From the UK
Leaving trainer Michael Stoute was a “massive wrench,” rider Kieren Fallon tells reporters. That the Ballydoyle deal is a three-year contract that pays Fallon four times what he was making with Stoute perhaps made the breakup easier. (BBC)
More: “It takes a little something to knock the Cheltenham Festival from the main slot on the agenda at this time of the year, but then Kieren Fallon has never been a slave to convention. We shall be seeing less of Kieren — in the flesh certainly if not the headlines — following his decision to take the king’s euro and ride for the Ballydoyle juggernaut next season. It is an obvious partnership: the pre-eminent European horseracing empire in conjunction with the best jockey in these islands. The wonder is why it has not happened before.” (The Independent)
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Louis, Man of Kendal, passes along this story from the BBC: “Premier League referee Mike Dean has been suspended indefinitely over his involvement in a betting website…. The crux of the investigation appears to centre on whether the 36-year-old has played on his status as a well-known figure in football to gain a financial advantage in racing. He advertised the partnership business [Arbitros Racing] in a recent edition of the Racing Post, in which it was stated: ‘Join Premiership referee, Mike Dean, in this great, new, exciting venture.’ Such wording might work against Dean, described as the partnership manager.” That wording is what Dean is in trouble for? The Brits are strict.
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Traditional bookmakers are crying foul over Betfair’s business model. (Business Week)
