RV acts on jumping crisis

Racing Victoria has altered the qualification clauses for horses involved in jumps racing in a bid to cut down the number of falls and fatalities.

Judge David Jones is currently conducting a review on the sustainability of jumps racing in Victoria after a series of equine fatalities, including two in the Grand National Hurdle at Flemington in late June.

That review is expected to be made public in October with the future of jumps racing in Victoria under serious threat. Racing minister Rob Hulls will have the final call on whether jumps racing continues past this year.

Racing Victoria has acted ahead of that review by implementing a stricter trialling policy. Trainers are now obliged to notify stewards in writing ahead of horse trialling over jumps and a horse must trial to the stewards' satisfaction on two occasions before it is allowed to race.

Any horse which doesn't jump correctly during two consecutive trials will not be allowed to race in a hurdle or steeplechase.

Stewards will also view vision of races and if they determine that a horse has not jumped correctly during a race, then it will have to go back through the trialling process until it qualifies again.