A FORMER jumps jockey has denied any wrongdoing after he was warned off for failing to comply with a BHA investigation.
Steve Charlton has been placed on the excluded persons list for refusing to cooperate with the ongoing probe into alleged race-fixing in the North.
Charlton, 70, retired from riding in 1986 after breaking his leg in a fall, after which he became a jockey’s valet.
The County Durham native worked in the weighing room as a valet for nearly 40 years, predominantly in the North and Scotland, before he retired in April this year.
Those under investigation have been asked to hand over phone records and bank statements dating back two years – something Charlton refused to do.
He told the Sun: “I haven’t been found guilty of anything and I deny doing anything wrong.
“The BHA said, in the course of their investigation, they have been looking through people’s phone records and text messages, and my name came up.
“They asked me to hand over my phone records and bank details, and I said no.
“They gave me 21 days to hand the information over, and then an extra seven days after which they said they’d warn me off if I didn’t comply.
“I said to them if they could give me something in writing saying I wouldn’t be warned off, I would hand over my phone records, but not my bank details as I think it’s a breach of my privacy and data protection. They didn’t agree to that.
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“I was a master valet for many years but I’m recently retired. I still want to go racing but I can’t enter any licensed premises now.”
A BHA spokesperson confirmed Charlton had been warned off but said: “The BHA cannot comment on the nature of the investigation.”
In August, Sun Racing revealed a northern-based jumps jockey was at the centre of an alleged race-fixing scandal, with police assisting the BHA in their investigation, which is ongoing.
There is also believed to be at least one other rider who is involved in inquiries, as well as a licensed trainer.
The jockey at the centre of the investigation, who cannot be named for legal reasons, is alleged to have stopped horses running on their merits allowing others to make a profit.
Earlier this year, the BHA requested the jockey hand over their electrical devices, including laptops, tablets and mobile phone and they have not ridden since.
It is understood there are hundreds, if not thousands, of text messages and voice notes that are being analysed by investigators.
The last major race-fixing scandal to hit the sport was in 2023 when jockey Danny Brock was banned for 15 years.
That investigation, which related to three rides between December 2018 and March 2019, took nearly four years to reach its conclusion.
In September, jockey Dylan Kitts admitted ‘stopping’ Hillsin in a race at Worcester in July 2023, though the BHA’s judicial panel is yet to dish out penalties in that case.
