MARTIN WATTERS: Reason stumbles at the last

December 1st, 2009

It wasn't just 150 years of passion and tradition that was taken out the back and shot last week when Racing Victoria decided to ban jumps racing.

The voice of reason was also put down. In a jerk of the knee the long-suffering industry was shunned rehabilitation and instead given its last rites in a cruel blow to owners, trainers, jockeys and especially horses.

The full article - click here.

Industry may unseat RVL board

By Patrick Bartley

December 1, 2009

In the next 48 hours, racing stakeholders face their most defining moment since the Racing Victoria Limited model was launched almost a decade ago.

It is possible that the discontent within the industry could result in a motion to spill the board of RVL at Thursday's annual general meeting.

There are 10 bodies involved in racing - the three Melbourne racing clubs, the owners, trainers, jockeys, breeders, country racing, jumps racing and the unions. If eight of those groups decide their relationship with the RVL board is untenable, they will push for the spill.

To read the full article from The Age click here.

Jumps racing is near-dead but there is one last great mission, one final heroic chapter to be written.

Pentiffic is not just our latest jumping champion, possibly even the best-ever, he is also our last.

His quest to win the $1.6 million Nakayama Grand Jump in Japan in April has become more monumental than it may have been a week ago.

There is no coming back, nothing left for him here.

None will follow his footsteps and leap for Australia.

Pentiffic is the last great Australian jumping horse and the world awaits him because Australia won't have him.

To read the full article from the Herald Sun by Matt Stewart click here.

There are many reasons why this ban on jumps racing is the best move to make. Looking at things from an "injury to jockey" standpoint, the reasons are obvious. Looking at it from an "animal welfare" perspective, the reasons are equally obvious. There is enough horse racing on the flat to be worried about whether or not horses can jump over barriers in the middle of a track.

The removal of jumps races means two things straight off the bat, (1) no more riders will be injured in falls as a result of the hurdles, and (2) no more horses will get prematurely put down due to the same reasons.

Just a perspective from someone who has never understood the need for jumps races.

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The member has been suspended for this post. The two posts you made here have been advertising as you included an advert text promotion (When everything else fails "Win Every Race") and identifying business name link in your signature.

I have never been a fan of jumps racing but it has it's place in this country or atleast it did, if you thought we had trouble breeding stayers before then watch what happens now. Before if you had a staying bred horse who wasn't good enough to win a cup (Country Cup or City) then atleast they could have reverted to jumps racing now if they aren't good enough then the only place to go for them is the glue factory.

The staying ranks in this country already have near no depth at all for those that think that this will have no repurcussions on normal gallop racing your kidding yourselves, once all these animal rights activists start winning these wars do you really think it stops there. I am all for looking after these beautifull animals god knows my heart stops everytime one of them goes down hoping there is nothing wrong, but it is also a nature of sports in general bad things can happen death happens unfortunately it is part of life. I would have a guess that the ammount of jockeys who have died or ended up paralysed from horse racing most have happened in flat racing not Jumps racing.

Trust me they have won this battle next comes Gallops, Greyhounds and Harness racing then there will be nothing left.

Does this ban apply to SA and, therefore, Oakbank?

To my knowledge no it doesn't I believe it is only RVL who has enforced the ban