Community & Business
13 February, 2026
Racing community mourns passing of FNQ jockey
THE local racing community is mourning the death of beloved jockey Len “Slick” Davies, who passed away recently at the age of 80.
Len Davies, known by many as Slick, was a top hoop in the region for decades before retiring in August 2000, later becoming the caretaker of the Laura Amateur Turf Club.
He won a host of feature cup and sprint races in north Queensland and was widely known as a talented rider.
North Queensland jockeys often recall a famous tale about the former rider that summed up his two passions.
While he loved his riding, he was also a passionate fisherman. So much so that on one occasion he rolled into the races and opened what he believed to be his bag with all his riding gear in the jockeys’ room. Instead, it was a bag filled with tackle and rods.
Retired jockey Robert Thompson, who rode more winners than any other hoop in Australian racing history, made an annual trip to Laura to throw in a line alongside Davies and Ronnie Ryan, among others.
Thompson would compete at Townsville and Cairns during the northern carnival and once the rich feature racing was over, he would head further north to see Slick.
“The fishing trips and all that, every carnival time, Ronnie Ryan would take me up and we’d go fishing in Laura,” he recalled.
“They were great times. He was a champion fella, Slick, a champion bloke. He would do anything for you. He was a great fella – he loved his fishing.”
Davies was largely credited for making the Laura track suitable to race following Cyclone Jasper in late 2023. At one stage, the winning post was the only thing visible through the floodwaters covering the turf club.
Davies and his band of loyal and committed volunteers ensured the track was safe to be raced on and the one-a-year-club were able to run their popular meeting in the middle of 2024.
Fellow former jockey and friend Ronnie Ryan was told at a young age to keep an eye on Davies, as he was the type of rider that he needed to emulate if he was to make it as a top hoop.
“He was a very, very capable rider. There wasn’t too many better than him,” he said.
“I remember when I started off, he was about 11 years older than me, and my old boss, Jack Wilson, said I needed to follow Slick as a senior rider and he’d help me as a kid.
“He was a very genuine person and a good rider. He was also very, very competitive. He won Innisfail Cups, he won Newmarkets in Cairns, and races like the Johnstone River Handicap at Innisfail.
“He was a very good horseman and not only a good jockey, but he could train a horse too.”
Statistics show that Slick collected more than 540 wins in the saddle, fittingly, the final win of his career was aboard Oh Romeo at Laura in July of 2000.
Davies’ funeral service was held in Mareeba last Thursday.
