse and always encourage the reporting of such cases to social media platforms and the police. We will continue to work alongside the BHA to support anyone who has been on the receiving end of this kind of abuse and to provide advice on the reporting of it."

A spokesperson for the BHA said the governing body condemns all abuse directed towards racing's participants and expressed support for Spiller after the "appalling communication" the trainer received.

"Receiving such abuse can be a distressing experience and the BHA has advice available for those unfortunately affected by such behaviour," the spokesperson added.

"The BHA can be contacted via intel@britishhorseracing.com, or via the sport's anonymous online reporting service, RaceWISE. If a case has been reported to police, we will want to work with them to support any action they decide to take. More information can be found on the BHA’s website."

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