Piggott Gets 3-Year Term for Tax Evasion

Lester Piggott, Britain’s most famous jockey, was sentenced to three years in jail today after pleading guilty to massive tax evasion.

Piggott, 51, who rode 5,000 winners in a 38-year career and is now a trainer, admitted nine charges of failing to declare income and one charge of defrauding Customs and Excise.

Prosecutor Anthony Hidden told the court that Piggott, whose personal fortune is estimated at $32 million, had repaid $5.1 million tax and interest, a sum equivalent to the amount of income the jockey had failed to declare.

Piggott held 17 bank accounts in various names, including his wife’s maiden name, Hidden said.

In ordering Piggott jailed for three years, the court said it could not overlook his deliberate failure to disclose his full income when people who earned much less paid their taxes in full.

“This defendant is a household name in Britain and elsewhere and he has had a magnificent career in racing. . . . It is sad that he should find himself here in the Crown Court facing serious charges,” Hidden said.