Goldtown survived a fall in race one this morning.
ACTIVISTS at the Warrnambool Race Track today have highlighted the May Racing Carnival was not without incident.
Ward Young from the Coalition for the Protection of Racehorses said in each jumps race a horse either did not finish or fell.
About 15 protesters from around the state were part of an impromptu demonstration at the track entrance today, while others photographed and filmed each jumps race.
"We're celebrating that no horses fell or died in the grand annual; however, the Warrnambool carnival itself wasn't incident free," Mr Young said.
"In every jumps race a horse failed to finish or fell.
"It's only a matter of time before jumps racing will kill again.
"Like a serial killer, jumps racing can kill at any moment.
"Racing Victoria need to stop putting their head in the sand and tackle this hurdle front on.
"The Baillieu government is responsible for horses who fall and die given that they are pouring $2 million into the sport, despite recently slashing jobs in the budget."
He said the racing industry would have celebrated Goldtown's survival after falling in race one this morning.
"If a horse falling heavily on it's neck is cause for celebration, it says a lot about the sport.
"We've been at the racetrack each day and find the reaction is mixed.
"Some people are in support of jumps racing and we find a lot of people say they're not here for the racing - they're here for the carnival and they don't care either way.
"We think if the Warrnambool Racing Club is so convinced people only come down for jumps racing and Warrnambool can't live without it, they should just try it, because we believe the Warrnambool carnival would flourish without jumps racing."
j.pech@standard.fairfax.com.au
