General consensus is that the Racing Appeals Board should have little trouble tossing out those serious charges against Danny Nikolic. Why? Stewards in real-time found nothing wrong with his rides. How can they now claim or hint there was something suspicious about them? And where is the line drawn on who a jockey can be friends with, and who he can chat with on the phone? Do 'friends' have to be cleared by the stewards? This case throws up a host of murky issues. No-one has linked Nikolic to re
General consensus is that the Racing Appeals Board should have little trouble tossing out those serious charges against Danny Nikolic. Why? Stewards in real-time found nothing wrong with his rides. How can they now claim or hint there was something suspicious about them? And where is the line drawn on who a jockey can be friends with, and who he can chat with on the phone? Do 'friends' have to be cleared by the stewards? This case throws up a host of murky issues. No-one has linked Nikolic to receipt of any money from other people's betting activities. The Board's decision is expected next Tuesday.
Danny Nikolic says he's been buoyed by the support he's received from the public during his ordeal. He says: 'I would say 99% of jockeys have been supportive and given me a lot of confidence...A lot of trainers have been terrific with me. A couple dropped off but I can't do much about that...On the whole, people in the industry have been quite supportive...The public over the fence at the races have a joke about it...The most common line is a punter would say "give us a call, Nikolic".