Best Rehearing Process Stalls

A date for the rehearing of non-trier charges brought by the British Horseracing Authority against Jim Best has met with problems after his legal team, Stewart-Moore Solicitors Ltd, announced Wednesday it was not prepared to accept the process involved in finding a new chairman for the disciplinary panel. Best was found guilty earlier this year of instructing jockey Paul John to ride two horses not on their merits, and of “conduct prejudicial to horseracing in Great Britain” at a hearing chaired over by solicitor Matthew Lohn, who was subsequently found to be engaged by the BHA in other matters.

Best appealed the four-year disqualification and the charges were later dropped at the May appeal, with a rehearing ordered.

Sport Resolutions, was hired to provide an independent chairman of the panel for the rehearing. Best's representatives said it understood the proposed chairman, William Norris QC, had appeared to work on another panel with Lohn, and claimed it has not been included on all correspondence between the BHA and Sport Resolutions.

“Over the last few days it has emerged that the BHA has been involved in private correspondence with Sport Resolutions regarding the rehearing,” a statement released by Best's representatives read in part. “The BHA has never disclosed the existence of this correspondence. In fact it is now clear that the BHA was aware of who Sport Resolutions would put forward as chairman of the rehearing from the outset, having privately asked for that information even before the appeal hearing took place. This fact was eventually and properly disclosed to us by Sport Resolutions. It has now been brought to our attention that the proposed chairman is apparently a member of the National Anti-Doping Panel together with Matthew Lohn…

The statement continued, “Given that the whole point of Sport Resolutions' involvement in this matter is to ensure there is complete transparency surrounding the Best rehearing, this is a completely unsatisfactory state of affairs. We have written to the BHA explaining that Mr. Best cannot accept Sport Resolutions taking part in the re-hearing and asking them what we do now.”