Jockey Told He Would Be Threatened by Premier League Star’s Father-in-Law, Hearing Told

A jockey told a disciplinary hearing that he stopped his mount from running on its merits after being threatened by the father-in-law of Premier League forward Ashley Barnes, the court heard on Tuesday.

Dylan Kitts, who finished third on Hillsin at Worcester in July 2023, is facing a hearing alongside trainer Chris Honour after an inquiry concluded the horse was given a “stopping ride.” The case alleges the trio breached racing rules by committing, or conspiring to commit, a corrupt practice by agreeing to prevent Hillsin from achieving its best possible placing. John Higgins, an associate owner linked to owner Alan Clegg, is also named in the case; Higgins and Barnes have been placed on the British Horseracing Authority exclusion list for failing to cooperate with the investigation. Barnes has not been charged.

At the hearing, Louis Weston KC said Kitts admitted during an initial interview in October 2023 that he had not ridden Hillsin to its full capability. "Mr Kitts accepted the horse was given a stopping ride but went on to say he did so out of concern there was a threat by a gentleman called Mr Higgins, and confirmation that he should give a stopping ride and should not win the race for that was given by Chris Honour," Mr Weston told the panel.

Mr Weston played video footage of the race and told the hearing that Kitts made "a token effort from half a furlong or a quarter of a furlong out and never picks up his stick." "There is no issue that Mr Kitts stopped this horse," he added. "There is no issue either that the plan would be not to get caught — these people are not idiots. But Mr Kitts was caught because he did not stop the horse in an undetectable way, he did so in a way that is blindingly obvious. Because of that there then had to be a cover-up and some explanation found, so lies were told in the stewards' inquiry. Did Mr Kitts act alone? Obviously not — he had no reason to act alone and the evidence points to him having done it for other people."

The hearing was told that Higgins and his son-in-law, Barnes, had bet on Hillsin with "relatively high levels of success" and had won about £5,000. Mr Weston said those winnings appeared to have prompted contact between Higgins and Kitts and that money was sent from Barnes to Kitts, including a payment of £100. Mr Weston cited messages shown in evidence, including one reading, "Hi D, did you get the other?" to which the reply was, "Yes, many thanks."

Officials say Honour spoke to both Higgins and owner Alan Clegg multiple times in the weeks before the race. The prosecution added that Honour had contact with Higgins and Clegg on about 70 and 35 occasions respectively between May 17 and July 5, 2023. Clegg has not been charged and, according to the hearing, was not part of the investigation.

Higgins was placed on the BHA exclusion list after the authority concluded he had failed to cooperate with its investigation into the Worcester race. Barnes, who rejoined Burnley in 2024 after more than 250 appearances for the club between 2014 and 2023 and who has previously played for Brighton, Norwich and Plymouth, was also placed on the exclusion list after he and Higgins failed to provide phone records. Neither Barnes nor Higgins face criminal charges in relation to the matter.

Both Higgins and Honour deny the charges against them. Kitts and Honour are due to address the disciplinary panel on Thursday. The hearing is examining whether the conduct amounted to a breach of the sport's integrity rules by agreeing to stop the horse from achieving its best possible placing, and whether subsequent attempts were made to conceal the circumstances from race stewards.

The British Horseracing Authority has previously stated that maintaining the integrity of racing is central to the sport and that any allegation of race-fixing is taken seriously. Disciplinary panels can impose a range of sanctions, including suspensions and fines, if participants are found to have breached the rules governing fair competition.

The panel's findings will determine whether formal sanctions are applied to Kitts and Honour and whether additional action will be taken against Higgins or Barnes beyond exclusion from racecourse activities pending any further developments.