Heartfelt tributes to Dean Holland are being made as Australia's racing community mourns the jockey who died following a fall during a race in country Victoria.
Holland, 34, was in the final sprint to the finish line in the opening race at Donald on Monday when his horse veered suddenly and crashed into the inside rail.
Race meetings that were due to be held at Flemington and Moe have been cancelled, while jockeys racing at Randwick-Kensington in Sydney will wear black armbands to pay respect to Holland.
Holland's wife Lucy Clampin, and parents Belinda and Darren Holland released a statement describing their loss.
"Grief is completely overwhelming us after losing our beloved Dean yesterday at Donald races," they said.
"We have lost a once-in-a-lifetime person, a much loved partner, an amazing father of four beautiful young children in Harley, Luca, Frankie and Lily, as well as a special brother and a wonderful son.
"The outpouring of love for Dean and the care and support for us is helping us deal with our loss.
"We are thinking of Dean's colleagues in the jockeys' room as well as all in our industry that he loved so much."
A GoFundMe launched to raise money for Holland's family raised more than $350,000 in less than 24 hours after being set up late on Monday.
The comment section of the donation page has seen an outpouring of condolences and tributes, with racing teams from all corners of the country contributing.
"I didn’t get a chance to meet Dean Holland until Darwin Cup last year … All it took was some good conversation to confirm I was sitting in the presence of a genuinely good bloke from a wonderful family," one donor said of the jockey.
"You gave me my biggest thrill in racing by winning the Geelong Cup on Tralee Rose. May you forever fly high Dean … R.I.P champ," wrote another donor.
Racing Victoria has committed to help convert the funds raised through GoFundMe into a trust for the Holland family, while also pledging to contribute $100,000 towards the fund.
Racing South Australia chief executive Vaughn Lynch described Holland as "the life and soul of the jockey room" and well-liked throughout the industry.
"He was a hard-worker, that's why he was at a track like Donald on a Monday, because he was dedicated to the industry," Mr Lynch said.
"It's a bit fresh at the moment, but we'll definitely be honouring Dean and his family in an appropriate manner in the fullness of time."
Holland, a father of four young children, hailed from a racing family, with his father and grandfather both jockeys as well.
Trainer remembers his former apprentice
Adelaide trainer and former jockey Jon O'Connor took Holland on as an apprentice when he began in the sport, and has close ties to the Holland family.
O'Connor said the death had brought the racing community at Morphettville to a standstill.
"It's just a very numb feeling around the place now, everyone sort of walking around in disbelief," O'Connor said.
O'Connor said Holland was just starting to reach his peak in the saddle, having claimed victory in the Newmarket Handicap at Flemington in March.
"It was all just starting to come together for him in recent months," he said.
"He could ride any horse in any race weight-wise, there's no question he had his best ahead of him, which makes it all the more tragic."
O'Connor last saw Holland on Saturday, when he rode for O'Connor at Morphettville.
"He was on top of the world in career best form," he said.
"I did say to him he's been very busy boy lately, he just said he had an ambition to clock up 100 winners for the season."
O'Connor said the accident was a reminder of the risks associated with racing.
"Somewhere in the back of your mind you do know that it's a very high-risk sort of sport, and it hits home very hard when something like this happens," O'Connor said.
"An inexperienced horse only having its second start, it doesn't take much doesn't take much for an accident to happen."
WorkSafe will investigate the circumstances of the accident and a report will be prepared for the coroner.
In the wake of news of Holland's death, Racing Victoria chief executive Andrew Jones described the jockey as a "gifted lightweight rider" who displayed "immense talent".
Mr Jones said following consultation with the Jockey's and Trainers' Associations, the decision was made to resume racing in Victoria from Wednesday.
"Obviously it's a matter for individual jockeys whether they want to participate, some won't obviously and some will want to literally get back on the horse and get back to work," he said.
