£12b betting scandal hits racing

Punters who bet an astonishing £12billion on British racing annually are being ripped off every day of the week.

That is the explosive claim made today by the boss of the world's biggest bookmaker as the ongoing investigation into alleged race fixing reaches a new level with suggestions that the same criminal gang are firmly linked with at least three controversial cases.

Ladbrokes chief Chris Bell has given an interview to next week's edition of The Money Programme on BBC2 during which he alleges that "I believe one race per day in British racing to be fixed."

In total, there is a turnover of £23billion on all forms of betting in Britain.

Bell's comment needs to be viewed in the light of his aggressive stance against betting exchanges like Betfair, which provide punters with the opportunity to back horses to lose as well as to win.

However, the most worrying aspect of today's revelations is that the Jockey Club have identified common threads which indicate that the cases of Red Lancer, Tollbrae and Ice Saint were all closely linked.

Red Lancer drifted from 5-2 to 8-1 on Betfair before starting very slowly in a seller at Wolverhampton last October, while Tollbrae never threatened when even money for a chase at Leicester in February.

Jockey Club officials had been warned to watch both horses closely before the races in question, but the most controversial case of all involved journeyman jump jockey Sean Fox allegedly jumping off the market drifter Ice Saint during a beginners' chase at Fontwell.