Jockey Kieren Fallon, who has been charged in connection with alleged efforts to defraud a major British online betting service, has applied for a license to ride in Kentucky during the 2006 Breeders' Cup World Thoroughbred Championships at Churchill Downs on Nov. 4.
Jim Gallagher, executive director of the Kentucky Horse Racing Authority, said the regulatory body has been in contact with Fallon's attorneys regarding the ability of the six-time champion British rider to obtain a Kentucky license. Gallagher said Fallon's legal representatives have requested the Kentucky authority not take any action on the rider's license request until September. The authority is scheduled to meet again Sept. 25.
Fallon is precluded from riding in Great Britain after the High Court refused July 28 to overturn his suspension handed down by the Horseracing Regulatory Authority this month. Fallon, the number rider for trainer Aidan O'Brien, was denied a license to ride in the Arlington Million (gr. IT) earlier this month after regulators in Illinois decided to uphold the British sanctions.
Due to the uniqueness of Fallon's case, Kentucky officials are reviewing the rules of racing relating to reciprocity on actions taken in other racing jurisdictions against licensees such as jockeys, trainers, and owners.
"This is a very unique case," Gallagher said. "Reciprocity (in Kentucky) is a clear-cut matter once somebody has gone through all their administrative remedies before a suspension, denial, or (license) revocation takes place. After those thresholds have been met, then reciprocity is honor bound in the United States."
Fallon, 41, was charged July 3.
The investigation by the City of London police began after the on-line betting company Betfair, noticing certain betting patterns, made its records available to the Jockey Club.
