MEDIA RELEASE, THURSDAY APRIL 17, 2025
Despite Racing Victoria having implemented “additional safety enhancements” for the 2025 season following 10 dead horses from last year’s season, the first jumps horse death has already occurred.
Maatsuyker was killed on March 20 following a jumps racing trial eight days before this year’s season had even officially commenced.
“We have said this over and over: repeated reviews over the last couple of decades have done nothing but prove that jumps racing can never be made safe. It is outrageous that yet another horse has been killed – this time before the actual season had even started,” said Helle Erhardsen, General Manager for Coalition for the Protection of Racehorses.
2024 was the deadliest jumps racing season ever recorded in Victoria. 10 horses were killed as a result of participating in jumps races and jumps trials. Three horses were killed on the same day in Ballarat, which was the last day of the 2024 season.
The horrific season prompted yet another review of the safety of jumps racing. Similar to the previous reviews (2001, 2005, 2008, 2009 and 2010), the 2024 Racing Victoria Jumps Racing Review resulted in “a range of additional safety and operational enhancements” to be implemented in the 2025 season.
“Clearly, once again these so-called enhancements have not worked. If Racing Victoria had been genuinely concerned about the 10 horses who were killed last year, they would have done the only responsible thing and ended the carnage. Instead, Maatsuyker has become yet another victim of this unjustifiable “sport”.
“The question Racing Victoria needs to answer is; How many dead horses are enough to finally put an end to this outdated madness?” asked Miss Erhardsen.
Six-year-old Maatsuyker was killed at Warrnambool following a jumps trial. He was struggling to clear the last hurdle and “knuckled” but was forced to finish the trial. He had sustained a tendon injury and was subsequently killed.
“Maatsuyker’s death is further proof that jumps racing is inherently dangerous and should be ended immediately like it has been in the rest of the country,” Miss Erhardsen said.
Last year Warrnambool was responsible for five of the 10 jumps horse deaths. The Coalition for the Protection of Racehorses will be protesting alongside other animal advocates at the Warrnambool Jumps Racing Carnival on May 2, starting at 11am.
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