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Jump racing

Photograph: Martin Jacka, The Advertiser, Adelaide

Did you know?

• An average of 13 horses die each year in jump racing in Victoria alone.

• 1 in every 139 starters in jump races in Victoria is killed. 1 in every 19 starters falls.

• The Easter race meeting at Oakbank (SA) kills an average of 1 horse a year in just a handful of jump races.

• RSPCA (Australia) policy is opposed to steeplechasing.

• A Senate Committee inquiry concluded that there was an inherent conflict between jump races and animal welfare. The Committee concluded that jump racing should be phased out.

• The NSW government banned jump racing in 1997.

The nature of jump racing

There are 2 types of jump racing, hurdles and steeplechases. In hurdles, horses jump lightweight frame 'fences' with brush tops, whereas in steeplechases horses jump a number of higher, more solid obstacles. At Oakbank, for example, there is a "fallen log". Most jump races take place in Victoria and South Australia.

Jump races are generally long, tiring events. Hurdles are usually around 2800-3200 metres, while steeplechases are commonly 3200-3600 metres. The following are some of the longer than usual races:

Warrnambool Grand Annual Steeplechase (Vic)	5,500metres
Oakbank Great Eastern Steeplechase (SA)	4,950metres
Sandown Australian Steeplechase (Vic)	4200m
Oakbank Yalumba Hurdle (SA)	3600m

As an example of how tiring these races are for horses, the Great Eastern Steeplechase forces horses to run for almost 5km while also jumping 24 fences. Under this pressure, horses can easily make mistakes that cost them their lives.

Over the years there have been alterations to the courses, to the jumps and to the training of riders and horses, but the rate of injuries and deaths has not decreased.

Jump races kill horses in Victoria

Deaths and injuries also occur in flat races, but jumps place horses at much greater risk. Over the last 21 years, from the 1975/6 to the 1996/7 racing seasons, there was 1 death for every 139 starters in jump races in Victoria. Over the same period an average of 1 in 19 horses fell (1).

Known deaths vary from season to season, from a low of 6 deaths in 1987/88 to a high of 23 deaths in both the 1993/94 and 1994/95 seasons. The 20-year average is some 13 horses killed each year. Training fatalities or deaths after the horse leaves the race track are not usually included in these figures (1).

A 1998 study over 7 years at 4 Victorian race tracks investigated musculoskeletal breakdown in race horses, that is, injuries resulting in euthanasia or failure to race for at least 6 months. The following results were obtained (2):

	No. breakdowns per 1000 starters	No. deaths per 1000 starters
Flat races	2.9	0.6
Hurdles	17.3	6.3
Steeplechases	29.1	14.3

These results were similar to a previous Australian study, where there were 6 deaths per 1000 starters in hurdles and 11 deaths per 1000 starters in steeplechases. In a UK study, there were 5 and 7 deaths per 1000 starters in hurdles and steeplechases respectively. In Australia, 60% of the deaths and in the UK 50% of the deaths occurred after falls over jumps (2).

In the 1998 study, age of the horse and hardness of the track had some effect on the number of injuries, but by far the most important factor was the type of race (2):
" When compared to flat races, horses in hurdle races were approximately 4 times as likely to suffer a musculoskeletal breakdown, while horses in steeple races had the greatest risk, being 8 times more likely to suffer an injury compared to horses racing on the flat. The presence of barriers is the most obvious factor placing horses in jumping races at greater risk and the finding that the majority of jumping fatalities were associated with falls supports this. The jumps in steeple races are solid structures and are higher than the brush hurdle jumps, contributing to the increased risk of injury in steeplechases compared to hurdle races. Although no information was available on where in the race injury occurred, it is possible that because jumping races are run over longer distances and horses carry greater weight than flat racing horses, the jumps may pose and even greater obstacle for fatigued horses. "

1994 was a particularly terrible year. There were 5 deaths during the three-day Warrnambool racing carnival in Victoria in that year, and a further 5 non-fatal falls. In the worst event, the novice steeplechase, only four of the 11 starters finished. Of the remaining seven horses, 3 broke legs and were shot, a further 3 horses fell over jumps, and 1 lost its rider (3).

