Troubling Milton Harris case, and the muted reaction, shows racing’s deep-rooted problems still exist

THE more things change the more they stay the same.

If we’ve learned anything in racing over the years, it’s that movement on the surface doesn’t necessarily equate to a shift deep down in the roots.

Milton Harris earlier this week had his licence stripped by the BHAPA

Which is why I’m not surprised the reaction to the Milton Harris news this week has been pretty muted.

The Sutton Veny trainer was stripped of his licence following the conclusion of a four-day hearing, with the BHA no longer regarding him as a ‘fit and proper person’.

Maybe it’s indicative of prevailing attitudes in the sport, jumps racing in particular, but clearly some just don’t see it as that big a deal.

Harris will argue the hearing, investigation and BHA judicial panel’s written reasons were one-sided – but the evidence makes for pretty grim reading.

Let’s deal with the bullying of trainer and neighbour Simon Earle first.

It’s clear from the snippets of recordings made public that Harris was acting aggressively in front of others to try and maximise Earle’s humiliation. 

Like all bullies, I’m doubtful he’d have had the courage to act that way if he didn’t have an audience.

We’ve all had disagreements at some point or another, but he crossed a line and behaved like a 12-year-old in the playground – not a professional trainer.

One of the most amazing details in the report was that he offered Earle out, under ‘Queensberry Rules’, to settle a dispute.

He even claimed to have dealt with disputes by having had boxing matches in the past. Last I looked, it was 2024, not 1954.

I feel for Earle, but the most troubling part of this saga was Harris’ behaviour around young female members of staff at his yard.

In the 17,000-word document outlining the panel’s written reasons, it was revealed he regularly messaged a young stable lass, who was between 14 and 16 at the time and referred to as SJO, privately on WhatsApp.

The panel expressed concerns about his display picture on WhatsApp, which is an image of a naked woman, and the fact he saved her name as ‘Lovely Young Girl’ on his phone.

They deemed his behaviour to be controlling, and he even texted her on occasions demanding to know why she was out, where she was and who she was with.

In person, he lifted up her top to make fun of her weight and made a habit of steering conversations towards adult and sexual topics.

And he sometimes visited her in the on-site hostel, standing in the doorway to her room and bringing up subjects like contraception and what boys she had seen.

SJO was a child who reportedly had a troubled home life and was considered a ‘vulnerable’ person by the BHA – so does his behaviour seem suitable to you?

Harris tried to use her family issues as justification for his actions, claiming he was simply acting as a ‘father figure’. 

He is clearly oblivious that he was, in fact, giving off creepy uncle vibes. Actually, he is old enough to be her grandad.

It was all totally inappropriate and showed a clear disregard for the girl’s boundaries – and I’m not convinced this sort of problem isn’t wider-reaching.

Earlier this month, the Bryony Frost and Robbie Dunne saga was dug up again after a Sunday Times article by David Walsh.

He didn’t actually write anything we didn’t already know about the case, but the reaction in some quarters was bleak – Neil Callan’s tasteless Tweet, which I highlighted a fortnight ago, being a prime example.

It was proven that Dunne had bullied Frost, yet in a lot of yards and weighing rooms around the country, she is viewed as the villain.

I wouldn’t go as far to say sexism is rife in racing, because women are getting more opportunities now than ever before.

But it is still a problem and there is a distinct lack of respect from a lot of men towards women and girls, throughout the industry.

There are undoubtedly more good eggs than bad in this great game of ours, and we would be kidding ourselves if we thought we’d ever weed out all the bad’uns.

We can, at least, call this behaviour out when it comes to light. Keeping quiet isn’t an option.

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