Hong Kong rider Rawiller suspended 15 months

HONG KONG - Hong Kong jockey Nash Rawiller was suspended 15 months on Wednesday after betting on two horses that he rode and for accepting compensation for providing tips on his mounts, according to a statement released by the Hong Kong Jockey Club.

The suspension takes immediate effect and runs through July 25, 2019, and comes days before the 43-year-old Rawiller was scheduled to ride expected favorite Mr Stunning in the Group 1 Chairman’s Sprint Prize at Sha Tin Racecourse in Hong Kong on Sunday.

Rawiller was removed from his four scheduled mounts at Happy Valley Racecourse on Wednesday evening.

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According to the statement, Rawiller did not enter a plea during a hearing conducted on Tuesday and Wednesday, but did provide testimony and admit to the rule violations.

The stewards ruled that Rawiller should be suspended for 15 months each for the violations of betting on horses he rode and for providing tips, but that the penalties should be concurrent. The Hong Kong Jockey Club’s statement said Rawiller cooperated with the investigation and the stewards considered that a factor in the penalty.

The statement also indicated that Rawiller tipped horses that he rode, and not rival mounts, and that “there was no evidence before the stewards that Rawiller had ridden any horse in Hong Kong with the intention other than to obtain the best possible placing for the horse.”

The races involved were not identified.

Rawiller, a former leading rider in Sydney, Australia, has ridden in Hong Kong since September 2014 and ranked third in the standings at the current season through Tuesday with 40 wins. Rawiller, a native of Australia, has won more than 2,000 races.