The son of the successful Irish trainer Liam Browne, he is probably the most notorious figure in the history of the sport over the past 20 years.

He claims to have doped 23 horses in the space of a few weeks back in 1990, using the tranquilliser acetylpromazine (ACP).

He was also identified in a TV documentary as a 'needle man', who doped horses for �5,000 a time.

In 1993, Browne was arrested on firearms charges but jumped bail and fled the country. He was eventually tracked down to a pony trekking stable in rural Ireland.

Browne claimed in a police interview in 2000, that he got into the seedier side of the business after initially being paid for information on horses.

He became involved in 'doping' in late 1990 after being offered money to oversee other people carrying out horse doping.

In his interview during Panorama's recent expose of corruption in horse racing, Browne also told the police that 'stopping' horses, or doing your best not to win or finish in the top three, was widespread in the industry.

This was so that horses would get reassessed, run at a lower weight and then be more likely to win a race at bigger odds.

During his earlier days, Browne was a champion amateur jockey and quickly translated that into a successful professional career.

After retiring from racing, he became a trainer at Lambourn, but his racing life came to an abrupt halt in October 1992, when the Jockey Club warned him off (banned him) for 10 years.

Surprisingly, he was not initially banned for admitting to doping horses, but for offences such as giving information to a bookmaker.

Soon after being banned, Browne claims he tried to lift the lid on the level of corruption happening within the sport.

He set up a meeting with the Jockey Club, but was left sitting on his own for more than an hour.

In November 2002, he was handed a 20-year extension after his 10-year ban had expired.