Noah Brash gets 10 years for his part in race-fixing

We have discussed this in the past with jockeys Michael Poy and Lewis German, who are still to be sentenced for their part in the race fixing. Brash was the man to place the bets, getting warned off for 10 years on Friday.

Although Brash has been warned off for 10 years, it was not as long as Victorian Racing were looking for. They were pushing the tribunal panel for an extra 50% on top of what was given for his part in placing bets for jockeys.

Breaching rule AR 236 - betting with or for a jockey

The rules of horse racing are clear to all who participate. A jockey is not allowed to place a bet with any of the horse racing bookmakers whether they are riding in a race or not. It is also forbidden for someone else to place a bet in a race on their behalf.

Brash and Poy had apparently met a good few years before the incidents occurred in 2022. Brash had offered to create pace maps for Poy to help the jockey with his rides.

Swan Hill in August 2022

The tribunal hearing is primarily focused around a meeting at Swan Hill on August 7, 2022. There is a string of messages that are said to be from Poy to Brash detailing which horses to back or lay throughout the card.

The back bet was a loser but both lay bets were successful as was a head-to-head bet that was suggested to Brash. This wager saw Brash betting on Poy’s mount to beat German’s which duly happened, the pair finishing third and 11th respectively.

That head-to-head is the most egregious to most horse racing fans with both jockeys involved and a bet placed that contains just their two rides in the contest. As of this moment, there has not been a hearing for the two jockeys. Brash put in a guilty plea to the claims against him so his part of the case has been concluded.

Is a 10-year horse racing ban right?

Victorian Racing will not be happy that the ban is only for 10 years as they were asking for 15. Trainer Darren Weir was given four years for allegedly trying to corrupt the outcome of the 2018 Melbourne Cup by using an electric shock device called a jigger on three of the horses that were in his care.

There was an additional two years added to his ban earlier on this year to make a total of six even though he was cleared of the above crime in early 2024 in front of a tribunal. Only one of the three horses ran in the Melbourne Cup, finishing last.

That ban was for trying to corrupt horse racing which didn’t work while Brash made money out of race fixing which did work in his favour. It is easy to see why Victorian Racing was pushing for a longer ban still given the severity of the crime and the more than $250,000 that was netted by the races in question.

It could be considered on the light side when compared to a similar case in the UK from back in 2009. Across 10 races that were said to be fixed, a pair of hoops were banned for 12 years each for failing to obtain the best possible finishing position for their mounts while the horse owners who made money from the information that those horses would not win got 14 years.

The VRC were pushing for 15 years for Brash so 10 could be seen by some as a rather lenient punishment given the potential damage to the reputation of racing. Hopefully, 10 is still enough to deter anyone else from trying to cheat the sport.