Leading trainer Robert Smerdon has been charged in relation to the Damien Oliver betting scandal.

The Caulfield-based Smerdon now has to face a Racing Victoria hearing to answer a claim he acted in a way which was prejudicial to the interests of racing.

Smerdon has admitted he handed over $11,000 to Oliver but claimed he had no knowledge of how or why the money was due to the champion rider, saying he had simply done a favour for a friend, punter and form analyst Mark Hunter.

The money turned out to be the proceeds of an illegal bet Oliver had placed on a rival horse, Miss Octopussy, in a race he rode in at Moonee Valley in October 2010.

Smerdon arranged to meet Oliver at the jockey's house to hand over the cash and stewards say he did so "without taking any step to determine the reason, or purpose for the payment from Mr Hunter to Mr Oliver".

The Oliver betting scandal cast a pall over Melbourne's showcase spring racing carnival and came amid a series of investigations by stewards into the illegal race day treatment of horses.

It also ran alongside the drawn-out saga of jockey Danny Nikolic who was suspended for two years for threatening chief steward Terry Bailey.

Oliver had pleaded guilty to placing the bet on another horse but was allowed to ride through the spring feature events, with the investigation held over.

He was eventually disqualified from riding for 10 months.

The Victorian Racing Appeal and Disciplinary Board will hear the charge against Smerdon at a date to be fixed.

Smerdon recently said he had nothing more to tell Racing Victoria about the circumstances of the incident.

"I was asked to pass something on to Damien Oliver by a mate, Mark Hunter, and I did. That's what I told them," Smerdon told News Limited earlier this month.

Stewards said on Thursday that their investigations into the involvement of other parties in the Oliver matter "remains active".

The charge against Smerdon comes on top of a recent $10,000 fine issued to him by stewards for negligence in allowing his horse Shewan to be treated on race day.