RACING NSW stewards have charged media personality Brent Zerafa, allegedly for actions “prejudicial to the image and/or interests of racing.”

If you're unfamiliar with his name, Brent Zerafa is the man who provides selections out of the mounting yard for Sydney-based meetings on TVN.

He gives viewers his best bets of the race and which horses appeal to him on looks, but his actions surrounding a bet placed on Palazzo Pubblico have him in hot water.

The Sam Kavanagh-trained runner is one of the horses that landed Kavanagh his suspension from training, but it appears as though more people might have known about its suspect behaviour.

The charges surround Zerafa not tipping Palazzo Pubblico in the Drummond Golf Benchmark 72 Handicap at Randwick on January 17, even though his betting records showed he backed the horse.

Zerafa engaged in text messages with John Camilleri, who has pleaded guilty to six charges for his involvement in the Sam Kavanagh scandal.

Zerafa sent a text message to Camilleri stating “like how I threw off in the yard” after announcing his tips on TVN. It was later revealed he had placed a $200 bet on Palazzo Pubblico.

Chief steward Ray Murrihy asked Zerafa if his text message would “pass the man in the street test” to which Zerafa responded with “It was light hearted. I was playing to his ego and giving him a pat on the back.”

Zerafa's lawyer, Damien Sheales, stated that he could have backed the horse at a better price, but waited till the last minutes in betting. He said “a tip from Camilleri wasn't enough for him to back the horse”.

“He could have got $12 when he got it [text message],” Sheales said. “He waited until just before the race to back it at the bottom of the market, only after it had shortened.

“That was the main factor in him backing it.”

Stewards adjourned the hearing to a later date.