Thoroughbred jump racing sits in the spotlight of contemporary welfare and ethical debates about horse racing [1
]. This activity encompasses hurdling, steeplechasing, point-to-point, and mountain racing and is controversial primarily because it involves higher risk of accident or fatality to both horse and rider compared with flat racing [3
]. Debates about jump racing have been played out via mass media [6
] and have relevance in ongoing cultural renegotiation of the meanings, norms, and governance of human-animal relationships in modern societies [8
]. These debates fuse questions about defensible human-animal relations with those about the conduct of human entertainment, sport, and gambling [10
]. In particular, falls and fatalities in jump racing are widely reported in the media and result in negative public opinion and criticism of racing and of the racing industry’s approach to equine welfare [2
]. Arguably, public concern about horse welfare has contributed to the decline of jump racing in many parts of the world, although economic factors have also been significant [11
]. Jump racing continues, however, in 18 countries across four continents [11
]. While jump racing comprises only a small proportion of horse races and related gambling turnover and prize money, this activity has political, cultural, and economic importance in particular countries, regions and towns [2
Australia provides an important context in which to explore the decline and resilience of jump racing (where it is commonly known as jumps racing). Jump racing is no longer conducted in four of Australia’s six states. However, hurdles and steeplechases remain a feature of thoroughbred racing in Victoria and, to a lesser extent, South Australia. Total annual prize money in Australian jump racing is around $2.7 million (Australian dollars used throughout), with average prize money per race equivalent to that of flat racing [13
]. Australian jump racing is a familiar and divisive subject of passionate advocacy and critique in conventional and social media and has been a notable electoral issue in Victorian and South Australian state politics over the past decade [14
]. In addition to criticism from established animal welfare organisations, such as the Humane Society and Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (RSPCA), Australian jump racing has been the focus of protest, activism, and lobbying including from groups with a sole focus on horseracing, such as the Coalition for the Protection of Racehorses.
outlines key features of Australian jump racing. Australian jump racing occurs in regional, as well as metropolitan settings in autumn and winter when tracks are softer. Thoroughbreds are specifically bred for jump racing in some countries, but not in Australia where jump horses are drawn from the flat racing population. Australian jump racing is conducted under state-based Local Rules of Racing. There are some differences between the two states: for example, the minimum distance of a hurdle race in South Australia is 2800 m and in Victoria it is 3200 m. In both states, the hurdles in a hurdle race are a maximum of one metre high with horses carrying a minimum weight of 64 kg (jockey and saddle, plus handicap weight). In a steeplechase, horses jump over fences which are at least 1.15 m high. Hurdle races usually involve fewer jumps over shorter distances than steeplechases. In Australia, horses must undergo qualifying trials to be eligible to compete in a hurdle race. Horses may then progress through a sequence from maiden to novice to open hurdle races, before then being eligible to qualify for steeplechase races [16
Key features of Australian jump racing.
Key features of Australian jump racing.
|Locations of races||Restricted to 15 South Australia and Victorian race courses, predominantly non-Metropolitan.|
|Type of races||Two thirds hurdle races, one-third steeplechases.|
|Regulatory bodies||Administered under state-based Local Rules of Racing by Thoroughbred Racing South Australia (TRSA) and Racing Victoria (RVL).|
|Industry bodies||Australian Jumping Racing Association (AJRA).|
|Race regulations||Specify minimum weight (64 kg); course condition rating; height, number and placement of obstacles; maximum field size; use of whips; horse boots; etc.|
|Industry review||Seven safety performance reviews by regulatory bodies since 1994.|
|Race review||In addition to the TRSA and VRL Stewards Committee review, TRSA and VRL Jump Review Panels review each horse’s jump at each obstacle in each race and may refer horse or jockey to undergo further training. The Panel includes a former jump jockey who can provide individual coaching if needed.|
|Qualification||Horses, trainers and jockeys must undergo qualification training and trials, overseen by VRL and TRSA, in order to compete in a maiden hurdle race. Horses that progress to open hurdle races are then eligible to qualify for steeplechase races. Mandatory trainer and jockey skills workshops held annually.|
|Veterinary inspections||Of each horse, before and after each race.|
|Race season||March to September. Races are scheduled at approximately fortnightly intervals.|
|Number of races||Less than 100 per season.|
|Horses||Thoroughbreds, drawn from flat racing population, must be at least three years old, and may race in both flat and jump races during the jump race season.|
