RSPCA Victoria is calling for an end to jumps racing. Victoria is the last place in Australia allowing jumps racing, with systematic failures in animal welfare, a lack of transparency, extremely low participation, and a lack of public support showing time is up for this deadly sport.
RSPCA Victoria has many concerns about jumps racing and why it should end in Victoria. Jumps racing (hurdles or steeplechase) forces horses to jump over obstacles, carrying heavier loads than their flats racing counterparts, and increasing the risk of collision with other horses. Victoria is now the last place in Australia where jumps racing takes place.
Over the last few decades, despite work to implement safety measures by the industry, the fatality, fall and injury rates have not differed from the long-term trends. Read the fatality reports for the last seasons.
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In 2024 RSPCA Victoria conducted both an audit into publicly available information on horse falls, fatalities and injuries and provided a formal submission to the Racing Victoria Jumps Review Group.
Since 2010, the Racing Victoria Jumps Review Panel has reviewed the jumps racing season every year. The results of these reviews have never been made public. Following the end of the 2024 season, Racing Victoria admitted the season’s safety record was ‘unacceptable’, and announced a more in-depth review would be conducted.
We made a formal submission to the review and met with industry directly to advocate for the end of this dangerous activity.
We conducted an audit into the publicly available information on horse falls, fatalities and injuries in Victorian jumps racing. What we found is no surprise – serious animal welfare concerns, inconsistent and poorly reported data, and a lack of transparency, all of which paint a picture of an industry is unable to mitigate the inherent danger of jumps racing for the horses involved.
The 2024 jumps racing season saw devastating outcomes for horses, with one of the highest fatality rates on record.
Read the full report and 2025 addendum below.
RSPCA Victoria has been advocating to end jumps racing in Victoria for nearly 100 years. Check out the timeline below.
Last jumps race held in QLD
1927 ‘STEEPLECHASING CRASHES’, The Herald (Melbourne, Vic.: 1861 – 1954), 5 May, p. 1. , viewed 02 Sep 2024, https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/243922525
1927 ‘OVER THE FENCE?’, The Sun (Sydney, NSW : 1910 – 1954), 4 May, p. 23. (FINAL EXTRA), viewed 02 Sep 2024, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article223620272
Last jumps races held in NSW and WA
RSPCA Victoria calls again for abolishment of steeplechases and advocates for safety changes
RSPCA Victoria requests report from racing industry on number of injured and dead horses
Racing Victoria (RV) conducts first review into jumps racing
Last jumps race held in ACT
Last jumps race held in ACT
Federal senate select committee on animal welfare recommends all jumps racing across Australia is banned on ethical grounds
2nd review into Victorian jumps racing (by the VRC)
NSW legislates a ban
3rd review into Victoria jumps racing (by the VRC)
4th review into Victoria jumps racing (by an RV panel)
5th review into Victoria jumps racing (by an RV panel)
Jumps racing ends in Tasmania following internal industry review (economic grounds)
Industry implements ‘One-Fit’ hurdles following a trial in 2020 to improve safety
SA legislates a ban
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