Champion jockey Chris Munce was sentenced to 30 months in jail after he was convicted by a Hong Kong court of conspiring to trade tips in return for bets.

The sentence casts a shadow over the Australian's illustrious career highlighted by a 1998 Melbourne Cup victory on Jezabeel.

Munce's wife Cathy broke down in tears after District Court Judge Kevin Browne announced the sentence and her husband was taken into custody.

She yelled, "you'll never get anyone here again," as she left the courtroom, apparently warning the conviction would scare off foreign jockeys from competing in Hong Kong.

Munce, who wore a black suit, blue shirt, and pink tie, maintained his composure. After being convicted in the morning, he returned to court to hear his sentence without a tie.

Judge Browne said Munce "undermined the integrity of racing," adding that "iconic" jockeys such as the Australian had a huge following and are seen as role models by younger jockeys.

"For an offence of this kind, an immediate custodial sentence is inevitable," he said.

Browne said that he was "satisfied beyond reasonable doubt" that Munce agreed to swap tips for bets placed on his behalf by a businessman.

"He entered into an arrangement with the (racing authorities)" and was in breach of that contract, Browne said. "That is where the criminality lies."

Racing NSW suspended Chris Munce's licence following his conviction.

The administrative body granted Munce a licence while he was on bail pending the trial and the jockey rode two Group One winners during the spring carnival.

The shock decision to jail Munce means that a new rider will have to be found for Desert War in Saturday's Group One Chipping Norton Stakes at Warwick Farm.

So confident was Munce that he would not be given a custodial sentence, he also accepted rides at Friday's Canterbury meeting.

Prosecutor John Dunn said he expected Munce to appeal and to apply for bail pending the appeal, although he said it was difficult to obtain because he needed to prove the likelihood of a successful challenge.

He said Munce's sentence could be reduced to 20 months, or by a third, if he behaves well in prison.

Dunn said Munce's case is the first time a jockey has been convicted for accepting advantages in return for tips in Hong Kong.

Earlier on Thursday, Munce's lawyer John McNamara challenged the conviction in an animated argument with the judge.

McNamara argued that the jockey broke Hong Kong racing rules but that he did not commit a criminal offence and that the matter should be handled by local racing officials, not in a court of law.

He also argued no one suffered financially from Munce's scheme, calling it a "victimless crime".

"What is alleged, what's been proven doesn't deserve the penalty that would ruin the life of this man and the life of his family," he said.

"What about the reputation of racing? It attracts huge public interest," Browne said.

Munce, 37, was arrested by anti-corruption cops last July with $HK250,000 ($A40,000) stuffed into his jeans pockets along with a piece of paper with notations allegedly relating to bets on races he had tipped.

The acclaimed jockey was charged for handing out information on the horses he rode and their likelihood of winning in return for bets being placed on them.

The scam was in breach of the rules of racing in Hong Kong, which stipulate that no rider may gamble or trade insider information.

He denied the charge of conspiracy as well as an allegation that he rode races to suit the tips he had been given.

Munce circumvented the ban on jockeys placing bets by approaching local businessman Dinesh Daswani, a 31-year-old racing enthusiast.

Daswani acted as a go-between who passed information to an elderly businessman called Andy Lau, who in turn placed huge bets of up to $HK20,000 on the jockey's behalf.

When the horse won, Munce would collect the winnings, minus a 30 per cent broker's fee for Daswani and the initial stake which was returned to Lau. When the horse lost, however, Lau absorbed the hit.

Lau benefited from the deal by laying his own bets on the horses Munce tipped.

The three cashed in on 18 races Munce won between December 2005 and July 2006.

With a tips success rate of 72 per cent they collected hundreds of thousands of dollars, which was delivered to Daswani at first during clandestine meetings with Lau in hotel lobbies and later by direct bank debit.

In the summer of 2006, however, the relationship went sour and Munce and Daswani cut Lau out and replaced him with Daswani's uncle, Kamal Daswaney.

After Munce was arrested, Daswani and his uncle turned evidence in return for immunity from arrest.

But the judge called into question the evidence offered by Daswani, saying it often conflicted with statements he had originally made to anti-graft officials.

"There were a significant number of discrepancies," Browne told the court.

"But I am sure beyond reasonable doubt that the defendant did enter into some sort of arrangement" in which he traded tips.

Munce is one of Australia's best known jockeys and has enjoyed success at the highest level for many years.

His 1998 Melbourne Cup win aboard Jezabeel came the same year he rode Prowl to the first of two Golden Slipper wins.

His second Slipper came in 2004 aboard Dance Hero who he also rode to win the Group One Salinger Stakes last spring after Australian authorities granted him a licence to ride pending the trial.

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