As reported by the Racing Post, Paul Gargan, a former racehorse owner who used John McCracken’s notoriety to promote a tipping service that purported to be run by the infamous Brighton punter, has been declared a disqualified person for 12 months by the Jockey Club.
Pretending to be McCracken, who was warned off by the Jockey Club last year for refusing to cooperate with inquiries into alleged race-fixing and has since been excluded from the entire off-course betting industry, Gargan said to be well known in the racing industry as being heavily involved in race fixing and promised prospective clients: “I can tell you about fixed races, non-triers, inside gambles, handicap plots, horse doping and even jockeys who will jump off horses.”
Gargan also said he would “provide information directly from the jockeys and trainers,” and boasted his 800-plus clients included “professional gamblers, footballers, actors, solicitors, judges, doctors and even gangsters, all of who swear by me.”
He sent out around 1,000 letters, accompanied by a copy of the Racing Post front-page story about McCracken from June last year.
“I got into a position over the last couple of years whereby lots of conmen tipsters were getting in touch with me and it has cost me the best part of £100,000.”
“I wrote the most drastic flyer I could imagine and bought some names off a gambling database, thinking some of these people may have had dealings with tipsters in the past and if they knew the real names and real address, I might have some redress for the money I had lost, but not only was it futile, it also landed me in trouble with the Jockey Club,” said Gargan.
“I am happy to take the punishment given that it’s quite stupid what I have done,” he added.
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