|Tracks||Left handed turf tracks, no steep downhill runs to finishing-lines.|
|Race field||Field sizes are small, with less than 8 horses on average in a race. Low fields are not uncommon (<5 starters).|
|Race start||Starting gates used at commencement of races.|
|Race speed||Races are run on slow tracks (heavy conditions), with heavier weights carried (>64 kg).|
|Hurdle obstacles||Hurdles are padded panels, maximum 1 metre in height, with standardised design.|
|Steeple obstacles||Steeples are a mix of brush top panels and live hedges not less than 1.15 m in height, depending on race course, with height and width specified by regulator. No water jumps or drops.|
During the 2008 and 2009 Australian jump racing seasons, the highly visible deaths of 14 horses in jump races across Victoria and South Australia inflamed criticism by welfare and activist groups, heightened public concern and prompted the prospect of its banning in Victoria [18
]. In late 2008, a group of activist organisations led by Animals Australia presented a submission to the Victorian parliament calling for a ban on jump racing [21
]. Their submission reported that 13.1 out of every 1000 horses (1.31%) starting in a jump race (hereafter referred to as “starts”) died [21
]. Their submission also summarised longer term fatality rates from 1989 to 2004 based on a 2006 study in the Equine Veterinary Journal documenting the risk of a fatality in Australian jump racing as almost 19 times that in flat racing [22
]. This study found that catastrophic limb failure, the predominant cause of horseracing deaths, was approximately 18 times greater for Australian jump racing than flat racing, with cranial or vertebral injury 120 times greater and sudden death 3.5 times greater [22
]. Following a further eight deaths in the 2009 jump racing season, Racing Victoria (RVL), the principal authority governing thoroughbred racing in Victoria, commissioned a review of jump racing. The fall and fatality rates for the 2009 season were reported by this review as being 50.8 per 1000 starts and 12.7 per 1000 starts, respectively, the highest recorded during the 2005 to 2009 seasons [23
]. These results were despite six previous reviews of horse and jockey safety in Australian jump racing since 1994, with the recommendations of the last of these, the 2008 Jones Report, implemented prior to the 2009 season [21
]. In November 2009, following their latest review, RVL announced a two year transition plan to phase out jump racing after 2010. However, in January 2010, RVL handed jump racing a tentative reprieve, allowing the sport to continue in 2010 subject to stringent safety conditions and standards including a reduction in fatality rate to approximately half of that for 2009 (i.e.
, 6.5 per 1000 starts) and a reduction in fall rate to 30 per 1000 starts [24
]. The RVL Chairman warned that if the new conditions were not met, jump racing would cease.
In September 2010, following an improvement in the safety of hurdle racing, RVL gave hurdle racing the go ahead for a three year program subject to meeting a key performance indicator (KPI) of a horse fatality rate of not more than 6.5 deaths per 1000 starts (0.65%), measured as a rolling three year average [25
]. At the same time, RVL declared the performance of steeplechasing unsatisfactory and requested further measures to improve its safety [25
]. However, in October 2010, without the introduction of further measures, RVL agreed to a steeplechase program for 2011, and determined that its future beyond 2011 be subject to a fatality KPI of 6.5 deaths per 1000 starts (0.65%), measured as a rolling two year average [26
]. These performance targets were accompanied by a raft of measures to improve horse and rider safety, including the ability of a jockey to withdraw a horse during a race because it is fatigued and out of contention and a danger to itself or the jockey. These initiatives were closely followed in November 2010 by a change of government in Victoria that saw a vocal advocate of jump racing, Dr. Denis Napthine, a veterinarian, installed as Premier and Minister of Racing [27
]. With government support, the period 2011 to 2014 saw jump racing authorities in Victoria increase prize money and invest in jump race safety and training infrastructure improvements. By November 2011, RVL discontinued the safety KPIs on the basis that both hurdling and steeplechasing had met their KPIs relating to fatalities for the past two years, undertaking to monitor the safety performance of jump racing on an ongoing basis and to undertake reviews as required [28
In the context of industry efforts to address concerns about risks to horses in Australian jump racing, advocates argue that horses love to race and jump, that jump racing extends a horse’s career and that many of these animals would be slaughtered if not for jump racing [29
]. Opponents such as the RSPCA argue that horses have evolved to avoid rather than jump obstacles, that the heightened prospect of injury or death to jump horses is an unacceptable focus of human entertainment, and that the risk of being injured or killed in jump racing is not an acceptable alternative to the slaughterhouse [31
]. The Humane Society describes jump racing as institutionalised cruelty [35
Recent debate about Australian jump racing has taken place in the absence of sufficient robust or current data, with opponents continuing to rely on Boden et al.
