Racing’s ruling body did not take the case of the Yarmouth mix-up sufficiently seriously and questions remain unanswered.
I felt that Charlie McBride let himself down very badly with his comments during and after yesterday’s disciplinary hearing but the bit that really has me wincing is the inadequate level of punishment eventually meted out by the British Horseracing Authority’s panel. A fine of £1,500 bears no relation to the degree of negligence shown by McBride in mistakenly saddling the wrong horse to run at Yarmouth a fortnight ago, or to the damage to racing’s reputation or the frustration and financial loss suffered by punters and bookmakers.
Related: Charlie McBride will pay part of fine for wrong horse fiasco out of winnings
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