Hurdle racing is set to continue in Victoria for at least another two years, however the future of steeplechases hangs in the balance after Racing Victoria Limited admitted it has concerns over the safety of races over the bigger obstacles.
Jumps racing as a whole was initially banned by RVL late last year, but after a strong grass roots movement was given a one-year reprieve with a certain level of reduction required in both the number of falls and the number of fatalities in order to continue.
The move to new French-designed obstacles reduced falls and fatalities greatly this season with particular improvement in hurdles where the fatality rate was reduced to 0.41 percent.
That improvement has prompted RVL to guarantee at least another two years of hurdling with the existing KPIs of under 0.65 per cent of fatalities to runners to be judged over the 2010, 2011 and 2012 seasons.
RVL CEO Rob Hines said the improvement in hurdle racing was substantial and that he had enough faith in the new measures to give it two more years to prove it was safe.
"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."
"The Board considered that the dramatic improvement achieved in hurdle racing justified a longer- term commitment to provide certainty to owners investing in horses and for jockeys, trainers and workers who earn their livelihood from the sport."
But the higher fatality rate in steeplechase racing (0.58 percent) has led RVL to conduct further research into the success of the new measures in that form of racing.
"The performance of steeplechase racing has not been as satisfactory with a higher rate of incidents in these races. 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 said.
RVL is expected to announce its findings into the future of steeplechase racing at its next meeting in October.