Berry has been a licensed trainer since the start of 2000

A Horseracing Regulatory Authority hearing has permitted Berry to send out runners from his Lancashire base.

The HRA's special panel decided a ban would be "disproportionate" given that trials in the case are unlikely to begin before spring 2007.

Former champion jockey Kieren Fallon and fellow riders Fergal Lynch and Darren Williams face similar charges.

Berry was prevented from entering or declaring a horse after he was one of 11 people charged on Monday.

The 43-year-old was charged with conspiracy to defraud customers of the betting exchange Betfair.

"If we suspend Berry's licence we are satisfied that this would put him out of business," said Sir Michael Connell, who chaired the HRA's three-man panel.

I was totally shocked when they charged me Kieren Fallon

"We realise, and this is fundamental, that a man is innocent until found guilty."

Rupert Arnold, chief executive of the National Trainers Federation, backed the decision.

"It is very important for the yard to be operational in terms of the continued employment of the staff," said Arnold.

Fallon, who is suspended from riding in Britain along with the other jockeys pending an appeal to the HRA on Friday, has vowed to prove his innocence.

"I was totally shocked when they charged me. I really didn't expect that," he told The Sportsman newspaper.

"I am glad of the support of so many people and I will now prove my innocence in court."

Fallon leaves Bishopsgate police station after being charged

Fallon, a six-time champion jockey, was one of eight people charged with conspiracy to defraud, while three others are charged with offences under the Proceeds of Crime Act.

The riders' licences in Britain have expired as a result of them being charged.

The HRA has set aside time for a special panel to hear representations from those affected.

Fallon had been scheduled to ride Aussie Rules for Irish trainer Aidan O'Brien in the Coral-Eclipse Stakes at Sandown on Saturday.

The Lancaster-based Berry has been charged in relation to the horse Hillside Girl, which he is accused of dishonestly entering into a race before subsequently laying against it winning - in other words, betting that it would lose the race.

Berry has been a licensed trainer since the start of 2000 and has trained a total of 283 winners, including five over jumps.

His biggest wins have included the St Hugh's Stakes at Newbury, the Lansdown Fillies' Stakes at Bath and the Henry Gee Fillies' Stakes at Chester.

He denies any wrongdoing.