What's really going on at Racing Victoria as its execs decide the future of jumps racing? Word is that there's a lot of trepidation about taking that final step to outlaw the jumps, especially given the parlous state of the nation's finances at the moment. Ripping a huge chunk of action from the racing scene is not what the doctor ordered! The talk, too, is that some RV honchos have been shocked at the passion of the jumps supporters. Says one pro-jumps man: 'They thought they could make the Rac
What's really going on at Racing Victoria as its execs decide the future of jumps racing? Word is that there's a lot of trepidation about taking that final step to outlaw the jumps, especially given the parlous state of the nation's finances at the moment. Ripping a huge chunk of action from the racing scene is not what the doctor ordered! The talk, too, is that some RV honchos have been shocked at the passion of the jumps supporters. Says one pro-jumps man: 'They thought they could make the Racing Minister Rob Hulls happy and toss us all into the trash can, but now they know they can't kick us around.'
General consensus is that Racing Victoria will NOT axe jumps racing but it will try to come up with some compromise formula that won't guarantee the long-term future of the sport.If that's the case, it won't satisfy the thousands of people who rely on jumps racing for a living. They want long-term security, and why not?
The Age reports: 'With the future of jumps racing in the balance yesterday, bus loads of supporters from the sport's heartland in Warrnambool made the four-hour trek to Racing Victoria Ltd's headquarters in an attempt to champion the sport and save the economic future of their town...Approximately 300 jumps-racing supporters rallied at the doors of the Racing Victoria, while police in riot gear and on horseback kept watch, and separated 24 anti-jumps protesters from the main group.