THE SUNSHINE COAST NEWSPAPER COLUMN: LATEST RULING PROMPTS THE USUAL 'JOCKEY BETTING' DEBATE

By Graham Potter | Friday, July 5, 2019

Graham Potter writes a weekly column for the Sunshine Coast daily. Due to demand from those having trouble accessing the paper these columns are now also published on HRO courtesy of the Sunshine Coast daily.

Jockey Luke Tarrant was in scintillating form at Corbould Park on Saturday winning three of the first five races on the card with those results underlining the superb riding talent that Tarrant possesses.

That success came just days before Tarrant was due to start a one month suspension handed down to him by stewards after they had found him guilty of placing three bets for a total of $55 on international races via a betting account which was registered in his name … this, despite protestations by Tarrant that he had not opened the account or placed the bets in question.

Either way, the steward’s verdict in this case opened up the usual debate amongst punters with regard to jockeys betting on races.

It needs to be stated at the outset that rules are rules and if they are listed in the current Rules Of Racing they simply have to be adhered to. Those who don’t follow the rules have to face the consequences. There can be no debate about that and nobody that I could find, across the board, would sanction jockeys betting on races in which they ride.

Whether they bet on their own horses or, perhaps more sinisterly, on a rival … that really isn’t on … as the likes of jockeys Damien Oliver and James McDonald found to their cost in their high-profile cases.

Oliver famously received an eight month suspension back in 2012 for placing a $10 000 bet, through a third party, on a rival horse in a race in which he was riding, while, in 2016, McDonald was put off for eighteen months for placing a $1000 bet on a horse he was riding … which won.

There does seem an incongruity with those two outcomes given the weight of money and who was bet on … but that’s another story.

But betting locally on international races where a jockey has absolutely no involvement?

‘What can be wrong with that’ is just one of the debates that has emerged following the Tarrant decision and it will be an on-going argument whenever such a situation arises … along with the question of just how well the jockey betting rule can actually be policed in the first place.

What is wrong with that, as stated as the outset, is that it breaks the rule as it stands at the moment.

You can turn that into another couple of questions however and ask … is the rule that states jockeys are not allowed to bet AT ALL a good rule? Is it better than any alternative?

The existing rule has been around forever and is likely to remain in place for a very long time

The fundamental belief is that ‘no betting at all’ rule for jockeys has to be all-encompassing and has to be in place to protect the integrity of the sport. It would be too complicated an issue if the rule becomes conditional.

There are those who think otherwise though and they believe the rule should be relaxed to a sensible degree and rewritten.

Which side are you on?

*Luke Tarrant has appealed the finding against him and he will be in action at Doomben tomorrow riding under stay of proceedings.