‘Nailed it’: Billy Slater blows Aussies away in new gig
Rugby league legend Billy Slater was been praised by racing fans, absolutely nailing his new gig as viewers saw another side to the NRL great.
Billy Slater has blown viewers away in his new role during this year’s spring racing action.
A rugby league legend, the Queensland State of Origin coach has shifted gears, joining Nine’s coverage of the Melbourne Cup carnival.
Slater, a trackwork jockey as a teenager, remains active in the racing industry as a horse owner and through the breeding stable operation he manages with wife Nicole — Slater Thoroughbreds.
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His return to the saddle comes 25 years since he was last a trackwork jockey for racing icon Gai Waterhouse.
Slater absolutely nailed it on his first day in the saddle as the network’s “horseback reporter”, interviewing victorious jockeys after they went past the post.
“I feel really honoured, I feel like I’ve got the best seat in the house here in Flemington,” Slater said on Nine’s coverage of Derby Day on Saturday.
“This is Sammy, he’ll be looking after me today,” he said holding a horse in the stables.
“He’s just having a little nibble on the roses, I don’t know if the groundsmen will be too happy about that.
“It’s a real surreal moment for myself actually. I get the opportunity to grab and talk to the jockeys directly after they win some of the biggest races of their career.
“We just had Damien Oliver, the legendary jockey himself, walk past and say g’day. Really pinching myself at the moment.”
Slater was riding horseback at Flemington when he interviewed star jockey Jamie Kah after she won the Victoria Derby riding Goldrush Guru.
Kah had earlier suffered a suspected broken nose after being struck by her horse Hurry Curry in the gates before the Wakeful Stakes, ruling her out of that race.
After her win in the Derby, Slater said: “That’s one way to get over a broken nose is win a Group 1.”
Kah replied: “Yeah, the owner said ‘You know what fixes broken noses? Champagne. I’ll have plenty waiting for you when you cross the line’. So I’ll hold him for that.”
It was a rollercoaster day for Kah, who was handed a 10-meeting ban for interference, but will be allowed to race Tuesday’s Melbourne Cup on board Okita Soushi.
Viewers were full of praise for Slater, with many learning of the former star Melbourne Storm fullback’s love of horse racing for the first time.
Jo McKinnon wrote on X: “Loving the Channel 9 coverage of derby day! Great team all working so well together. Billy Slater is an absolute superstar! Proper horseman knows his stuff and such a genuine good bloke.”
The Thoroughbred tweeted: “Billy Slater nailing it. Questions short, sharp and to the point. Let the jockeys talk.”
Ralph Horowitz posted: “Anyway if in 2005, you took a multi that within 20 years at Flemington Melbourne Cup week, Denis Pagan would be a Derby winning trainer, and Billy Slater would be doing the jockey interviews on horseback, congrats and go and collect your billion dollars.”
Adam Page said: “It is a shame for racing that he’s an Origin coach and an all time NRL great that is a star media performer because watching the Nine coverage of Derby Day, the standout, by far, was Billy Slater. Immediately jumps to #2 behind Lettsy (former jockey turned interviewer Johnny Letts).”
One viewer posted: “I don’t know much about Billy Slater but the way he talks about horses warms my heart.”
“Horse racing is something I have always had a passion for,” Slater told News Corp this year.
“I was 16 years old and I finished Grade 11 and left school and I was living down in Sydney on my own and working for Gai.
“That was a real eye-opener. To see the operation of a high-quality trainer like Gai, it probably helped me subconsciously when I went on to pursue an NRL career.
“I was about 70kg when I was 16, so I was never going to be a jockey.”
His role is one of several big appointments by Nine after the network picked up the Melbourne Cup Carnival TV rights through to the end of 2029 on a deal reported to be worth $50 million.
Nine has also announced Eddie McGuire will host the coverage of the ‘Race That Stops The Nation’.
McGuire will front the broadcast from Flemington where he will be joined by racing royalty Francesca Cumani.
Melbourne Cup winning jockey Michelle Payne and Aussie Olympic hero Jess Fox will also feature.
The Melbourne Cup Carnival begins with the Victoria Derby on Saturday, November 2.
The Melbourne Cup will be run on Tuesday.