Horses died in other race meetings in 1994 as well. As The Age newspaper commented:
" More horses have died in jumps races in Victoria in the past year (August 1993-July 1994) than in any of the past 20 years. 24 horses were killed or collapsed, another 56 horses were injured and 5 finished races with blood gushing from their nostrils, a result of internal bleeding caused by overexertion ." (31 August 1994).

In the 1993-4 season, 1 horse was killed for every 77 starters in jump races, compared to 1 death for every 3000 starters in flat races (1).

In the 2000 Warrnambool steeplechase, only 5 of the 12 starters finished the race - the rest fell at various parts of the course. Fortunately no-one was killed.

Jump races kill horses at Oakbank (SA)

The Easter racing carnival at Oakbank, South Australia, covers just one long weekend including Easter Monday, and the training week leading up to it In this time, 16 horses have been killed in jumping events since 1984 - an average of one horse dead per year in this one week.

In 1990 two favourites fell while rounding a turn in the Great Eastern Steeplechase. River Amos repeatedly tried to struggle to his feet, but could not stand on a broken back leg. Curl of Success careered off on three legs, his broken front leg flapping uncontrollably. Both horses were subsequently shot.

Following the outcry over these deaths, changes were made to the Oakbank track and jumps to supposedly make them safer, but since that time another 7 horses have died in jumping events on the course.

Many more horses suffer the pain of falls and the exhaustion of these gruelling races. As a letter to the editor said after the annual debacle at Warrnambool;
"We are continually told the fallen horses were unhurt, but it is ridiculous to suggest that a 200kg animal falling while running at about 35kmp doesn't suffer muscle, tendon and other injuries. " (4)

Falls are a regular feature of jump races, and although they cause pain, the media flippantly refer to this aspect as "thrills and spills". In the 1999 Great Eastern Steeplechase, 3 horses fell, and one that had fallen on the Saturday was pulled up during the race. In the 2000 Van Doussa Steeplechase, 3 horses fell, 2 were pulled up and one had lacerations severe enough to require suturing.

The letter to the editor mentioned previously (3) noted the sorry history of one horse trained by well-known trainer Eric Musgrove. Down to Earth fell in trials at Oakbank on April 17, then again in the Great Eastern on April 24, and again at Warrnambool on May 4.

Other casualties in SA

The public only finds out about horses killed in jump races if they are publicised through the media, for example, Flying Pan at Gawler in 1994, or Per Caso and Diamond Crop in Mount Gambier in 1998.

However, statistics kept by the South Australian Thoroughbred Racing Authority show that there are many more injuries and deaths than we know about.

Year	Flat racing - approx. 16,000 starters annually			Jumps racing - approx. 370 starters annually
	Serious injuries	Deaths	Falls	Serious injuries	Deaths	Falls
1996-7	28	10	?	12	8	?
1997-8	38	6	2	7	3	20
1998-9	45	3	6	7	6	17
1999-2000*	41	9	6	3	2	13

*Figures are not for the complete season.

According to these figures, each year an average of 1 in every 22 starters falls, 1 in 51 starters is seriously injured, and 1 in 78 starters is killed. In comparison in flat racing, 1 in 421 starters is seriously injured and 1 in 2285 starters is killed. The comparison shows clearly how much more dangerous jumps racing is than flat racing.

For more information on problems suffered by race horses in general, go to The racing industry .

Why jump races take a heavy toll on horses

Horses are large, heavy animals and when they fall, they crash to the ground with considerable impact. They suffer pain as the result of a fall, even if there is no serious or long-term damage.

In jump racing the rhythm of the horses' gallop on the flat is interrupted by having to take off over the jumps, around 10 times in the average race, as many as 20 or more times in the longer races. When horses are bunched up on the approach to a jump, this can make it more difficult to take off accurately and can lead to error, or even a 'pile-up' if one or more horses fall or falter when clearing the jumps. Muscle fatigue, especially in long races, increases the danger of a horse making a mistake when taking a jump.

