Robbie Dunne is charged with verbally abusing and threatening rival jockey Bryony Frost and could face three-year BAN from racing – after she complained of bullying and harassment from her competitor
- Robbie Dunne will face an independent BHA disciplinary panel at a hearing
- He is also charged with conduct prejudicial to the good reputation of racing
- Frost, 26, claimed to investigators that Dunne had told her: ‘The next time I ride against you I promise I will put you through a wing (of a fence)’
- The hearing is likely to be one of the most significant held by the BHA
- Dunne, 36, faces a potential penalty of a three-year ban from the sport and a fine
Robbie Dunne has been charged with verbally abusing and threatening fellow jump jockey Bryony Frost.
The 36-year-old is also charged with conduct prejudicial to the good reputation of racing following complaints of bullying and harassment from Frost.
He will face an independent BHA disciplinary panel at a hearing which will open a week on Tuesday in High Holborn, London.
Six days have been set aside for the hearing and the charges laid against Dunne carry a potential penalty of a three-year ban from the sport and a £15,000 fine.
With the case involving Frost, 26, Britain’s best-known and most successful female jump jockey, the hearing is likely to be one of the most explosive and significant held by the BHA.
The governing body have already faced fierce criticism after details of their investigation in a 120-page report were leaked to a Sunday newspaper.
Robbie Dunne (L) has been charged with verbally abusing and threatening Bryony Frost (R)
Britain’s best-known female jump jockey Frost complained of bullying and harassment
Following the leak, the Professional Jockeys Association called on the BHA to end the investigation, claiming that a fair hearing had become impossible.
According to the report, Frost claimed to investigators that Dunne had told her: ‘The next time I ride against you I promise I will put you through a wing (of a fence).’
That alleged exchange is said to have taken place at Southwell on September 3, 2020. Dunne allegedly believed the riding of Frost on Wisecracker, runner-up in the Support The Arc Racing Club Handicap Chase, had contributed to the fatal fall of his mount Cillian’s Well at the fourth-last fence.
The report also included claims from Frost that ill-feeling between her and Dunne stretched back to before 2017, when she was still riding as an amateur jockey.
The report also included claims from Frost that ill-feeling between her and Dunne stretched back to before 2017
Dunne’s charges involve two other race days — at Stratford on July 8, 2020 when the pair had another verbal altercation, and Uttoxeter on August 17, 2020.
It is anticipated that Dunne, who has denied all allegations, will attend some if not all of the hearing, which will be open to the media via a video link.
The BHA could not confirm whether Frost would appear in person as a witness or give evidence remotely.