RACING authorities have refused to accept any risk to horses’ welfare, cancelling Monday’s scheduled meeting at Swan Hill due to the forecast heat.
Monday’s maximum is expected to soar to a boiling 43C, potentially the seventh consecutive day of 40C-plus temperatures.
Swan Hill trainer Austy Coffey supported the decision, and said he believed trainers might have been anticipating it.
“There were only 50 acceptances for Monday. People probably figured it would be too hot anyway,” he said.
“We had a couple of hot days at the races recently and now we are all wary of it.”
Coffey said horses responded differently to hot conditions.
“Some horses thrive on it and others struggle, just like humans,” he said.
Coffey said he had seen horses “collapse and get the staggers” at race meets in extreme heat.
He said such circumstances would mean the horse in question would need a spell.
“It’s just time after that. You wouldn’t want to race them a week later,” he said.
With eight races cancelled on Monday, Coffey said upcoming meetings would probably be busier as a result.
“There’ll be a backlog. When a meeting is called off it tends to make the entries twice as big for the following weekend,” he said.
In a statement yesterday, Racing Victoria (RV) said the welfare of horses and human participants was RV’s highest priority.
RV executive general manager of racing Greg Carpenter said the Bureau of Meteorology, Country Racing Victoria and the Swan Hill Jockey Club had all been consulted before making the decision.
“This decision has not been made lightly, however, we feel it is necessary to ensure the health and welfare of horses, jockeys and everyone involved in conducting the meeting,” he said.
RV head vet Brian Stewart said the horses’ wellbeing was a paramount concern.
“Equine welfare is of the utmost priority to Racing Victoria and we don’t believe it would be responsible to proceed with Monday’s meeting,” he said.
Murray Mallee Racing (MMR) chief executive officer Aaron Garvie said MMR was “not prepared to take any risks” with the health of horses, jockeys and staff.
“We fully support Racing Victoria’s decision not to go ahead with our scheduled race meeting on Monday.
“While it is always disappointing to lose a race day, we will always put the welfare of horses, jockeys and our staff first,” he said.
Like Coffey, Garvie and RV authorities said a lower-than-normal number of nominations indicated an unwillingness of trainers to race horses in very hot weather.
