A HEARING into race-fixing allegations against Ipswich striker Michael Chopra, two other footballers, and a jockey has now finished.

The Disciplinary Panel hearing at the British Horseracing Authority (BHA) Head Office in High Holborn London began on Monday and had been scheduled to last ten days but was concluded in four.

A spokesman for the BHA said no comment will be made until the results and reasons are published and will provide no indication as to which of the defendants did or did not attend the hearing.

The result of the hearing is expected to be published, with full written reasons, on Friday January 25.

Any necessary penalty hearings will also be heard on this date, with penalties to be published later that afternoon.

Reasons for penalties will then follow in due course.

Chopra was one of nine people accused of serious breaches of racing rules. The 28-year-old former Cardiff, Newcastle and Sunderland striker is alleged to have conspired with Nottingham Forest midfielder James Coppinger, 31, former Manchester United and England under-21 international Mark Wilson, 33, currently unattached, and jockey Andrew Heffernan, 24, to fix races.

Chopra, Wilson and Coppinger are all charged with conspiring to “commit a corrupt or fraudulent practice” under the rules of racing.

If found guilty of the charges they face long bans from involvement with racing, including attending racecourses or talking to licensed individuals.

The entry-level for the offences is a three-year ban.

Heffernan, who is now based in Australia, faces five charges of corruption, including one of stopping a horse, one of accepting a bribe and two of breaking the rules regarding the use of inside information

Chopra, Coppinger and Wilson are alleged to have been involved in race fixing that also included five other individuals not licensed under the rules of racing.