THE war of words between Ralph Beckett and the BHA took another twist on Sunday as the trainer accused the regulator of leaking emails to the press.
Emails from Beckett – and fellow trainer Mark Johnston – calling for BHA chief Nick Rust to resign were sent to the Sunday Telegraph last week.
In an appearance on ‘Luck On Sunday’, Beckett alleged that the BHA were responsible for the leak, though he admitted he didn’t have hard proof.
And he accused Rust of ‘virtue signalling’ around the issue of a resumption of racing.
Beckett said: “We had a meeting on April 15 that was positive and so was the following press release.
“Nick (Rust) then added comments which were, to put it mildly, virtue signalling apart from anything else, not least about the potential strain on the NHS.
“By that time discussions with a private hospital conglomerate were at an advanced stage and we knew a number of sites within an hour of 50 racecourses were prepared to cope with anything racing could throw at them. Nick’s comment was irrelevant to put it mildly.
“There are any number of good people at the BHA. But it is clear to me there’s a disconnect between the people who are assembling a detailed plan for resumption and the man at the top.”
Beckett added: “If I was to bet on (who leaked the emails) I would bet it came out of the BHA. There’s one specific reason for that.
“They (the Telegraph) don’t have all the emails. They only have three of them and Phelps’s response from her BHA email account.
“That’s my opinion and I’ve got nothing to back that up with other than what I’ve just told you.”
When asked for a response to Beckett’s claims, a BHA spokesman labelled his comments as a ‘smear’.
The BHA said: “The week ahead will see the government unveil the next phase of its response to Covid-19, so our focus right now is returning safely to racing and ensuring everyone can have confidence in our plans.
“It doesn’t help when the governing body is subjected to unfounded smears, but we won’t be distracted from the purpose we share with all in our industry – to get back racing safely as soon as it’s appropriate.”
