Australian jockey Damien Oliver was
barred from racing for 10 months after he pleaded guilty to two
charges involving a bet he made on a rival horse that won a race
in which he was riding.
Oliver, 40, a two-time Melbourne Cup-winning rider, was
disqualified for eight months and suspended a further two months
after placing the A$10,000 ($10,400) bet via a third party and
using a mobile phone in the jockeys’ room prior to the Oct. 1,
2010, race at Moonee Valley in Melbourne, Racing Victoria said
after a hearing today.
“I want to apologize to the racing industry and everyone
here today,” Oliver said in a televised statement at Racing
Victoria’s Melbourne headquarters. “I’m deeply sorry for my
actions.”
Oliver provided the committee overseeing the investigation
with a written admission Nov. 12 that he placed the bet on race
favorite and eventual winner Miss Octopussy. Oliver’s horse,
Europa Point, finished in sixth place.
Oliver, who was inducted into the Australian Racing Hall of
Fame in 2008, has completed the so-called grand slam of
thoroughbred racing in the country by winning the Melbourne Cup,
Caulfield Cup, Cox Plate and Golden Slipper.
