Victorian police say they will keep working with racing officials to stamp out criminal involvement in the industry after fresh claims of illicit deals linked to convicted crime boss Tony Mokbel.
It is alleged that Mokbel laundered millions of dollars through the racing industry, while paying a small number of jockeys and trainers for tips in an effort to improve his betting odds.
One of Australia's leading jockeys, Jimmy Cassidy, allegedly accepted large amounts of cash from Mokbel in return for tips from 1997, Melbourne's The Age newspaper reported on Saturday.
Jockeys and trainers are banned from tipping in return for money.
Racing figures also bought horses for Mokbel and his associates and rented properties owned by the Mokbel family, the paper said.
Victoria Police on Saturday refused to say whether the Purana Taskforce on organised crime planned to open an investigation into the allegations.
In a statement released as the only comment to media, a police spokeswoman said the taskforce had forged a strong working relationship with Racing Victoria over the years.
"Information is continually exchanged between both parties in an effort to monitor and curb offences within the racing industry," the statement said.
"When permitted by law Victoria Police can and does supply Racing Victoria with intelligence to proactively police and negate these issues.
"Victoria Police hopes to continue to build on and develop the existing relationship with the VRC in the future."
Victorian racing officials raised serious concerns about Mokbel with police in 1998, and in April 1999 they banned him from owning racehorses.
Racing Victoria's chief steward Des Gleeson on Saturday said there needed to be cooperation between racing stewards and police regarding inappropriate relationships between criminals and jockeys or trainers.
"We need to have information like that. If the police have it, somehow we need to have a system in place where that information is passed on to the racing authorities so that we can deal with anybody if there is a breach of the rules of racing," Gleeson said.
"We haven't got access to the information that the police have. They can't forward it to us. They can only pass it on to law enforcement agencies."
While Mokbel's racing activities went unchecked because stewards were limited by a lack of powers and had little support from police, Gleeson said the relationship with police was much better since 2005.
"We have a really good relationship with (the) Purana (Taskforce)," Gleeson said.
Mokbel absconded in March 2006 while on trial on drugs charges. He was convicted in his absence and arrested in a cafe in Athens on June 5 last year.
He arrived back in Melbourne after being extradited from Greece last month and is now in Barwon Prison.
Cassidy on Saturday refused to comment on the allegations.
