Hot Water

Another good run from I'm Yer Man yesterday, it would seem the course and distance suit him well having been beaten by narrow margains on two occasions. The downside to this, is Mr Handicapper may react harshly and heavily penalise a horse that hasn't yet actually won. The trials and tribulations of racing. Speaking of which, as you may have read, Hayley Turner has found herself in hot water having opened an online betting account whilst enjoying retirement. Nothing wrong with that. But, when she took out a licence again and restarted her riding career, she failed to close the account. Given that Hayley did make several comebacks, or had multiple 'one offs' and 'warm up rides', the information is somewhat confusing, conflicting even, as the Racing Post reports that 'Even though Hayley no longer saw herself as a jockey, and placed no bets while actively riding, she did place bets whilst holding a licence, which technically placed her in breach of the rules of racing'. Actively riding seems to imply that bets were placed during these warm up rides, does it not? Although it is unlikely that she was completely unaware of the rules, the BHA are not questioning the integrity of the bets or Hayley herself. So, can we write it off as a silly mistake? The bets were not large, nor was the profit she made from them. Or, is it as simple as breaking the rules is breaking the rules? Which side of the fence do you sit?