‘BULLY’ HARRIS BANNED
Licence revoked after slurs & texts
MILTON HARRIS’S training career appears to be over after he was deemed “not fit and proper” to hold a licence.
In a damning assessment of his conduct by the BHA’S Licensing Committee, the 64-year-old Grade 1-winning jumps trainer was found to be dishonest, bullying and guilty of inappropriate behaviour among young staff.
It described Harris as “ungovernable” and “not capable of being regulated”.
Harris, who is based in Warminster, Wiltshire, trained a season’s best of 56 winners in 2021-22 and had reached 33 for the season until his licence was suspended over breaches of the conditions of his licence.
These involved safeguarding concerns with the committee hearing he had sent “inappropriate” private messages to a teenage girl, who worked at the yard between the ages of 14 and 16, and set “a toxic tone” according to another girl who was 12 or 13.
He was also engaged in a campaign of “humiliation and harassment” of neighbour, trainer Simon Earle (above), who he called a “c ******** r” in one recorded encounter. BHA director of Integrity & Regulatory Operations, Tim Naylor, said Harris’s behaviour “fell a long way short of what we expect of a licensed person”. “We are, therefore, pleased with the Panel’s finding that Mr Harris is not a fit and proper person to hold a licence.”
Harris said he was disappointed with the decision and added: “My immediate priority is to look after the horses, owners and long-serving staff here and that will be my sole focus.
“I will make a statement in a few days’ time.”