[5] She attended Our Lady Help of Christians primary school and Loreto College, Ballarat,[6] and entered racing aged 15, the eighth of the Payne children to do so.

[7] In March 2004, Payne fell heavily at a race in Sandown Racecourse in Melbourne, fracturing her skull and bruising her brain.

As a result of her prolonged recovery period—including a further fall where she fractured her wrist—Payne was granted a three-month extension to her apprenticeship to allow her time to ride out her claim.

[11] In 2015, she gained national attention when she rode the winning horse in two races at Melbourne Cup carnival at the Flemington Racecourse.

[12] Payne won the Melbourne Cup on 3 November 2015, riding Prince of Penzance, a six-year-old gelding with which she had a long-term association.

"[16] "Just want to say to everyone else, can get stuffed, because they think women aren’t strong enough but we just beat the world" Payne was the first woman to win the Melbourne Cup in its 155-year history.

She was also the fourth woman to ride in the race and was coincidentally wearing the colours of the suffragette movement: purple, green and white.

The horse, bought for $50,000 (a figure described by sportswriters as "pocket change" for horseflesh) was a long odds chance at 100–1,[21][22] and afterwards Governor-General Sir Peter Cosgrove and other speechmakers were criticised for failing to adapt their pre-prepared congratulations to acknowledge the historic nature of the win.

The award paid tribute to "distinguished women whose careers have shown a positive influence and exceptional commitment to the equine cause"[29] On 23 June 2017, Payne was stood down from racing after she had tested positive for the drug phentermine, an appetite suppressant banned under Australian Rule of Racing 81B.