The Jumps Review Panel will investigate the death of a horse after it broke its leg during a race in Victoria.
Cliff’s Dream was euthanised by an on-course veterinarian after breaking a leg during a jumps race on the opening day of the Warrnambool carnival on Tuesday.
The gelding fell at the second to last hurdle of the 3200m race.
Racing Victoria’s jumps racing manager Paul Bloodworth said the incident had been referred to the Jumps Review Panel for investigation.
He said he would not comment on Tuesday’s death, other than to say the incident served as a reminder “that as an industry we cannot rest on our laurels as we continue to strive for the best possible safety record” and that the sport’s fatality rate had dropped 70 per cent in six years.
The Coalition for the Protection of Racehorses captured footage of the fall – which happened in squally conditions at the regional track.
“We’re calling on the government, and the racing minister, to intervene and cancel all further jumps races at Warrnambool carnival,” the coalition’s spokesman Ward Young told AAP on Tuesday.
There are four more jumps races scheduled at the carnival over the next two days and animal rights activists will continue a protest campaign at the track.
Cliff’s Dream’s death is the second jumps racing-related death of 2016, following on from five last year.
On Wednesday, April 27, a horse named Fieldmaster had to be euthanised when it broke its leg during trials at Cranbourne Racecourse.
Victoria and South Australia are the only Australian states that still have jumps racing.
