THE future of Warrnambool’s famous Grand Annual Steeplechase is up in the air but hurdle racing will continue for the next three years.
Racing Victoria Limited last night guaranteed hurdle racing until the end of 2013 but dropped a bombshell by refusing to make any commitments on steeplechasing.
In a prepared statement, RVL chief executive officer Rob Hines said the future of steeplechases would be further reviewed and considered at a board meeting next month.
“The performance of steeplechase racing has not been as satisfactory (as hurdle races) with a higher rate of incidents in these races,” he said.
“As a result the board has requested further analysis of the 2010 steeplechase program and the identification of any necessary measures to improve the program’s safety before giving further consideration to its future.”
Hines was unable to be contacted last night and RVL communications manager Shaun Kelly was not in a position to comment on whether the board was considering banning steeplechasing.
Warrnambool Racing Club chairman Marg Lucas, who is in New Zealand to attend the Great Northern Steeplechase at Ellerslie on Saturday, was delighted with the hurdle racing decision but floored by the steeplechasing move.
“I am slightly shocked to hear that,” she said after being informed of the decision by The Standard.
“It is out of left field.
“I’m a bit stunned. The reality is steeplechasing, given a chance to develop, would still have the same credibility as hurdling in the long term.”
She wanted to know if the jumps racing industry would be given a chance to make submissions on the next review into steeplechasing.
“I think we deserve better.”
The steeplechase decision is a blow to jumps racing supporters and was last night being viewed by insiders as proof RVL remained opposed to the sport.
The review into steeplechasing casts doubt on the future on the 138-year-old Grand Annual Steeplechase, the centrepiece of Warrnambool’s landmark May Racing Carnival.
The sport, which was banned late last year and then given a reprieve in January this year, had to meet strict key performance targets for the rate of falls and fatalities to continue next year.
Having met the fatality target and only narrowly missed the falls indicator, jumps supporters had asked for a three-year guarantee for hurdle races and one year for steeplechasing because they believed steeplechasing’s tenure would then follow that of hurdle racing.
Under the decision by RVL, hurdle racing will continue for the next three seasons.
But to continue beyond that it must meet strict key performance indicators for the rate of fatalities to starters.
The rate will be measured as an average over rolling three-year periods: 2010-12 and 2011-13. The average for both periods will need to be 0.65 per cent or less. This year the hurdle race fatality rate was 0.41 per cent and for steeplechasing it was 0.58 per cent, Hines said.
“There has been a substantial improvement in the safety and performance of jumps racing for the 2010 season with the fall and fatality rates dropping significantly from the year prior,” Hines said.
“The performance in hurdle races was particularly good, with a dramatic improvement achieved due to a changed obstacle, revised conditions and a strong commitment to safety by jockeys and trainers.”
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