Victoria’s jumps racing season will be condensed, fewer tracks will host hurdle and steeple races and greater emphasis will be placed on horse and jockey education as authorities vowed to save the sport from extinction.
The future of jumps racing was in extreme jeopardy after a horror conclusion to the 2024 season in which three horses died after the Grand National at Ballarat, prompting Racing Victoria (RV) to launch a comprehensive inquiry into the viability of the discipline.
When the inquiry into jumps racing was announced in September, RV chair Tim Eddy declared “no outcome was off the table” and that included the scenario of ending jumps racing altogether.
But on Friday, the RV board announced that it had endorsed the findings of the Jumps Review Group (JRG) which supported the continuation of the sport and in doing so it provides a lifeline for the cottage industry’s passionate participants and supporters.
Chaired by RV’s Executive General Manager of Integrity Jamie Stier and supported by former Victorian Racing Integrity Board Chair and former Supreme Court Judge Justice Jack Forrest, the JRG made 11 recommendations aimed at improving the safety and viability of the discipline.
Among the key changes to be adopted are:
- Shortening the length of the season, which will see the number of jumps races reduced from 72 to about 62 with the first hurdle race to be not run further than five weeks out from the Warrnambool carnival.
- Conduct jumps races at fewer racecourses which are prepared specifically for jumps racing. It means Pakenham will transition away from holding jumps races.
- More emphasis will be placed on jumps trials by increasing their competitiveness to ensure horses and jockeys are race-ready. Formal schooling days will also be held at Ballarat and Cranbourne as well as other appropriate racecourses and training venues.
- Permanent use of loosened straps on hurdles, which allows more flexibility if they are struck, while the placement of the obstacles at each course to also be strategically considered to maximise safety and operational outcomes.
- A former jumps jockey will be engaged as a coach for current riders to assist in their development and improve their skills and,
- An RV working group will be established to investigate the overall financial performance of jumps racing.
“After careful consideration of the findings and recommendations presented by the Jumps Review Group and the Executive, the Racing Victoria Board has resolved to continue jumps racing alongside a suite of new safety and operational improvements,” Eddy said.
“This decision reflects our recognition of jumps racing’s cultural and economic significance to regional Victoria, particularly its vital role in events such as the Warrnambool May Carnival.
“We are committed to ensuring jumps racing continues to evolve, with safety, integrity, and sustainability at the forefront of every decision we make.”
A jumps taskforce (JT) will also be established to oversee the implementation of the 11 recommendations. The five-member committee will report directly to the RV board.
Warwick Barr
Jumps racing in New Zealand - a primary source of horses for Victoria’s hurdle and steeple races - was also given a lifeline last month after a review was conducted into the viability of the discipline across the Tasman.
Like Racing Victoria, New Zealand Thoroughbred Racing (NZTR) has vowed to support jumps racing by implementing a range of measures to tackle the sport’s shrinking field sizes and a declining pool of jockeys.
Jumps racing in South Australia was abandoned by the state when it was officially banned by the state government in 2022, leaving Victoria as the only state that still holds jumps racing with the Warrnambool May Carnival intrinsically linked to the sport.
Matt Stewart
More than 350 written submissions carrying a range of opinions and suggestions were received by the JRG, RV said, while outgoing Racing Integrity Commissioner Sean Carroll has also been privy to the report and has endorsed its findings.
Ballarat’s Grand National meeting may have been the catalyst for the review but the three deaths at the August race meeting came after a further four horses were killed earlier in the season.
The seven deaths were up from the average of 2.3 fatalities during the previous three jumps racing seasons.
A broader review of jumps racing will be held again in three years.
