Champion jockey Damien Oliver says his 10-month ban has allowed him to spend precious time with his young children and may ultimately extend his race-riding career.

Australia's highest-profile hoop is halfway through a 10-month disqualification for placing a $10,000 bet on a rival horse - Miss Octopussy - in a race he rode at Moonee Valley two years ago.

"I understand I made a big mistake and I am extremely keen to make amends when I come back," Oliver told AAP in his first interview since being disqualified five months ago.

He said he was enjoying some quality time with his three-year-old son Luke.

"The one positive to come out of all this is that I've had time to spend with my family and young children growing up, getting involved in their education and sport and activities," he said.

"As a jockey, the constant battle with losing weight all the time and not eating properly you get tired and cranky, so living like a normal person has been nice for a change."

Oliver, 40, has two other children, daughters Niali, 9, and six-year-old Zara.

He said he realised he had made a "big mistake".

Immortalised in Melbourne Cup folklore for his emotional kiss to the heavens salute to his brother Jason, killed a few days earlier in a track incident in Perth, Oliver said there had been "a few bad days" during his time away from the track.

But it hadn't been as tough as he thought because he'd been able to enjoy a "normal" life for a while.

"It certainly hasn't been anywhere near as tough as going through the whole ordeal of dealing with the media attention and scrutiny I was under last spring," he said.

"It was nice to be able to slip into some kind of anonymity because it just dragged on."

Oliver will be able to ride trackwork and in trials in July.

It will give him two months to prepare for his comeback to race riding in September heading into the spring carnival's feature races such as the weight-for-age Cox Plate and Caulfield and Melbourne Cups.

The eight-time Melbourne premiership winner isn't expecting his time out of the saddle to count against him when leading Australian and overseas trainers engage jockeys for the big races.

"The most important thing I want to say is that I have never done anything but my best on any horse people have engaged me to ride in a race," stressed the two-time Melbourne Cup winning jockey.

He isn't worried if those owners and trainers want to wait and see if he has lost any of his nerve or race-riding brilliance during his lay-off.

"When I come back I'll do what I've done after any setback I've had - put my head down and my bum up and work hard to ride as many winners as I possibly can," he said.

"I've ridden horses for a long time. I know what I've got to do to perform at my best.

"In many ways I look at this (disqualification) as having prolonged my career and given me a break, rejuvenating me for the next stage of my career.

"This isn't new for me. I've been here before when I spent 15 months out of the saddle after breaking my back in a race fall."

Oliver has kept his weight under control playing golf, surfing and coaching a local junior footy team.

"I'm a healthy 60 kilos and really enjoying it," he said.

"I'll use those two months when I get back (in July) to get my weight back down.

"I might come back a little heavier but I hope to be riding at my regular weight of 54 or 55 kilos by the time spring comes around."

After recently catching up with some racing associates at a yearling sale in Melbourne, Oliver is confident once he returns to racing riding on September 13, the offers will come.

"Generally you're a bit ostracised when you're disqualified from riding and I'm not sure people within the industry feel they should be associating with you or not," he said.

"But I don't think the restrictions are quite as tough as they used to be in the old days."

How will he feel when he is legged up for his first race ride back in September?

"It's hard to say, I'll probably feel excited," he said.

Oliver will be the guest speaker at a sportsman's lunch in Brisbane on Thursday, the proceeds of which will go towards the medical expenses of rugby league identity Graham Murray who is an induced coma after falling ill last week.