Jockey Blake Shinn has had three months shaved off a 15-month disqualification for his part in a betting scandal.
Shinn appealed the ban after he was found guilty last year of betting on horse racing.
Stewards found he bet on horses he rode as well as ones he rode against in races.
The Racing NSW Appeal panel dismissed his appeal against all charges but ruled a three-month penalty for using his mobile phone at Hawkesbury Racecourse be served concurrently with his other bans totalling 12 months.
Late last year, Shinn and fellow jockey Peter Robl were outed after pleading guilty to betting via a TabCorp account in the name of Robl’s wife Elaine.
In addition, Shinn, who won the 2008 Melbourne Cup on Viewed, also admitted to using a TAB account operated by his mother Carol Shinn.
Robl’s 12-month penalty included a six-month disqualification for giving false evidence at the opening of the inquiry after the Canterbury race meeting on September 29.
He pleaded guilty to that charge but said he was only trying to help his friend. His appeal was dismissed earlier this year.
Shinn admitted to having a gambling problem and said he had been receiving counselling.
He is eligible to return to riding on November 26.
Under the Rules of Racing, jockeys are not allowed to bet.
Authorities were alerted by a spike in turnover on Elaine Robl’s account in the region of $200,000 from July to September last year.
At Monday’s appeal, it was revealed he put more than $400,000 through Carol Shinn’s account over a two-year period.
Elaine Robl, a registered trackwork rider, and Carol Shinn, a licensed stablehand, were each fined $7500 for facilitating the betting of the two jockeys but both had that reduced to $5000 on appeal.
AAP TURF
