THE eyes of the sporting world and beyond will be trained on the Central Criminal Court in London from Monday when Kieren Fallon goes on trial.
Britain's six-time champion jockey plans to attend to hear the opening legal argument in a case which could last until January.
Fallon and his five co-defendants appear in the dock of Court 12 at the Old Bailey before Mr Justice Forbes, after the biggest investigation into alleged race-fixing seen in Britain, conducted by the City of London police. The six men deny the charges levelled against them.
During the course of 'Operation Krypton', officers looked at more than 80 races between December 1, 2002, and September 4, 2004.
They arrested 34 people, conducted over 500 interviews, took more than 1,300 statementsand provided over 5,000 exhibits and nearly 40,000 pages of evidence to the Crown Prosecution Service.
Fallon and fellow jockeys Fergal Lynch and Darren Williams, together with Miles Rodgers, Shaun Lynch and Philip Sherkle, are charged with conspiracy to defraud by agreeing not to permit various horses to run on their merits, and laying those horses to lose on Betfair.
Rodgers, a former racing syndicate director, is also accused of concealing the proceeds of crime.
Fallon's fame and celebrityhas already ensured the case, expected to last three to four months, will be the focus of media attention throughout.
The demand for press seats from newspaper, radio and TV organisations has been so overwhelming that the Old Bailey authorities have been forced to impose a ticketing system to limit the number of journalists able to attend.
The first week of the trial is expected to be dominated by legal argument, with lead counsel, Jonathan Caplan QC, likely to start outlining the prosecution case in front of the jury a week on Tuesday, which could take up to three days to complete. This part of the trial can't be reported until the case is finished.
The respective barristers heading the CPS and Fallon legal teams share a passion for racing.
Caplan has an ownership interest in the Nick Littmoden-trained Miss Deeds, while John Kelsey-Fry QC is an enthusiastic owner-breeder and has two horses, unraced Spider Silk and three-year-old Split Briefs, in training with Declan Daly.
Among the horses bred by Kelsey-Fry was Legal Set, which both Fallon and Williams rode for him before joining the Platinum Racing Club that was run by Rodgers.
Fergal Lynch was among the riders who subsequently partnered the horse.
Fallon has been prevented from riding in Britain since being charged in July 2006, although he continues to play his trade under an Irish licence, and is permitted to ride in France.
Lynch and Williams were charged at the same time but, being British-based, were stripped of their licences.
Since then, each has been picking up over ?,100 a week, before tax, from the Shaftesbury Avenue authorities as compensation for loss of earnings - although this arrangement concludes at the commencement of their trial.
The police investigation was launched after allegations were made to the sport's governing body, then the Jockey Club, who contacted the City of London force after Betfair noted alleged irregular betting on its exchange.作者:
馬俠 時間: 25/9/2007 04:58 PM
