White was born in Melbourne, Victoria, in 1944.[1] His father was also a jockey who won the Caulfield Cup in 1943.[2][3] White was brought up by his grandparents and started working on riding track when he was a young teenager. His apprenticeship contract was revoked after he committed vandalism, but it was eventually reinstated after one year.[2] He won his first race at the Braybrook Handicap held at Flemington Racecourse in July 1959.[3]
White was renowned for his judgment in long-distance events,[5][6] and for sleeping in the jockeys' room before riding in a race, regardless of how important it was.[5][7] He was also noted for preferring to use his hands rather than the whip, especially during the latter part of a race.[2] His record in sprint races includes wins in three Newmarket Handicaps, three Oakleigh Plates and three Futurity Stakes.[1] White also won the 1987 W. S. Cox PlateonRubiton.[7]
Throughout his 35-year career, White registered 2,112 race wins,[8] 60 Group 1 wins,[4] and approximately 200 feature race wins.[1][3] He was inducted into the Australian Racing Hall of Fame in 2003.[1]
White was married to Lauris White for over 40 years,[9] until her death from emphysema in January 2011.[9][10] Together, they had three children: Karen, Dean, and Brent.[4] After retiring in 1995, White resided with his family on a 200-hectare beef farm near GisborneinVictoria. Two of his horses – Think Big and Hyperno – were buried there.[11] He ultimately sold the farm around the time of his wife's death.[9]
White went blind in his left eye after falling at the Caulfield Cup, a condition he disclosed only after retiring.[2] He was later diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in July 2003.[11][2] He died on 21 October 2022.[4][12]His son Dean White stated that his father suffered from a long battle with multiple sclerosis and died from breathing problems caused by the disease.
[13]
