Horse racing news 2024, Billy Slater exclusive on Gai Waterhouse ...
Billy Slater carved out a career in rugby league that many pundits believe will one day earn him Immortal status.
But the kid from Nambour in Queensland could just have easily swerved an NRL career.
In fact if not for a bout of homesickness when he was 16 years old, Slater might have given the Steeden away for good.
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"I played footy my whole life and I still did during that time, (but) there was a period when I was 14 or 15 years old that I stopped playing footy because it was clashing with horses," Slater explains to Wide World of Sports.
"For about 18 months I didn't play footy, I just did gymkhanas and showjumping."
Billy Slater meets the crowd at the Magic Millions barrier draw. Nine
Slater's two passions have always been rugby league and horses - the latter of which was borne out of backcountry rides with his grandfather from a young age.
He was just 12 years old when he started doing stablehand work for trainers at the local track.
After realising his opportunities in life would most likely come from avenues not requiring a completed school education, he left at 16 and travelled south to Sydney, where he met the queen of Australian racing.
"I left school and spent six months down in Sydney working at Tulloch Lodge for Gai Waterhouse," he says.
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"I was 16 at that time and got a bit homesick, (so I) went back home and started playing footy again."
While Slater was riding horses at trackwork for one of the country's most successful stables, he admits a career as a jockey was never on the table.
"I was 70kg when I was 16, so riding as a career was never really an option for me, being a jockey," he said.
"I loved it, I loved doing trackwork, I loved doing jumpouts and preparing horses, and horses in general - I just loved the animal, and still do now.
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James Bracey, Eddie McGuire, Francesca Cumani, Billy Slater and Nicole Slater at the unveiling of Channel 9 Birdcage Marquee at the 2024 Melbourne Cup Carnival. Getty
"If there was ever going to be a career path in the racing industry for me it was probably going to be more like a trainer or something like that.
"I was always going to be too heavy to be a jockey... footy was always there as well and that was probably my first passion, and horses interrupted that for a little bit.
"If you're 20kg over a jockey's weight at 16 you're probably going to struggle. It was never realistic... I never really thought about being a jockey."
Slater's career on the footy field is well known to Aussie sporting fans - two NRL premierships for the Melbourne Storm, 31 State of Origin games for Queensland, 30 Test matches for Australia, two Clive Churchill Medals for his grand final heroics and a Dally M Medal in 2011 as the league's best player.
He was all-in during his professional footy career but once it started to wind down, Slater once again turned to horses.
He now owns a property outside Melbourne where he and his wife breed and educate thoroughbreds.
Slater juggles that business with his commentary duties for Nine - rugby league during footy season, and now horse racing during the Melbourne Cup carnival.
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Billy Slater says farewell to State of Origin. Getty
"We really enjoy all aspects of being around the animals," he said.
"I love breeding horses - there is a bit of science to it, there's a bit of luck to it - and then growing those horses out and helping them be educated.
"It's quite unnatural for a horse that's a herd animal, lives out in the wild, to come to the races and be paraded around in front of thousands of people.
"To help them be ready for that is really important for our young horses. To go off to the sales and have that little bit of education to handle situations.
"If you can make your passion your work, that's half the success."
Slater was on horseback on Saturday for Nine's coverage of the Penfolds Victoria Derby at Flemington, interviewing the winners of each race, with that role to continue at the Lexus Melbourne Cup on Tuesday.
