“HOT” Mason Paetel suddenly became emotional and his voice trembled as he explained that the cause of death of his close friend Tommie Jakes just hours before his friend passed away was related to his horse race victory in Nottingham, prompting the police and BHA to urgently intervene.
In the high-stakes world of British horse racing, where triumph and tragedy often collide in the blink of an eye, a shocking revelation has sent shockwaves through the sport. On Tuesday evening at Wolverhampton Racecourse, 17-year-old apprentice jockey Mason Paetel guided the Joe Tickle-trained Sant Alessio to a heartfelt victory in a one-mile handicap race. But as the cheers faded and the cameras closed in for a post-race interview, Paetel’s composure shattered. His voice cracking with raw emotion, the young rider dedicated the win to his best friend, the late Tommie Jakes, a fellow 19-year-old jockey whose untimely death last week has left the weighing room in mourning. What began as a tribute quickly escalated into a bombshell disclosure, linking Jakes’s final hours to a controversial victory at Nottingham Racecourse—and sparking an immediate probe by police and the British Horseracing Authority (BHA).
Paetel, one of the season’s rising stars with 31 winners under his belt in 2025, could barely hold back tears as he spoke to Sky Sports Racing. “Tonight’s a special night,” he began, his words halting as he fought for breath. “I lost my friend Tommie the other day—my best friend. That was for him. I’ll do him proud.” But then, in a moment that stunned viewers and colleagues alike, Paetel delved deeper, his trembling voice revealing a darker undercurrent to Jakes’s passing. According to sources close to the interview, Paetel alluded to the mounting pressure Jakes faced after clinching an unexpected victory aboard an outsider for trainer Ismail Mohammed at Nottingham on the afternoon of October 29. “It was that win at Nottingham,” Paetel reportedly whispered, his eyes welling up. “The pressure… it broke him. Hours later, and he’s gone. They need to look into it— the bets, the whispers. It wasn’t right.”
Jakes, a prodigious talent from Newmarket, had ridden 519 races in his short career, amassing 59 victories since his maiden win in 2023. Employed by leading trainer George Boughey, the teenager was seen as the future of flat racing, blending raw skill with an infectious enthusiasm that endeared him to trainers, owners, and fans. His parents, Jeremy and Tonie Jakes, painted a picture of a vibrant young man brimming with life in the days leading up to his death. “He came home from Nottingham dancing in the kitchen,” Jeremy recounted in an emotional statement to The Mirror. “After his chicken dinner—said it was the best he’d ever had—he was on the phone with mates until midnight, planning his next big ride. He loved this life.” Yet, tragedy struck in the early hours of October 30, when Jakes was found unresponsive at the family home, just a stone’s throw from Newmarket’s historic racing heartland. Initial reports suggested a sudden medical event, but Paetel’s tearful outburst has cast a long shadow over the narrative.
The Nottingham victory in question was no ordinary triumph. Jakes piloted a long-shot contender to glory in a competitive field, defying odds of 12/1 and pocketing a modest but significant purse for Boughey’s stable. Whispers in the paddock had long circulated about unusual betting patterns around the race—sharp spikes in late money on Jakes’s mount that raised eyebrows among bookmakers. Insiders now speculate that the win, while legitimate on the surface, may have entangled Jakes in a web of external pressures: perhaps from shadowy figures seeking to exploit his rising profile, or even internal team dynamics gone awry. “Tommie was too trusting,” a fellow apprentice confided anonymously to Racing Post. “That ride at Nottingham? It was his breakthrough, but breakthroughs come with baggage in this game.”
Paetel’s emotional plea has ignited a firestorm. Within hours of the broadcast, Nottinghamshire Police announced they were “reviewing new information” related to Jakes’s death, expanding their initial inquiry from a presumed accident to a broader investigation into potential foul play or coercion. “We are liaising closely with the BHA and taking all statements seriously,” a police spokesperson said in a terse release. The BHA, racing’s governing body, moved swiftly, suspending betting inquiries on the Nottingham event and dispatching integrity officers to interview key stakeholders, including Mohammed and track officials. “The welfare of our riders is paramount,” read a BHA statement. “Any suggestion of undue influence will be met with the full force of our regulatory powers.” Jockeys across the circuit have rallied in solidarity, donning black armbands at meetings from Ascot to York, while racecourses observed minutes of silence that echoed with unspoken grief and fury.
The outpouring of tributes underscores Jakes’s impact. Handler Linda Perratt, a staunch supporter, called him “a light that burned too bright.” Boughey’s yard issued a heartfelt note: “Tommie wasn’t just a rider; he was family. His spirit will gallop on.” Paetel, still reeling, has stepped back from the saddle for a few days at the urging of his team, but not before vowing to honor his friend. “We grew up dreaming of this together,” he posted on social media, a simple photo of the two lads grinning atop a hay bale. “Whatever it takes, I’ll uncover the truth.”
As the investigation unfolds, the racing community grapples with uncomfortable truths. The sport, often romanticized as a test of equine grace and human grit, harbors undercurrents of high finance and hidden agendas. Jakes’s death—potentially tied to the very victory that should have propelled him forward—forces a reckoning. Was it the intoxicating rush of success that proved fatal, or something more sinister lurking in the shadows of the winner’s circle? Paetel’s trembling voice has cracked open that question, demanding answers. In Newmarket’s misty mornings and Wolverhampton’s floodlit evenings, the hoofbeats now carry a heavier cadence: one of loss, but also of resolve. For Tommie Jakes, the boy who danced home from his last race, the final furlong is run. But for his friends and the sport he loved, the race for justice has only just begun.
