Top jockey Kieren Fallon faces jury trial in race-fixing case

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LONDON (AP) -- Champion jockey Kieren Fallon went to trial Monday on charges of conspiring to fix races in Britain, a day after winning Europe's most prestigious horse race.

Fallon and five other defendants are accused of conspiracy to defraud customers who used the online betting exchange Betfair. They are accused of interfering with the running of horses to ensure they lost 27 races in Britain between December 2002 and September 2004.

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"The object of the conspiracy was to wager large amounts of money on a particular horse to lose in each of those races while knowing that the jockey was prepared, if necessary, to cheat by stopping the horse," prosecutor Jonathan Caplan said.

Fallon rode in 17 of those races, winning five.

The Irish jockey and the five other men entered not guilty pleas at a pretrial hearing before a judge in London in July.

On Sunday, Fallon rode Dylan Thomas to victory in the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe in Paris.

"It's hard to say what I feel like," Fallon said after the race. "This is probably one of the best days of my life."

Fallon was charged in July 2006 and banned from competing in Britain until after the trial. He has raced in Ireland, Australia and France since being charged. He returned in June from a six-month ban imposed by French authorities for testing positive for cocaine.

Fallon, who became British horse racing's champion jockey for the first time in 1997, won the English Derby in 1999, 2003, and 2004.

Also charged in the case are jockeys Fergal Lynch and Darren Williams, Lynch's brother Shaun Lynch, former racing syndicate director Miles Rodgers and Philip Sherkle. Rodgers is also accused of concealing the proceeds of crime.

Caplan told the court the betting was organized and conducted by Rodgers, who had numerous accounts in different names with Betfair.

A total of $4.32 million was laid by Rodgers in Betfair accounts during the 17 races, Caplan said. When all six were arrested on Sept. 1, 2004, Fallon had made a net loss of about $689,000, he said.

Caplan said the system of contacts confirmed the jockey was "ready and able to try and stop the horse."

"This gave Rodgers the confidence to lay sizable amounts of money," Caplan said.

Caplan said the bets were usually more than $200,000, which would earn a payoff of about $40,000.

The trial is expected to last four months.