Peter Chapple-Hyam, leading horse trainer on the Flat for two decades with two Derby winners to his name, "could be banned from the sport for three years after he was charged with serious breaches of the Rules of Racing by the British Horseracing Authority," according to Greg Wood of the London GUARDIAN. Chapple-Hyam is charged with "deliberately misleading, or endeavouring to mislead, one of the BHA's investigations officers, both by falsifying his telephone records, and also by falsely claiming to have been in France with a runner" on July 12. He is also charged with "failing to supply his full and true telephone billings to BHA investigators within a reasonable time of the request being made." The "entry point" penalty for failing to produce telephone records is disqualification from racing for 18 months, "while the maximum penalty is a three-year ban." The BHA said that it will "not offer any comment on the case, including the reason why it requested Chapple-Hyam's telephone records, until it is concluded." No date has been set for the BHA disciplinary panel's hearing (GUARDIAN, 2/25).
