Top jumps trainer Milton Harris has licence suspended by BHA and faces disciplinary hearing

MILTON HARRIS, one of the leading jumps trainers in Britain, has had his licence suspended by the British Horseracing Authority.

He will not be able to run any of his horses until at least January, when a Licensing Committee hearing has been scheduled.

PA

Grade 1 winning trainer Milton Harris has been suspended until at least January[/caption]

It is unclear why the BHA have suspended Grade 1-winning trainer Harris, who currently sits third in the trainers’ standings with 33 victories.

A BHA spokesperson said: “Following a hearing before the Chairperson of the independent Judicial Panel of the BHA, Mr Harris’s licence has been suspended pending a Licensing committee hearing in January.

“This is as a result of a breach of the conditions on his licence and related matters.”

Two of his runners, Balboa and Giddyupadingdong, were mysteriously scratched by officials at Ludlow on Thursday, with the BHA stewards report stating they were “not qualified”.

The Wiltshire-based trainer had multiple entries across this weekend’s big race meetings, but none of them were declared.

The 64-year-old is in his second spell as a trainer, returning in 2018 after seven years without a licence having declared bankruptcy in 2011.

He does not have a stereotypical racing background, having worked in a pub for several years before taking a job as a bartender on a cruise ship.

He famously dated Heaven is a Place on Earth singer Belinda Carlisle in his youth, while this time last year he was in intensive care after suffering a blood clot on his lungs while on holiday in Thailand.

The biggest winner of his career came in 2022 when Knight Salute dead-heated for first in the Grade 1 Juvenile Hurdle at Aintree but was awarded the race outright following a stewards’ enquiry.