David Evans, who recently described a fine of £3,140 as “very lenient” after he admitted an offence relating to bets on his horse Black Dave at Wolverhampton in January 2015, laughed and joked with a Ladbrokes trader and then asked “does that help you?” after passing on information about a non-runner from his yard in the same race, according to a transcript of the conversation released on Wednesday.
Evans admitted conduct which “prejudiced the integrity, proper conduct and good reputation of horseracing” when the British Horseracing Authority’s independent disciplinary panel heard the case this month. The transcript of his conversation with Jeremy Thomas, of Ladbrokes, was released on Wednesday as an appendix to the panel’s written reasons for its judgment and penalty.
At the beginning of the call on 9 January 2015, Evans tells Thomas that he wants “a good bet” on Black Dave in the first race at Wolverhampton. Thomas asks: “How much you looking for, Dave?”, to which Evans replies “a good bit”, adding: “Are you in a good mood are ya?” Thomas answers: “Not really, no,” to which Evans responds: “Why? Why? Ain’t your money”, and both men laugh.
At the time, Black Dave was being offered at 7-2 by Ladbrokes, with Tango Sky, runner from the same stable, available at the same price. Thomas, though, tells the trainer that “I can do you a bit of 4-1”, after which Evans says: “I’m looking for six grand.” Thomas then checks the bet with Tony Milburn, a senior Ladbrokes trader, and after a short pause, tells Evans: “That’s on for you Dave, yeah,” before asking: “What’s the message there then?”
The transcript continues:
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DE Can I tell you something?
JT Oh, you’ve got the other one there, haven’t you?
DE Yeah.
JT All right, OK. Fair enough.
DE Ain’t gonna run.
JT It’s not going to go, no?
DE Right, does that help you out?
JT It will do, yeah, yeah.
Thomas subsequently asks Evans when Tango Sky will officially be withdrawn, with the trainer responding: “Before nine o’clock, you don’t pay the jockey.” Thomas replies: “So 8.59 … is it?” and again, both laugh.
In fact, while Evans told Thomas that Tango Sky would not run at 8.43am, he did not inform the Racing Calendar office until 9.39am, almost an hour after placing his bet on Black Dave. Ladbrokes, meanwhile, cut Tango Sky’s price from 7-2 to 3-1 shortly after Thomas was told that the horse was a non-runner. This increased the Rule 4 deduction from winning bets on the race placed before 9.39am, from 20p in the pound to 25p.
In the panel’s view, Evans did not receive an enhanced price of 4-1 about Black Dave as a “payoff for information”, since he informed the bookmaker about Tango Sky’s imminent scratching after placing his bet.
However, the panel also note Ladbrokes’ description of Evans to the hearing as “a high-value customer”, which “indicated … that he was either a losing punter overall or a useful source of information, and quite possibly both.”
Black Dave eventually started at 6-4 and finished fourth behind Bogsnog, a 10-1 chance. Joe Rendall, a media and communications executive at the BHA, said on Wednesday that the regulator “is aware of the range of views held by the betting public as a result of recent events and it is important that they have full confidence in betting markets”. He added: “We are embarking on a significant programme of integrity education which will be rolled out to the sport’s participants in the coming months, which was recommended as part of the 2016 Integrity Review. This will include educating our stakeholders on a range of integrity issues so they understand the standards expected of them.”