South Australian Racing is committed to jumps racing in and has assured its supporters the famous Oakbank Easter carnival will continue this year and well beyond.While Racing Victoria Limited (RVL) has committed to jumps racing this season, and next season if the number of falls and fatalities in 2010 can be kept to a minimum, SA Racing intends to press on regardless, with the help of the Victorian jumps industry."South Australia is not going to give in," Philip Bentley, chairman of Thoroughbre
South Australian Racing is committed to jumps racing in and has assured its supporters the famous Oakbank Easter carnival will continue this year and well beyond.
While Racing Victoria Limited (RVL) has committed to jumps racing this season, and next season if the number of falls and fatalities in 2010 can be kept to a minimum, SA Racing intends to press on regardless, with the help of the Victorian jumps industry.
"South Australia is not going to give in," Philip Bentley, chairman of Thoroughbred Racing SA, said.
"We are going to be reliant on Victorian interests to keep the show going. Unfortunately this year there are no Victorian jumps races on before Oakbank. I find it appalling that there are no jumps races (in Victoria) until April."
In the recently announced re-vamped Victorian jumps program, the first three of 64 races in the state will be held at Warrnambool on April 6, the day after the Great Eastern Steeplechase and Yalumba Classic Hurdle are run at Oakbank.
To ensure horses are sufficiently prepared, Oakbank Racing Club chairman John Glatz said the club would hold extra trials, both flat and jumps, on March 1 in addition to the jumps trials on March 29.
Each year 110,000 people flock to the Adelaide Hills town for the two-day Oakbank carnival.
"We believe it is our responsibility to support the stake holders in the industry. Jumps racing people are stake holders of the industry and that's what directors are put on boards for. You have to support the industry you are appointed to try and govern," Bentley said.
"I also received a phone call from the minister for racing, ... I indicated to him I wouldn't take any notice of him and if necessary I would criticise him in the newspaper.
"That didn't eventuate but his call to suspend jumps racing was duly ignored and we will continue to ignore that.
"We have talked closely to the political parties in our state and neither of the major political parties have any issue with jumps racing and do not regard it as a political issue.
"I hope that jumps racing can get over this hurdle, excuse the pun, but it is quite a hurdle when you think about it.
"We've had indecisive decision making which has obviously caused investors to delay decisions which will initially affect the number of horses that are available.
"Almost as if it is a back door method to bring things to an end, but do not give in because South Australia is not going to crumble.
"I know we are a small part of the industry (but) we have put our prizemoney up by over 25 per cent across the board and there will be further increases this year.
"We have a five-year plan in which we are going to increase prizemoney because we have quite a bit of cash to do it.
"But we will not give in to the so called do-gooders who wish to try and tell our industry, which they don't have one cent invested in, how to run its business.
"We will continue to program jumps racing for as long as there are available horses and riders to nominate."