Jumps racing in Victoria will cease at the end of the 2010 season after 150 years but key stakeholders say they will fight the decision announced on Friday by Racing Victoria Ltd (RVL).RVL chairman Michael Duffy said it was a very tough decision but one that had to be made for the image and sustainability of the industry."The board could not allow jumps racing to wither on the vine or, worse still, become the victim of an immediate knee-jerk ban at some future point in time," he said.He said tha
Jumps racing in Victoria will cease at the end of the 2010 season after 150 years but key stakeholders say they will fight the decision announced on Friday by Racing Victoria Ltd (RVL).
RVL chairman Michael Duffy said it was a very tough decision but one that had to be made for the image and sustainability of the industry.
"The board could not allow jumps racing to wither on the vine or, worse still, become the victim of an immediate knee-jerk ban at some future point in time," he said.
He said that despite the implementation of all the safety recommendations of the Jones Report into the industry in 2008 the incidence of falls and fatalities had continued to increase.
"The recommendation of six previous reviews had been implemented without any sustained reduction in incidents," he said.
In 2008, 12 horses died during hurdle and steeplechase races compared to five in 2009 but in the percentage of falls to starters, 2009 was worse with 5.08 per cent compared to 3.02 per cent the previous year.
While the decision was welcomed by the Brumby government and animal welfare groups, stakeholders such as Country Racing Victoria (CRV) and the Warrnambool Race Club, which holds its famous three-day jumps carnival in May, were devastated.
"We are absolutely gutted by the decision," CRV chief executive Scott Whiteman told AAP.
"We can't believe it, we were confident jumps racing would continue into the future."
He said the group was urgently seeking talks with RVL over the issue.
Andrew Pomeroy, chief executive of the Warrnambool Race Club, said its three-day jumps meeting, which included the Grand Annual, brought $30 million each year into the community.
"It's the biggest carnival in country racing and it is that because of its point of difference," he said.
"People get there and have a fantastic time - there's a lot of people who earn a lot of money in Warrnambool in that time period."
"We will be fighting this.
"We don't think it's final - boards change, decisions change and we've got an opportunity next year to show how well jumping racing can go."
However, Racing Minister Rob Hulls said the RVL decision showed that it didn't believe jumps racing was sustainable.
"There has been a large number of deaths and falls in jumps racing over the last few years," he told reporters.
RVL chief executive Rob Hines said that in 2011 it would stage highweights events where jumps jockeys and horses would be involved in races.
It would also spend $1 million in promoting and marketing the Warrnambool carnival when it becomes a flat race meeting in 2011.
He said the RVL would look to find homes for the jumps horses who will be phased out of the industry.
"The implications for the participants - human and equine - if we stopped now could be significant," he said.
A thrilled RSPCA Victorian president Hugh Wirth said the animal rights group had battled against jumps racing since 1980.
"It's taken a long time, but this couldn't be better news," he said.
"Despite large numbers of reviews which have always backed jumps racing, the writing has been on the wall for some time now."
He said the RSPCA would prefer jumps racing to end immediately instead of being allowed to continue next year but it realised those involved should be given a year's notice.