Danny Nikolic
The colourful and successful career of jockey Danny Nikolic is in turmoil after he was disqualified for two years from all involvement in racing.
Nikolic was found guilty of two charges relating to “contemptible and sinister” threats he made against Victoria’s chief steward Terry Bailey and his family.
The latest charges come at the end of a string of offences in which Nikolic has displayed contempt for authority, two of which have resulted in fines of $10,000 and $2000 and substantial sentences.
He is also at the centre of race-fixing allegations under investigation by Victorian police and is due to face court this month on charges of assaulting another jockey and the jockey’s partner. Victoria’s Racing Appeals and Disciplinary (RAD) Board found Nikolic guilty last month of abusing and threatening Bailey at the Seymour race meeting on September 4.
The RAD Board accepted Bailey’s evidence that Nikolic had approached him on the racecourse following an earlier confrontation between the pair and said: “We all have families (expletive) and we know where yours lives (expletive).”
Nikolic, 37, maintained his innocence throughout, telling the board it had been Bailey who made a threat, vowing to end his riding career.
Lawyer Sandip Mukerjea, for the stewards, described Nikolic’s behaviour at Seymour as a continuation of his “blatant disrespect and contempt for authority”.
AAP