Orange author John Payne has picked up an award for his debut novel, the self-published Their Last Ride which tracked the final races and rides of thousands of jockeys all across Australia.
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Mr Payne, who received praise from the book across broad swathes of the media including Ray Hadley and a plethora of racing journalists for the book which catalogued every jockey who'd died on our shores.
His book won the Bill Whittaker Book Prize, an award handed out every two years for the best Australian book on horse racing.
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Mr Payne spent seven years researching his book and said he was glad to be recognised for his work, with Their Last Ride picked out of a field of 40 books printed across the country in the last two years.
However, he said he was more proud the award would help the fallen jockeys be recognised and remembered after their death.
"It's not for me, I'm chuffed but I'm proud these jockeys will be remembered," he said.
"Especially out in the bush a lot of these guys would have been forgotten over the 200 years."
Mr Payne's book was self published, and is now in its third edition.
Copies have been sold as far abroad as the US, UK and Hong Kong, mostly sold online without a publishing arm standing behind him.
Copies can still be purchased from theirlastride.com.au.
Mr Payne said he had two other books he was hoping to publish over the next few years.
