Milton Harris has been ruled not to be a “fit and proper person” to hold a trainer's licence in written reasons issued by the British Horseracing Authority's Licensing Committee.
The Warminster handler was found to be in multiple breaches of his licence conditions, with the BHA citing his “misconduct in his dealings with others, including fellow licence holder Mr Simon Earle” and “concerns in respect of safeguarding arising out of MH's conduct with young persons employed at his racing yard”.
Harris, who had an enforced absence from the training ranks between 2011 and 2018 due to financial issues, also admitted to being in breach of conditions which were imposed on his licence upon his return. Harris reportedly failed “to be candid in his dealings with the BHA in respect of those breaches, particularly when the BHA was seeking to provide opportunities for MH to remedy those breaches”.
In the wake of the ruling, BHA director of integrity and regulatory operations, Tim Naylor said, “Racing is a sport that works hard to provide a safe and welcoming space for all and the ruling of the Licensing Committee in this case sends a clear message that those in positions of authority in our industry must act in a way that upholds these values.
“We are grateful to the committee for their time in considering this matter and also to those who came forward to share their experiences of Mr Harris and gave evidence at the hearing.
“Some of the details in the Licensing Committee's decision make for extremely uncomfortable reading. Mr Harris's behaviour over a prolonged period of time fell a long way short of what we expect of a licensed person and, as the committee found, would cause damage to racing's reputation if allowed to continue without repercussion.
“We are, therefore, pleased with the panel's finding that Mr Harris is not a fit and proper person to hold a licence.
“As is clear from the decision, the BHA's concerns ranged across a number of very serious issues. One of these concerns related to safeguarding. The BHA takes its safeguarding responsibilities extremely seriously and, as demonstrated by its bringing this case before the Licensing Committee, will do everything within its powers to ensure that those working in our sport do so in an environment befitting what should rightly be expected by them and, in the case of young people, their parents or guardians upon taking a job in the sport.
“The BHA recently published an updated Safeguarding and Human Welfare Strategy, which built on our existing policies and seeks to protect and promote the safety and wellbeing of everyone involved in the sport.
“As always, we would encourage anybody who feels they have been subjected to or witnessed inappropriate behaviour in our sport to contact us. The BHA's Code of Conduct clearly establishes the standards that everyone involved in racing is expected to uphold and we will never turn a blind eye to concerns raised about conduct which may fall below these standards.”
Harris described himself as “disappointed” by the verdict, with a further response planned in the coming days.
“I've just seen the decision of the committee and I'm obviously disappointed,” said Harris. “My immediate priority is to look after the horses, owners and long-serving staff here and in the immediate that will be my sole focus. I will make a statement [on the decision] in a few days' time.”
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