Jockey hit with 10 year ban for role in £1.25m betting scandal

Jockey Lewis German has been hit with a 10-year ban for his involvement in a betting scandal which saw around £1.25m bet on his mounts.

Racing Victoria Stewards had called for an even lengthier punishment to be handed out by the Victorian Racing Tribunal, which the 25-year-old described as ‘ridiculous’.

The Tribunal heard that Noah Brash, a professional gambler, placed 89 lay bets worth around £1.25m on German’s Mounts.

87 of these punts were successful, which saw Brash land a profit of £127,000 between April 21 and August 31 2022.

The Australian-based German faced four charges, the most serious of which was Charge 4, regarding ‘engaging in conduct prejudicial to the image of racing’ which was the accusation that stewards wanted a minimum 15-year ban for.

Adrian Anderson, a representative for Racing Victoria Stewards said during the hearing: ‘This is precisely the sort of conduct that strikes at the heart of the image and integrity of the racing industry,’ Anderson said during the hearing.

‘In the circumstances, the stewards submit that a penalty for this charge would be appropriate of 20 years, but taking into account Mr German’s (guilty) plea and various other matters that exist in his favour, the minimum penalty for this charge would be 15 years.’

German pleaded guilty during the hearing but said he never profited from the bets himself despite being promised money.

However, VRT chairman Judge John Bowman felt Charge 4 was serious enough to warrant a huge ban and confirmed on Tuesday: ‘We are of the view that the appropriate penalty for this offence is a disqualification for a period of 10 years.’

German spoke out against the calls for an even longer punishment, saying: ‘Obviously, I am here today to plead my guilt. I feel that 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 feel that Mr Brash had manipulated certain people extremely well to the point where I think that the stewards can’t even see it.

‘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.

‘I am not here to tell a sad story. I am here to apologise to the racing community and to everyone who trusted in me. I feel like I let them down.

‘I have not received any money. I believed there was going to be money. I was told that I would be paid at the start but I was probably gullible at the time.’

German was guilty of two other charges, with Judge Bowman explaining: ‘Charge 1 concerns your failure to report to the stewards that you were approached at the race meeting at Towong.

‘You were asked not to ride a particular horse on its merits and were offered a substantial sum of money. You strongly rejected this offer but failed to report the matter to stewards.

‘Stewards must be informed of behaviour such as this. You are suspended for a period of six months, with that penalty to be served wholly concurrently with the penalty in relation to Charge 4.

‘Charge 2 concerns your failure to declare on your licence renewal application that you had two betting accounts in your name.

‘This is also regrettable conduct that has the power to impede the work of stewards. You are suspended for three months to be served wholly concurrently with the penalties arising from Charge 4.’