’s 2006 study [32
]. The composition and dynamics of the cohorts of jockeys, trainers and horses involved in Australian jump racing, the ages and career trajectories of jump horses, the geography of this activity, and annual changes in activity have not been reliably documented nor related to data about horse safety. In response, this paper compiles, synthesises, and analyses data collected by Racing Australia (RA, formerly Racing Information Services Australia), for the 2012, 2013, and 2014 jump race seasons in Victoria and South Australia. In addition to informing public and policy debate, the paper contributes to international understanding of the dynamics of Australian jump racing in the context of changes in the horse racing industry more generally, including changing attitudes on questions about the use of animals in public entertainment.
Jump race data (hurdle and steeplechase) were obtained from RA for the 2012, 2013, and 2014 racing seasons from the Results area of the RA website. Although publicly available, these data are recorded on a race-by-race basis and are not aggregated, nor are composite trends identified. Data retrieved included; race name, location, date, time, distance and course condition rating, as well the name of each horse, jockey, and trainer involved in each race. Seasonal data on total starts for the period 2007 to 2010 were obtained from the Australian Racing Fact Book. Every thoroughbred race in Australia is reviewed by an official Stewards Panel which monitors racing conduct and injuries to horses. For jump races, a Jump Review Panel (JRP) subsequently reviews how well each horse jumped each obstacle. Stewards’ reports were obtained from RA and JRP reports from RVL. Although a similar panel reviews South Australian jump races these reports are not publicly available.
Data were entered into a Microsoft Excel TM
(2013) database and ordered in the form of a “start”, or an individual horse leaving a starting gate in a jump race. Data were organised by racing season, which extends from March to September of a calendar year. Annual data thus relate to a single jump race season, except for data in Figure 4
which has been standardised to an annual racing year (1 July to 30 June) to allow for comparison with datasets from other studies. Horses listed in a jump race may be “scratched” before a race due to a variety of reasons, for example, disqualification by a veterinarian. Scratched horses are not included in the database. The database records individual horse performances and race placings and lists intra-race incidents in each race from the official Stewards reports, including, falls, run outs, lost rider, brought down, and failed to finish (a term used in official race reports to describe a horse withdrawn during a race at the discretion of the jockey). Jump Review Panel Reports about horse performance at each jump were matched to the official Stewards Reports for each horse, including details of fatal falls and other race incidents. Our database therefore provides a comprehensive picture of individual horse performances as well as a means to aggregate Australian jump race information over the study period. Our initial purpose was to uniquely identify jump horses, their trainers, and jockeys in order to describe the size, scope, and location of Australian jump racing and risks to horses over this period.
Starts were summed by horse by the state they raced in. The number of individual horses participating over this period was calculated by aggregating starts against horses’ names and uniquely identifying each horse based on the RA horse search. The home state of each horse and trainer was identified by matching horses to trainers and identifying the trainer’s place of residence from the addresses shown for official qualified trainers. The information generated included starts per state, as well as the number of starts by each trainer. Our analysis also identified horses that only raced in hurdles, horses that competed in hurdles and steeplechases, and those who competed only in steeplechases.
Horse falls and fatality rates were calculated by dividing the number of falls and fatalities by the total number of starts in all races, for each season and in the overall sample. Only race fatalities were included in the analysis; training and trial fatalities were not considered. The average number of starts in each race was calculated by dividing the total number of jump race starts by the total number of races. A trainer operating both in a partnership and also in their own name was counted as two separate entries.