Max Presnell: McDonald pays penalty in wake of Oliver's soft ban
James McDonald was the fall guy for a soft penalty given to Damian Oliver in Victoria, which instituted a two-year mandatory sentence for jockeys guilty of betting.
HORSE RACING
Was there a plan to fix the Tramway Stakes?
The James McDonald inquiry heard several jockeys acknowledged a controversial punter while parading before a major spring carnival race in Sydney. Was there a fix on?
'He can win the premiership': Innes urged to focus on apprentices' title
Gerald Ryan has challenged his apprentice James Innes Jnr to etch his name alongside the likes of Hugh Bowman, Tommy Berry and Tim Clark in winning the Sydney apprentices' premiership - even though he is set to come out of his time before the end of the season.
Sandown just right for Chris Waller stayer
Champion trainer Chris Waller will take advantage of the programming for stayers in Victoria when he produces the Irish-bred Zourkhan at Sandown on Saturday.
Canberra's Provincial switch gives more chance at the Champiobnships
Up to 15 Canberra horses could get a crack at $400,000 Provincial Champs at Randwick.
McDonald's $1000 bet wrecks his multimillion-dollar career
He comfortably earns more than Johnathan Thurston and Lance Franklin from his sporting prowess in any average year, but a paltry $1000 bet has destroyed the career of one of Australia's best jockeys.
The new Racing Victoria must be independent or the industry will struggle
Racing Minister Martin Pakula has created a historic opportunity to restore pride and integrity to Victorian racing.
Star Turn snapped up by Hunter Valley stud
Star Turn is the latest of the stellar crop of three-year-olds to find a home beyond the racetrack with Vinery Stud buying into the group 1 placegetter.
The one-eyed horse, short arms and a Magic Millions contender? Moore's crazy Adelaide tales
Gary Moore's best buy out of Adelaide's Magic Millions sale was a one-eyed horse which later scored an invite to one of the richest race meetings in the world – and the trainer himself suddenly developed his own imperfection on a recent visit to the city of churches.
Ford in awe of Esteban's motor after inglorious start to career
Jay Ford couldn't get within lengths of the winner in a Nowra maiden back in April when he last rode Esteban. Yet somehow he's back on the spruik horse of the summer.
Bloodlines: 10 yearlings to watch at Magic Millions sales
Magic Millions bloodstock manager Barry Bowditch has once again come to the party for Bloodline readers by naming his top 10 yearlings selling at the Gold Coast extravaganza beginning on January 11.
'We were hoping the photo would go your way': Avdulla's reprieve from stipes
NSW premiership leader Brenton Avdulla has had a huge scare in the stewards' room after an early double at Warwick Farm on Wednesday.
Pakula has rare chance to rebuild Victorian racing
No minister since the late 1950s has been given a greater mandate for change and wide sweeping uncompromised reform of the racing industry than Martin Pakula has been over the past five days..
Williams backs government plans for an independent body to run racing in Victoria
The multiple Melbourne Cup-winning Williams family has thrown its weight behind the Andrews Government decision to throw out the board of Racing Victoria and create a new independent team to oversee the sport in this state.
Hunter Valley's pain could be Victoria's gain as mining row creates uncertainty
Australia's world-renowned Hunter Valley thoroughbred region has been an industry leader for decades, with some of the world's leading racing operations, headed by Sheik Mohammed's Godolphin, Irish giants Coolmore and local flagship breeders such as Arrowfield making multi-million-dollar investments in regional NSW.
Champion horse owned by conman to be stripped of prize money
Australian racing authorities are set to strip champion mare Azkadellia of more than $1.5 million in prize money and are expected to impose bans on a prominent Victorian racing figure over claims he allegedly concealed ownership of the horse on behalf of serial fraudster Peter Foster.
Victorian racing a shambles as industry leaders fall by the wayside
It may be the season to be jolly, but it's hard to find anything heartwarming to say about the way the game is being administered.
Jockey dies in race fall
A jockey has died after a race fall in New Zealand.
Gold Coast El Dorado a great lure for Victorian owners and trainers
This time of year all roads in horse racing lead to Queensland, where the Magic Millions race day in early January offers millions of dollars in prizemoney for horses that, ordinarily, might not quite measure up to the top-class tests where the big stakes are usually found.
The man who made Saintly into a legend
Bart Cummings knew from the very beginning that Saintly would be a very special racehorse and, with the master trainer's skill and dedication, that's what he became.
Why McDonald hasn't been the only jockey probed over betting scandal
The net has been cast so wide into the James McDonald betting scandal that it appears there is far more than one jockey who has been in the crosshairs of Racing NSW stewards.
Lees' Sense Of Occasion spot-on after bookending Randwick miles
Kris Lees started the year winning the first big feature Randwick mile and finished it the same way.
Christmas Destiny fulfilled as wet-tracker salutes
It wasn't named the Christmas Cup for no reason. Race week rain, a heavy track and conditions tailor made meant Destiny's Kiss ended a drought stretching back to Australia Day at Randwick.
Bayliss gets early Christmas present as star apprentice rides out his claim
The 19-year-old rider is likely to remember Saturday's Flemington meeting as one of the most significant of his career.
Why She Will Reign still has plenty of work to do to make Golden Slipper
She Will Reign shot to the top of Golden Slipper betting despite still not being guaranteed a run in the world's richest two-year-old race after destroying her rivals in the rich Inglis Nursery.
Bartley: How I became entangled in the cobalt saga
Reluctantly I became an actor in the long-running drama that is the Victorian racing cobalt case.
Racing Victoria hikes stakemoney thanks to carnival riches
Under pressure from owners, trainers and jockeys to lift prizemoney to keep pace with the richer stakes on offer in NSW, Racing Victoria on Friday announced that $5 million in additional funding will be distributed across the industry as a result of a successful spring carnival.
Integrity probe finds Moodie disclosed information and misled RVL
A probe into whether Racing Victoria chairman David Moodie had disclosed sensitive information on cobalt investigations and misled the Racing Victoria board found the claims substantiated, Sal Perna, Victoria's Racing Integrity Commissioner, explained on Friday.
Why Parr is proud to have given up winning rides
Heard of the jockey who confesses to often turning his back on the best ride in the race? Now you have. And he doesn't have one regret about it at all.
She Will Reign's 'massive unknown' fuelling McEvoy's confidence
The trainer of She Will Reign's biggest rival in the Inglis Nursery has warned the Golden Slipper second favourite has a "massive unknown" to overcome, but has justified her short quote in the rich two-year-old sprint at Randwick.