The accused all deny the defrauding charges. Some admit to having been in contact "for the innocent purpose of passing on tips or betting information."
Because it was a conspiracy that sought to leave no records, Caplan said, the prosecution would rely on the pattern of telephone calls, text messages and bets to show "a criminal conspiracy ... to fix numerous horse races ... to the detriment of the betting public."
Using the example of Goodwood Spirit, a horse ridden at Goodwood by Fallon on Aug. 14, 2004, Caplan showed text messages had been exchanged between Fallon, Sherkle and Rodgers on the morning of the race.
The text sent by Sherkle and later recovered from Rodgers' mobile read: "6.55 no4 n." The "6.55" was alleged to refer to the race time, "no4" referred to the horse's position on the racecard in that day's Racing Post and "n" supposedly meant "non-tryer." It had allegedly been forwarded from Kieren Fallon.
The court also heard that Fallon had sent a "revealing" series of text messages the day after winning a race he was supposed to have lost. One message to Sherkle in July 2004 read: "They will take my licences off me if they drift like that last night. They are watching me."
The case continues.
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