New Zealand Jockey Banned 10 Years for Betting Scandal
A New Zealand jockey has been banned from competitions for 10 years due to his involvement in an illegal betting operation that generated $2.55 million in profits.
LISTEN TO THIS ARTICLE:On Tuesday, the Victorian Racing Tribunal handed Lewis German, 25, the penalty after investigations revealed that he had committed a serious breach of racing integrity rules.
Evidence revealed that Noah Brash, a professional punter, had made 89 lay bets worth almost $2.5 million on 37 of German's mounts, yielding a profit of $259,494 between April 21 and August 31, 2022. Also, 87 out of 89 bets placed against German's horses had resulted in wins.
German has a career tally of 218 wins and an eight percent winning strike rate, with his final ride taking place in October 2023.
During Tuesday's hearing, the Kiwi jockey pleaded guilty to the charges but maintained that he never personally benefited from the bets, even though he admitted being promised payment.
Charges Detail Breaches of Racing Integrity
The tribunal initially levied four charges against German, the most serious of which was Charge Four, accusing him of engaging in conduct that undermined the integrity and reputation of the racing industry.
Charge one alleges that German refused to report an incident in which a punter offered him a $5,000 bribe to ride a horse at Towong in 2022 in a way that would not reflect its true abilities. While German did not accept the money, he also failed to notify racing authorities about the approach.
The second charge claimed that German omitted information about two betting accounts in his name when applying for his license.
The tribunal withdrew the third charge, which alleged that German had provided insider information to Brash.
During the hearing, Adrian Anderson, representing the Racing Victoria stewards, emphasized that Charge 4 posed the greatest threat to the racing industry's reputation. He stated that stewards recommended a 20-year penalty for this charge, but considering German's guilty plea and other factors, it was reduced to a minimum penalty of 15 years.
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German Challenges Harsh Penalty
In his response to the sentence, German apologized to the racing community but expressed disappointment at the 15-year ban proposed by the Victorian Racing Stewards.
Obviously, I am here today to plead my guilt. I feel that the penalties that the stewards are pushing for are, in my opinion, ridiculous. I feel that as an apprentice jockey, it's the first part of your career and it's a learning curve. Everyone makes mistakes. I have never profited from this whole scheme as they call it and none of the bets were actually mine so at the end off the day, I can't see how 15 years for Charge 4 is even relevant when people are getting three weeks for the same thing pretty much if people open their eyes. But that's my opinion.
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