Smoking Aces inquiry over with no charges

Friday 7 February 2014, 5:23pm

The long-running investigation into the alleged fixing of a race at Cranbourne in 2011 involving controversial jockey Danny Nikolic has concluded with no charges to be laid under the rules of racing.

The race won by Smoking Aces, ridden by Nikolic, was identified in 2012 in a television program as being under suspicion by police of being rigged.

Nikolic, his brother John and jockey Mark Zahra were named in connection with the investigation of the race, although Zahra said he had not been questioned.

After the Victoria Police Purana Taskforce investigated criminal allegations of race fixing and money laundering, all three were told by police in July last year that no criminal proceedings would be pursued.

On Friday, Racing Victoria (RV) announced it had reached the same conclusion.

RV said its own investigation into the Smoking Aces race began in August 2012, but the racing authority was required to give precedence to the police investigation.

After that was wrapped up, RV received the information that could be legally shared by Victoria Police.

The RV investigation included more than 40 individual interviews and an extensive analysis of betting records.

"Our investigation into the Smoking Aces race has concluded and no charges will be laid under the Australian Rules of Racing," RV's chief executive, Bernard Saundry, said.

Nikolic is serving a two-year ban which expires in October next year for threatening behaviour towards senior steward Wade Hadley during a VCAT hearing into another incident.

The latest penalty came when the jockey was halfway through a two-year disqualification for abusing Victoria's chief steward Terry Baily at a Seymour race meeting in September 2012.

– AAP

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