Champion jockey Kieren Fallon has spoken for the first time about the Ballinger Ridge affair and insisted he is completely innocent of allegations of race-fixing.
In a four-page article described as the "sports scandal of the decade", the News Of The Worldalleged on Sunday that Fallon told undercover journalists before a race at Lingfield last Tuesday that eventual winner Rye would beat his mount.
But Fallon told ITV Newstoday that claims of race-fixing were "completely ridiculous".
And he said he repeatedly refused to accept any money or gifts for tips, as that would have landed him in hot water with the racing authorities.
"I've been very stupid. We've been warned against this many times. I was totally innocent of what was going on but have ended up being very stupid," he said.
"I've let so many people down, so many racing people and people who have supported me over the years.
"It's just turned out terrible."
Fallon said he was under the impression he was meeting people to advise them on how to become involved in the racing industry.
Asked if he had deliberately fixed or lost a race, Fallon said: "No. These are completely ridiculous allegations.
"For one, it's impossible to fix a race because of the amount of horses that run and the amount of people involved.
"That doesn't make any sense at all. Most jockeys are hungry, it's a tough sport and the only way you are going to get anywhere is by winning, not by losing.
"When the first couple of horses started winning for them (the News Of The World undercover team), they did offer me money and I said `what do you mean? Jockeys can't accept any money'.
"It wasn't until I got to Spain that it got to the stage where they said if you are not going to accept any money, why don't we give you cars? Why don't you have a Mercedes?
"I said it's against the Rules of Racing. I do very well out of racing, I make a good living - the cheque at the end of the month is very good. I don't need it and that's exactly what I told them.
"I think this all blew up because they could see I wasn't going to accept anything. They went the other way then and the whole thing went against me."
Irregular betting patterns on a betting exchange prompted the controversial defeat of Ballinger Ridge to be referred for investigation by the Jockey Club.
The horse was beaten a short head after Fallon eased down when well clear approaching the final furlong.