Tania Hyett, the girlfriend of jockey Danny Nikolic, has been cleared by the RAD Board of the laying of horses trained by Robert Smerdon.
It was alleged by stewards that she had, or had placed on her behalf, 34 bets to lose in a period from December 20 last year through to April 17 when she was a registered stable employee with Smerdon.
Through her legal representative Jason Murakami, Hyett made a ‘no case’ submission which was accepted by the board.
Murakami argued Hyett wasn’t a stablehand and wasn’t employed by Smerdon, but was employed in an administration role with Aquanita Racing.
The betting activity came to light through the Baron Archer probe following a race at Echuca in March where the Jason Warren-trained galloper was having his first run back following throat surgery.
Warren was fined $17,500 for failing to inform stewards of the surgery which was subsequently reduced to $15,000 on appeal at VCAT.