Not all deaths occur as a result of the actual jumps. Physically stressed horses do break legs while galloping on the flat between jumps. Muscle fatigue increases the risk of lameness and total breakdown (one or more fractures) in flat races, so it is hardly surprising that horses also suffer injuries in the flat sections of steeplechases and hurdles.(5)

The bones of horses contain a spongy, honeycomb section which is designed to act as a shock absorber. This structure is necessary because large stresses are placed on the legs (6). When galloping at speed the force on the lead foreleg as it hits the ground is 1.7 times the body weight of the horse; the force is considerably greater when landing after a jump (5). Some of the shock of the hooves hitting the ground is absorbed by the spongy bone, which is compressed in the process (6).

A bone becomes weaker in the course of a race as a result of this micro-crushing. Dr Thomas Tobin has calculated that (7): " To break a normal cannon bone at the start of a race it takes about 16,000 foot-pounds of force, but the amount of micro-crushing which can take place in a race can reduce this force to about 9000 pounds ."

The stresses on bones in long races over jumps produces a high level of micro-crushing and dramatically reduces the breaking strength of bones. This weakening increases the risk of any small mishap or stumble producing broken bones. It is not surprising that the rate of injuries is related to the length of races (5).

When a horse breaks a bone it is usually shot. Horses may break a bone in many places, making it impossible for a vet to repair them. Even when recovery is possible, it is unlikely the horse will be able to race again. Even if it has potential at stud, the cost of restoring a racehorse to full fitness is expensive, not necessarily successful (injured racehorses are prone to infections, particularly pneumonia) and usually deemed uneconomic. Therefore they are shot rather than treated.

Jump races are not popular with punters

Market research and turnover figures supplied by the Victorian Racing Club indicate that a significant proportion of customers have a negative attitude towards jump racing, both from an interest and betting perspective. The key reasons for the negative attitude are the danger to horses/jockeys, perceived cruelty and betting unpredictability.

There are now only around 600-700 jumps horses competing in at least one jump race in Victoria in a single season, and the figure declines each year. The number of jump races held in Victoria is also declining each year:

• 197 in 1990/91

• 183 in 1993/94

• 159 in 1995/96

The number of horses starting in each race has declined from 11.6 in 1990/91 to 9.6 in 1993/94 in the metropolitan area (1).

The number of jumps races is few compared with the number of flat races, and they would not be missed. But the pain and suffering for horses is far greater in jump racing than flat racing.

Opposition to jump racing

The Senate Select Committee on Animal Welfare, in its 1991 report on the racing industry, expressed concern about the danger of jumps racing (8):
" The Committee has serious concerns about the welfare of horses participating in jump races. These concerns are based on the significant probability of a horse suffering serious injury or even death as a result of participating in these events and, in particular, steeplechasing ."

The Committee concluded that there was an inherent conflict between animal welfare and jumps racing which could not be eliminated by improvement to jumps or racetracks. As a result the Committee concluded that state governments should phase out jump racing over a three-year period. The NSW government banned jump racing in June 1997.

RSPCA Australia is opposed to jump racing. " We believe it is a misuse of animals ." (Peter Barber, Director RSPCA Victoria.)

In evidence to the Senate Select Committee on Animal Welfare, RSPCA (NSW) stated (6):
" The high incidence of injuries to horses engaged in this type of racing underlines RSPCA policy of complete opposition to steeplechase and hurdle racing ."

There is also disquiet within the racing industry. Journalist Patrick McDonald in a lengthy feature article entitled "How Safe is Oakbank?" came to the following conclusion (9):

" Many owners and trainers refuse to participate in jump events, but are reluctant to speak out against the sport because of industry pressure and fear of reprisals. One young, casual trainer who wrote to The Advertiser in February condemning the 'barbarism' of steeplechasing and the 'public ignorance and apathy' which allows it, was subsequently summoned before the South Australian Jockey Club and now reluctantly refuses to make further media comment ."

McDonald also quoted an unnamed trainer not involved in jumps racing who compared steeplechasing with flat racing at the Morphettville course in Adelaide:

" You don't go to the races at Morphettville on Saturday and expect a horse to fall over in a race. It happens occasionally, but not often. But when you go to a steeplechase, you're just waiting for it to happen. You are expecting it to happen and this is what I find particularly galling about the whole thing ."

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