By Richard Griffiths Author of 'Racing in the Dock'

Some people refuse to believe that racing has problems with wrongdoing.

It's high time that they woke up to the fact the sport actually does have serious integrity issues which need addressing. And the sooner that is done the better.

Headlines such as we have seen over the last few days stain the sport.

That is beyond argument. Many people who walk into their local newsagent may glance only at the damaging allegations that are splashed across the front pages, without bothering to see if those claims can be substantiated.

They assume the worst, as was revealed on a BBC Radio Five discussion I took part in on Monday.

Full story: Fallon gets 21-day ban

While there were a few cynical snorts from some listeners who e-mailed in their views, there were others who vowed never to bet on racing again. That is a sobering prospect as racing, through the levy system, is ultimately funded by punters' money.

In some ways the fall-out from last week's controversial race at Lingfield has centred too heavily on Kieren Fallon.

There is no doubt that the six-times champion jockey rode a hugely ill-judged race, for which he has now been banned 21 days.

Fallon threw away a clear winning opportunity by easing his mount down in the final furlong, exacerbating his mistake by looking round to see where the opposition was.

But Fallon claims that he is guilty only of human error and that is what we must accept unless anyone is able to prove otherwise.

What we must not lose sight of is that the Jockey Club was tipped off that there was a problem with the race before it even took place.

Suspicious betting patterns on the exchanges suggested that someone felt strongly that Fallon's mount Ballinger Ridge would not win.

We need to find out why they were so sure of that. Or rather the Jockey Club's security department does. Too often in the past they have been accused of failing to come up with sufficient evidence to prosecute successfully.

There can be no more excuses.

Jockey Club's view

As long as the Jockey Club fails to track down - and punish - anyone involved in horse racing corruption, the more people will think that the sport is easy pickings.

If the wrong-doers were identified and suitably punished, you would hope it would act as a deterrent to others.

It would be easy to blame betting exchanges - a relatively new phenomenon which for the first time allows punters effectively to back horses to lose instead of winning - for the current scandal.

Exchanges may be a conduit for people to make illegal profits, but they are not the cause of the problems.

Horse racing, because of the vast amount of money that is bet on it, has always been ripe for wrong-doing.

Remember it is not even two years since another devastating scandal unfolded, which revealed details of a 23-horse doping spree as well as the infiltration of the jockeys' weighing room by a man suspected of being an international cocaine dealer.

Panorama programme 'The corruption of racing'

I am sure people said at the time that racing could not afford to be dragged through the mire any more.

So why does it seem to be happening all over again?