Eddie Ahern (born 6 December 1977) is an

Irish Irish may refer to: Common meanings * Someone or something of, from, or related to: ** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe ***Éire, Irish language name for the isle ** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...

professional jockey, currently banned from

racing In sport, racing is a competition of speed, in which competitors try to complete a given task in the shortest amount of time. Typically this involves traversing some distance, but it can be any other task involving speed to reach a specific go ...

for ten years by the

British Horseracing Authority The British Horseracing Authority, also known simply 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 Regulato ...

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

odds Odds provide a measure of the likelihood of a particular outcome. They are calculated as the ratio of the number of events that produce that outcome to the number that do not. Odds are commonly used in gambling and statistics. Odds also have ...

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 Hunt on New Year's Eve. 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 (racing), FIA classification for auto racing * Group 3, the third tier of races in worldwide Thoroughbred horse racing * Group 3 image format, Group 3 & Group 4 are ...

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 Chelsea or Chelsey may refer to: Places Australia * Chelsea, Victoria Canada * Chelsea, Nova Scotia * Chelsea, Quebec United Kingdom * Chelsea, London, an area of London, bounded to the south by the River Thames ** Chelsea (UK Parliament consti ...

and

West Bromwich Albion West Bromwich Albion Football Club () is an English professional football club based in West Bromwich, West Midlands, England. They compete in the EFL Championship, the second tier of English football. The club was formed in 1878 and has pl ...

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby ...

, 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 known ...

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 company which operates the world's largest online betting exchange. Its product offering also includes sports betting, online casino, online poker, and online bingo. Founded in 2000, the business is split int ...

. 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