[Greens-Media] Greens Agree It’s Time to Dump the Jumps

[Franks, Office]

Greens’ Animal Welfare Spokesperson Tammy Franks has welcomed the news from the South Australian Jockey Club (SAJC) that the club is looking to end jumps racing at the Morphettville racecourse. The SAJC’s statement is an implicit acknowledgement of what the statistics have long been showing – that jumps racing is neither profitable, nor popular with punters and the broader community alike.

“Queensland stopped jumps racing in 1903, WA in 1941 and the sport was banned in NSW in 1997. The last race was held in Tasmania in 2007. It has now been more than twenty years since the 1991 Senate Inquiry recommended jumps racing be phased out. Victoria and SA are the only remaining Australian states that still retain this archaic practice,” Ms Franks said.

“Animal welfare concerns about the cruelty of jumps racing are only increasing.
Now with sponsors and punters and even the SAJC baulking at jumps racing, it is clear jumps racing does not have a future in SA.

“The economics of jumps racing in SA just don’t stack up. Jumps races consistently attract significantly lower betting than flats racing, with punters put off, in part no doubt by the highly unpredictable nature of jumps racing, with falls and ‘fail-to-finishes’ commonly occurring.
With the vast majority of horses and trainers from interstate and the vast majority of the prizemoney bleeding out of SA, it’s a no-brainer that now is definitely the right time to dump the jumps. Only 12% of prize money this year has stayed in SA this year.

“With crowd numbers declining, punters voting with their wallets and abandoning the jumps, and polling showing consistently high levels of opposition from the public concerned about animal welfare concerns, the legal opinions indicating jumps racing may contravene the existing Animal Welfare Act, indicate it’d be a prudent and sensible move to stop jumps racing here in SA, at Morphettville and provincial tracks.

“This season has seen five horses die or be put down in jumps races in Australia.*
Enough is enough,” Ms Franks concluded.

* Jumps racing deaths to date 2012 Jotilla Sandown, Victoria (28/3). Virvacity & Art Success Oakbank (7/4), The Black Oak Warrnambool (trial) 16/6, and Foremost Cranbourne 18/7 (trial).