Read the complete write-up of Damien Oliver net worth, age, height, weight, family, parents, wife, children, brother Jason Oliver, racing jockey as well as other information you need to know.
Introduction
Damien Oliver is an Australian thoroughbred racing jockey. Oliver comes from a racing family; his father Ray Oliver had a successful career until his death in a race fall during the 1975 Kalgoorlie cup in Western Australia. In 2008 Oliver was inducted into the Australian Racing Hall of Fame.
Early life
| Name | Damien Oliver |
| Net Worth | $5 million |
| Profession | Racing Jockey |
| Height | 1.83m |
| Weight | 82kg |
| Age | 49 years |
Damien Oliver was born on June 22, 1972 (age 49 years) in Perth, Australia. His parents are Ray Oliver and Pat Rudland Oliver and his brother is Jason Oliver, his older brother Jason was killed in a training accident in the week leading up to the Cup in 1995. His father Ray also died after a race fall in 1975. Oliver paid tribute to his brother Jason, who died after a race fall. Oliver decided to ride in the Melbourne Cup as a tribute to the pair, wearing his brother’s breeches during the race.
Racing career
Damien Oliver’s riding career started in 1988 and he completed his apprenticeship with his stepfather Lindsey Rudland and Lee Freedman. His first win as an apprentice was in March 1988 on Mr Gudbud, at Bunbury, Western Australia and his first feature race win was the AJC Warwick Stakes. Unfortunately, he suffered a series of injuries including a broken spine in 1996, sustained in a fall at Moonee Valley.
He returned to riding after that back injury and rode the Japanese horse Pop Rock in the 2006 Melbourne Cup, which finished second to stablemate Delta Blues. In the 2007 Melbourne Cup, he placed second to Efficient on English horse Purple Moon.
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Oliver has won the Melbourne Cup three times, on Doriemus (1995) Media Puzzle (2002) and Fiorente (2013), the Caulfield Cup on Mannerism (1992), Paris Lane (1994), Doriemus (1995), and Sky Heights (1999), the Cox Plate on Dane Ripper (1997) and Northerly (2001) and the Blue Diamond Stakes (2004). He was also the regular rider of Lee Freedman’s champion sprinter Schillaci (1991–95) and top filly Alinghi (2003–05).
In the 2007 Golden Slipper, Damien Oliver completed the grand slam of Australian racing by winning the two-year-old race on the John Hawkes trained Forensics. Since his first ride in the Melbourne Cup in 1989, Oliver has only been absent from two editions of the race, 2005 due to injury and 2017 due to suspension.
On 22 September 2010, Oliver pulled out of rides at a Sandown meeting, while helping police with their inquiries into a criminal investigation.
In 2011, The Cup, a biopic starring Stephen Curry, was released. It covered Oliver’s relationships with his family and how he overcame the death of his brother Jason Oliver and won the 2002 Melbourne Cup two weeks later on Media Puzzle.
Damien Oliver won his third Melbourne Cup in 2013 riding the favourite, Fiorente. This ride was also his 100th Group 1 win. The victory was trainer Gai Waterhouse’s first victory in the Melbourne Cup. As of October 2021, Oliver has ridden 3,046 winners, including 122 in Group One races.
Illegal betting and suspension
Damien Oliver was accused of placing a $10,000 bet in 2012 on a rival horse, Miss Octopussy, to beat a horse he was riding, Europa Point, in the same race at Moonee Valley Racecourse on 1 October 2010. Europa Point finished sixth but stewards had no issue with the way Oliver rode his horse, saying there was no change from the usual racing pattern or any other reason to doubt the integrity of the ride.
It was subsequently revealed that he made an $11,000 profit with his bet. The then alleged incident was not discovered until 2012, during an investigation into the racing industry. He was subsequently dropped from the Lloyd Williams-owned Green Moon in the 2012 Cox Plate and 2012 Melbourne Cup although he did ride in the 2012 Cup Carnival, a move that reportedly annoyed some members of the public and racing industry. He won the Victoria Derby and Emirates Stakes.
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Oliver was formally charged with the alleged offence on 13 November 2012. On 20 November 2012, he was banned for eight months for the illegal bet and received an additional two months’ suspension for using a mobile phone in the area of the jockeys’ room against the rules. He was unable to ride in races until 13 September 2013.
On his return to race riding, Damien Oliver immediately tasted success culminating in his Melbourne Cup-winning ride. There has been discussion on whether Oliver’s sentence was adequate and the sentence for this offence has increased significantly since. Had it occurred in 2013, he would have been suspended for two years for the same offence.
Suspension after Melbourne Cup
Damien Oliver was one of two jockeys suspended after the Melbourne Cup in November 2021, pleading guilty to a careless riding charge for his steer on Delphi. Oliver was found to have permitted his mount to shift out when not sufficiently clear of Carif near the 600m.
Delphi went on to finish seventh, 13.35 lengths off winner Verry Elleegant. Oliver was suspended for three metro and eight provincial meetings with the penalty to commence after Oaks Day.
Earlier on November 2021, Oliver won race 5, the Grinders Coffee Roasters Trophy, riding five-year-old British gelding Lackeen.
The 49-year-old was inducted into the Australian Racing Hall of Fame in 2008. Oliver, who boasts 125 Group 1 races, has previously won the Melbourne Cup on three occasions — with Doriemus (1995), Media Puzzle (2002) and Fiorente (2013).
Dean Holland, who rode Tralee Rose into ninth place on Tuesday, also pleaded guilty to a careless riding charge. Stewards suspended Holland for three metro and nine provincial meetings, which will also commence at midnight on Thursday.
Meanwhile, jockey Craig Williams picked up a decent purse for his placing in the Melbourne Cup, but he gave a fraction of that back later in the day after weighing in light.
Williams partnered In The Darkness ($26) into ninth place in the TAB Trophy, but the Michael Hickmott runner was disqualified after Williams weighed in more than half a kilogram under his declared weight. The indiscretion cost Williams $750.
Awards
Damien Oliver has won Racing Victoria’s Scobie Breasley Medal eleven times (1996, 1999, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2014, 2015, 2018, 2019 and 2020). The award recognises excellence in race riding on Melbourne racetracks and is voted on the day of racing by stewards in a 3:2:1 format for the race ride of the day.
In 2014, he won the inaugural Roy Higgins Medal as the winner of the Victorian jockeys’ premiership. Oliver won 2014/15 Melbourne Jockey’s Premiership after riding 60 race winners. It was Oliver’s 10th win of the award, trailing only Roy Higgins and Bill Duncan who have won the award 11 times.
Jason Oliver death
Damien Oliver’s elder brother Jason Oliver was also a jockey; he died on 29 October 2002, after a fall at Belmont Park Racecourse, Western Australia when a young horse he was riding broke both front legs and fell during a race trial. The horse was found to have been administered phenylbutazone prior to the trial and this was thought to be a contributing factor in the accident. Jason Oliver was not married at the time of his death.
Wife
Damien Oliver is married to his longtime girlfriend Trish Oliver, they had their wedding in 1990. Damien and his wife Trish Oliver have three children. Oliver, his wife Trish and his children live in a private house in the Melbourne suburb of Port Melbourne.
Damien Oliver net worth
How much is Damien Oliver worth? Damien Oliver net worth is estimated at around $5 million. His main source of income is from his career as a racing jockey. Oliver successful career has earned him some luxurious lifestyles and some fancy cars. He is one of the richest racing jockeys in Australia. However, Damien Oliver supports the West Coast Eagles in the Australian Football League.