Racing Victoria has conceded its “safety record regressed” in the 2024 jumps racing season after three horses had to be euthanased on a single day of racing.

The Coalition for the Protection of Racehorses said the 2024 Grand National Steeplechase on Sunday at Ballarat was the deadliest day in Victorian jumps racing history. 

In 2008, the Grand National Hurdle event at Flemington Racecourse saw two horses euthanased. 

Racing Victoria said in a statement that the three horses, Mighty Oasis, Maserartie Bay and Buffalo Bill, were humanely put down after sustaining serious injuries in Race 1, Race 4, and Race 6, at the Ballarat Turf Club on Sunday.

“Whilst the fatal incident rate in Victorian jumps racing reduced by over 60 per cent from 2009 to 2023, there is no denying that the safety record regressed in the 2024 jumps season,” the statement said.

According to Racing Victoria, there have been seven fatalities of horses across the 2024 jumps season.

However, the Coalition for the Protection of Racehorses told the ABC, 12 horses in total had been euthanased across the season, with five horse fatalities occurring during track work and training. 

During Ballarat race meet on Sunday, two jockeys were also injured.

Lee Horner remains in a Melbourne hospital in a serious condition. Fellow jockey Will Gordon was transported to the Ballarat Base Hospital with an upper body injury. 

Changes were made to jumps racing in 2010 to improve safety in the industry, including a change to the hurdles themselves.

Prior to the changes, Racing Victoria said the state averaged 9.3 horse fatalities per season.

Animal welfare advocates are pleading with the state government to ditch jumps racing as a whole.

“This sport is just way too dangerous and should be banned immediately,” said Elio Celotto, Campaign Director at the Coalition for the Protection of Racehorses.

Racing Victoria will undertake a review of the 2024 jumps racing season. 

Each fatal incident from the steeplechase on Sunday will also be reviewed by the Jumps Review Panel along with a post-mortem expected on each animal.

South West Victoria saw sunny and mild weather overtaken by heavy storms late on Sunday afternoon, but Mr Celotto denied this had any impact on the racing.

“We were there, along with around 30 people protesting out the front [of Ballarat Racecourse],” he said.

“It was a lovely day, a bit windy and rainy toward the end but nothing you would consider a hazard for horse racing at all.

The state government committed $3 million to infrastructure upgrades at racecourses across western Victoria.

In May this year, a new training track at the Ballarat Racecourse was unveiled. The government provided more than $1.3 million to the project. 

In 2022, South Australia banned jumps racing, with Racing SA saying the industry was “unsustainable” due to declining numbers of both horses and jockeys.

Victoria is the last state in Australia to run jumps racing. 

State Minister for Racing Anthony Carbines called the steeplechase meet on Sunday “extremely sad and disturbing”.

“It is my expectation that Racing Victoria will do a thorough review of yesterday’s incidents and of the 2024 jumps racing season to understand if any action should be taken to improve safety,” Mr Carbines said.

The Ballarat Turf Club declined to comment.