The Australian Trainers’ Association (ATA) is urging a meeting with Racing Victoria (RV) to discuss improvements in assessing track conditions.
This initiative follows the recent abandonment of several races, including events at Tatura, Yea, Mt Wycheproof, and Kilmore due to track issues.
A notable incident at Ararat, where jockeys found a soft patch near the winning post, further highlighted the need for better track evaluation.
Paul Maher, ATA’s Victorian state executive, stressed the importance of collaboration to reduce such incidents and has approached RV to plan a better strategy.
Currently, RV stewards inspect tracks shortly before races, and track managers rate them with help from regional managers.
Maher suggests considering options like a track walker, a role not currently employed in Australia.
RV’s Matt Welsh emphasized treating each abandonment as an isolated event and said their team is investigating the Kilmore incident to prevent future issues.