A YORK jockey arrested as part of an investigation into alleged race-fixing has been bailed to return to police in March.

Robert Winston, of Huntington, spent Wednesday being questioned by City of London Police in connection with a huge inquiry into alleged corruption in horse racing before being rebailed.

Mr Winston, 25, is one of five jockeys to be arrested and bailed. He was originally detained in York in February on suspicion of conspiracy to defraud as part of the wide-ranging investigation which has seen 26 people questioned. He strenuously denies any wrongdoing.

Last month, the Evening Press reported how Malton jockey Gyles Parkin had been cleared by detectives investigating the alleged incidents.

The inquiry, which has been ongoing for 13 months, has also seen the arrests of former champion jockey Kieren Fallon and North Yorkshire trainer Karl Burke.

Meanwhile, Mr Winston told the Racing Post he was considering taking action against Ayr Racecourse following a horrific fall which left his season in tatters.

He was odds-on to land his first jockey's championship before escaping death during a fall at Ayr in August. He has been one of Britain's top jockeys for the past two to three years.

Mr Winston fell from Pearl's A Singer and was kicked in the face by the chasing Tonight in an 8pm race. He suffered a double fracture of his upper and lower jaw.

Mr Winston has claimed he was concerned about the ground before his fall and is unhappy about loss of earnings. He said: "I'm looking into the possibility of taking legal action against Ayr. I have lost out on a lot of good opportunities, and loss of earnings, because of my injury, and there's no saying I will ever get as good a chance of being champion again."

Ayr racecourse general manager William Gorol said: "While we sympathise with Robert Winston, we cannot comment further at this stage."

Updated: 10:03 Friday, October 21, 2005