A jockey disqualified for five years over betting offences will return to the saddle under his legal name, Daniel Smith. Terry Treichel, who rode more than 1,200 winners in Australia and is a former Northern Territory champion, pleaded guilty in 2021 to 32 rule breaches, including 30 involving betting.
Ban and identity change
Treichel was originally banned for eight years but served five. During an investigation into betting allegations, Thoroughbred Racing Northern Territory stewards discovered he had changed his name by deed poll to Daniel Jack Smith. He held betting accounts under the Smith name with several bookmakers, placing 27 bets on races he was riding in as Terry Treichel and 168 on other races.
The 46-year-old pleaded guilty to all charges issued while he was a licensed jockey between July 2019 and December 2020, including falsely declaring in his licence application that his name was Terry Treichel after changing his identity.
Unprecedented case
The inquiry notice said at the time: “This is a unique set of circumstances not seen before in Australian racing. The covering of a change of identity and a subsequent volume of betting whilst licensed as a jockey is unprecedented.”
The ban, backdated to December 2020, was completed in December last year. The jockey then applied to be relicensed under his legal name, Daniel Jack Smith, in New South Wales, where he rode earlier in his career.
Return to racing
RacingNSW announced on Thursday: “Daniel Smith, who formerly rode under his previous name of Terry Treichel, has been passed to resume riding in races and has accepted rides at the Taree race meeting on Monday 31 August.”
