The Stewards today finalised the hearing of a charge issued against licensed jockey Mr Bentley, following the conduct of a Stewards’ inquiry on Monday 6 and Tuesday 7 November 2023.
At today’s hearing, Mr Bentley pleaded guilty to a charge of improper conduct under Rule of Racing 155(5).
Rule 155. No person shall:-
(5) Be guilty of any misconduct, improper conduct or inappropriate behaviour.
The details of the charge being that whilst being licensed as a Jockey by The Hong Kong Jockey Club, he did engage in improper conduct by:
In determining penalty, the Stewards took into consideration his guilty plea, the nature and circumstances of the breach, including that the evidence established that Mr Bentley did not receive the payment as detailed in point 2, Mr Bentley’s personal and professional circumstances at the time of the offence and his unblemished record in relation to similar offences.
In the circumstances, Mr Bentley’s jockey licence to ride in races was suspended for a period of two (2) months to commence on Friday 3 November 2023, the day he was stood down by the Stewards under Rule 12(15), and to expire on Wednesday 3 January 2024. In addition, Mr Bentley was fined a sum of $300,000.