by Greg Forde

The Office of Race Commissioner, the official state agency charged with regulating, promoting and serving the horse racing industry in Michigan, has granted a jockey license to veteran rider Terry Houghton.

Houghton, a perennial leading jockey at Great Lakes Downs who will be riding at Pinnacle Race Course in Detroit this summer, is one of a handful of riders that had been under investigation by the Thoroughbred Racing Protective Bureau for more than a year in connection with suspicious betting patterns in three 2006 races at tracks in Florida and Michigan and at one time was banned from Tampa Bay Downs, Turfway Park, and all of the tracks owned by Churchill Downs Inc. among others.

According to a statement from the Office of Racing Commissioner on Friday, officials “pursued an extensive investigation regarding allegations of race fixing involving Houghton and a number of other jockeys. At this point in time, the ORC has not found sufficient evidence to show that Mr. Houghton should not be granted a license.”

“Our investigative team has painstakingly researched the claims against Mr. Houghton,” Deputy Racing Commissioner Gary Post.said. “At this time, we have decided to make the case inactive and granted Mr. Houghton a license.”

Houghton said he was relieved to be cleared in Michigan, especially with the return of racing to Detroit.

“I’m glad to be here,” Houghton said. “It’s really not fair since no one here or any place else for that matter has ever told me what I was guilty of. I’m just happy that I can ride here in my home state.”

While still banned in some jurisdictions, Houghton has been licensed to ride in Minnesota, Kentucky, Pennsylvania and Indiana. He can ride at Hawthorne in Illinois, but not at Arlington. That ban is the subject of a lawsuit Houghton has filed against Churchill Downs, Inc, operators of Arlington Park

Pinnacle racing secretary Allen Plever , who has a long relationship with Houghton, said he was happy to have Houghton in his jockey colony.

“Knowing Terry for as long as I have, knowing how hard he works, I couldn’t imagine him being involved in any wrongdoing on the racetrack or off it,” said Plever. “It’s been hard to defend him because they wouldn’t say what he did wrong.”

To date, no charges of any kind have been filed against Houghton in any racing jurisdiction.

Greg Forde is a Michiagn-base Thoroughbred Times correspondent