Jockey and owner receive lengthy bans for conspiracy to stop horse

The British Horseracing Authority (BHA) has welcomed the sanctions issued to jockey Dylan Kitts and quasi-owner John Higgins after an independent Disciplinary Panel found the pair guilty of conspiring to prevent the horse Hillsin from running on its merits in a 2023 race at Worcester.

The case, which the BHA described as comparable in scale and complexity to a fraud investigation, involved extensive evidence review, interviews and the use of telephone data extraction powers for the first time.

Kitts and Higgins were found to have breached Rule (J)25.2 by agreeing to stop the horse from achieving its best possible position.

The Panel ruled that the conspiracy was motivated by financial gain, determining that Hillsin would likely have won the race had it not been deliberately restrained.

Kitts, who was 21 at the time, received a nine-year disqualification, backdated to July 2023, while Higgins was handed a 12-year exclusion order for orchestrating the scheme and showing no cooperation or remorse.

The horse's trainer, Chris Honour, was cleared of involvement in the conspiracy but was found to have breached Rule (J)24.6 for providing misleading information during the post-race Stewards' Enquiry.

Taking into account mitigating factors - including his previous good character, the toll of the proceedings on his wellbeing and the fact that his misleading statement ultimately did not influence the inquiry - the Panel issued a £750 ($980) fine.

The BHA said the penalties reinforce its commitment to ensuring that racing remains fair, transparent and trusted by participants, bettors and the wider public. It added that severe sanctions are essential in cases involving deliberate interference with race outcomes, both to punish wrongdoing and to deter future breaches.

The case comes amid wider industry efforts to maintain trust in the sport. Just last week, British racing highlighted a different strand of its long-term development agenda with the announcement of a new partnership between the British Horseracing Development Programme and the 10,000 Black Interns initiative, aimed at broadening access to racing careers.