Group 1-winning jockey Noel Callow has been disqualified for 10 months after Queensland racing stewards found him guilty of making racially offensive videos.
Callow admitted to two charges of conduct prejudicial to the interests of racing, with the footage dating back to an incident in Darwin last year. In one video, he mocked an Indigenous man with obscene language and derogatory comments, including a reference to “Yothu Yindi,” while in another he directed abuse at members of the public as he rode past on a bicycle.
Stewards rejected submissions from Callow’s lawyer, Matthew Stirling, who argued that a four-to-six week ban was consistent with penalties in other sports for racist language. Instead, they imposed a far harsher penalty, citing Callow’s “longstanding history of misconduct, including incidents of prejudicial behaviour.”
The stewards’ report noted that Callow had only just returned from a three-month suspension for a physical altercation with fellow jockey Kyle Wilson-Taylor, describing it as “highly relevant” and evidence of a failure to learn from past sanctions.
“Racist and obscene language, even if intended as misplaced humour, is objectively offensive, blameworthy, and damaging to racing’s reputation once publicised,” the report stated. They also stressed that Callow bore responsibility for creating and sharing the recordings, which later circulated widely.
Callow, who has ridden five Australian Group 1 winners and enjoyed success abroad, has been advised of his rights to appeal. The ban, however, casts significant doubt over his future in the racing industry.
