Right: Protesters outside Warrnambool racecourse, VictoriaFurther implications
It seems likely that jumps racing will ultimately be banned in Victoria.There are inherent difficulties in jumps racing in Australia, notably relatively hard tracks and fast horses which have previously raced on the flat. The jumps racing fraternity has made serious efforts to reduce the risks. To this point these have not been successful. Interestingly, many measures intended to reduce one risk appear to have created another. It is probable that the inherent risks associated with horse jumps racing simply cannot be removed. Further reforms are going to be put in place; however, they may well be no more successful.
These new reforms seem to place a greater importance on ensuring that the horses accepted for jumps racing are suitable. This appears to be an attempt to create circumstances more like those that apply in Great Britain where horses are specifically bred for jumps racing. However, such moves also seemed doomed to failure. Australian jumps horses are not specifically bred for the purpose; they are generally either failed or retired flat racehorses. In Britain there is a far greater tradition of jumps racing and thus breeders create particular types of horse suited for the purpose. It is hard to imagine that happening here.
Across Australia this form of racing is in decline. There are only two states where it occurs and Victoria supplies South Australia with its horses. Jumps racing's days seem numbered.