Racing: Four trainers seek advice over BBC investigation

The names of four trainers accused of wrongdoings by the BBC investigative programme Kenyon Confronts were revealed by the National Trainers Federation yesterday.

David Wintle, Dudley Moffatt, Ferdy Murphy and Jamie Osbourne have all asked the federation for advice on how to respond to allegations from the makers of the programme.

Wintle has been approached on course while the other three have all received a letter from the BBC programme claiming that they have been involved in behaviour which breaches Jockey Club rules of racing.

The allegations have been made by reporters working for the programme and their accusations are based on isolated remarks taken from conversations which were secretly recorded, according to the NTF.

In a statement the federation said: "We have advised the trainers concerned that if the BBC publishes material which suggests, without justification, a breach on their part of the Rules of Racing and/or any other potentially defamatory material they should take legal advice."

The NTF are concerned about the investigative methods employed by the BBC team and they believe racing will be presented in an unfair light in the programme, due to shown in mid-June.

They added: "At the very least these methods of apparent entrapment seem unworthy of the BBC. Moreover the resulting programme can only present a distorted view and sensationalised misrepresentation of a business which provides a livelihood to thousands of hardworking people.

"The programme appears to be focusing on how horses achieve a handicap rating and how money can be made at gambling. The journalists seem to be under the false impression that a trainer is in breach of the Rules of Racing by running a horse over an unsuitable distance or when the horse is not fully fit."

The federation statement added: "All the trainers maintain that they have not breached the Rules of Racing and that they were induced into making remarks that have been taken out of context and used to support accusations of hypothetical breaches of the rules."

This latest development follows a turbulent few weeks which has seen a number of prominent figures in the racing world make complaints of harassment against unidentified film crews.

Top jockey Kieren Fallon, the bookmaker Andy Smith and trainers Alan Jones, Gay Kelleway and Wintle have all registered complaints about harassment both on the track and at their yards.

Teams from both Kenyon Confronts and fellow BBC programme Panorama are conducting investigations into racing and the NTF has now requested that the producers abide by the BBC's own guidelines for programme makers and use the material they have in context "to present a balanced and fair report".