Top jockey’s threats result in 10-year ban

Former top jockey Jason Waddell has been disqualified from racing for 10 years for threatening to kill and posting an insulting message. In May, a committee of the racing industry’s Judicial Control Authority found Waddell, 35, made a threatening phone call to a racing official stating, ‘‘You’re dead. Watch your back,’’ and posted an insulting message on social media about another person and also threatened him via a phone call. Waikato-based Waddell is the holder of a Class A jockey licence and was one of the country’s top jockeys. He had achieved 688 wins from 5460 starts and won $13 million in stake money. The disqualification runs from September 2020 to September 2030 and is concurrent with Waddell’s disqualification of 22 months imposed by another judicial committee in December last year on a charge of failing to provide a urine sample for analysis. He pleaded guilty to that charge in November 2020. The threat to kill was made within hours of that committee’s decision on penalty for the charge. Police also charged him over the threats.