Eddie Ahern (born 6 December 1977) is an Irish professional

jockey A jockey is someone who rides horses in horse racing or steeplechase (horse racing), steeplechase racing, primarily as a profession. The word also applies to camel riders in camel racing. The word "jockey" originated from England and was used ...

, currently banned from

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for ten years by the

British Horseracing Authority The British Horseracing Authority, also known as the BHA, is the regulatory authority for horse racing in Great Britain. It was formed on 31 July 2007, after the merger of the British Horseracing Board (BHB) and the Horseracing Regulatory Au ...

on charges of corruption. He was champion apprentice in Ireland in 1997.

Career

Ahern had his first ride in his native Ireland in 1994. From then until 2001, he raced mainly in Ireland, his best season being 2000 when he picked up 46 wins. Thereafter, he has mainly ridden in the UK from a base in Newmarket (although his first ride in the UK had been as far back as 1998). His career peak to date came in 2006 when he rode 140 winners. This included a treble at combined

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of 293-1 on day two of the

Glorious Goodwood Goodwood Racecourse is a horse-racing track five miles north of Chichester, West Sussex, in England controlled by the family of the Duke of Richmond, whose seat is nearby Goodwood House. It hosts the annual Glorious Goodwood meeting in late ...

meeting. At that time he was picking up more than 1,000 rides per year. As of May 2013, when he was banned from racing for ten years, Ahern had won a total of 1,252 races in the UK and Ireland, from a total of 11,511. In December 2007, Ahern was banned from racing for 3 months for a whip offence. While serving the ban, he won the Hayes Golden Button Challenge, a cross-country event run by

Ledbury Ledbury is a market town and civil parish in the county of Herefordshire, England, lying east of Hereford, and west of the Malvern Hills. It has a significant number of Tudor style timber-framed structures, in particular along Church Lane a ...

Hunt on

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. Another controversy occurred before a race on 16 October 2008. Ahern was still giving a talk in the corporate hospitality box at Newmarket when the riders were due in for weighing. Consequently, he missed the ride on Charlie Farnsbarns in the

Group 3 Group 3 may refer to: * Group 3 element, chemical element classification * Group 3 (motorsport), FIA classification of cars used in auto racing and rallying * Group 3, the third tier of races in worldwide Thoroughbred horse racing * Group 3 image ...

Darley Stakes. The horse, a 50/1 chance, was instead ridden by Ryan Moore, who won. Ahern's error cost him £3,500 in missed prize money and a £140 fine.

Ban for race fixing

In May 2013, Ahern received a ten-year ban from the

for his actions in five races which took place between September 2010 and February 2011. He was accused of passing on information about these races to the former Chelsea and

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, Neil Clement, to use for lay betting (that is, betting on a horse to lose) on

betting exchange A betting exchange is a marketplace for customers to bet on the outcome of discrete events. Betting exchanges offer the same opportunities to bet as a bookmaker with a few differences. Gamblers can buy (also known as "back") and sell (also kn ...

s. He was also accused of preventing his horse from obtaining the best possible position, an offence under the Rules of Racing. Rumours about Ahern's alleged actions in this regard had already led to him being nicknamed "Betfair Eddie" by users of betting exchange

Betfair Betfair is a British Gambling, gambling company founded in 2000. Its product offering includes betting exchange, sports betting, online casino, online poker, and online bingo. Business operations are led from its headquarters in London, alongsi ...

. At the trial, he was found guilty of conspiring to commit a corrupt or fraudulent practice, intentionally failing to ensure a horse was ridden on its merits and of passing information for reward. His co-defendant, Clement, was found guilty of conspiring to commit a corrupt or fraudulent practice, placing a lay bet on a horse which he then owned and failure to provide phone records to the inquiry. Two other associates - former racehorse owner Michael Turl, James Clutterbuck, son of and assistant to Newmarket trainer Ken Clutterbuck - had been disqualified the previous month for conspiring with Clement. A further two individuals - Martin Raymond and Paul Hill - were also charged in relation to one of the races.

References

External links

Eddie Ahern websiteEddie Ahern on racingpost.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ahern, Eddie 1977 births Living people Irish jockeys Equestrians from County Tipperary