'The racing industry gave up' - South Australia calls it quits on jump racing

Jump racing is set to end in South Australia after the state government supported a legislative bill to stop the sport.

No jumps meetings have been held in the state for more than a year because they were no longer considered economically viable.

A decision was made on Wednesday by South Australian Deputy Premier Susan Close, who said it removed all debate about the sport’s future in the state.

"We want to create certainty for the industry, backing in a decision already made by Racing SA and by Oakbank [Racing Club] to no longer hold jumps racing events," Close said.

"The community and the racing industry gave up on jump racing some time ago and the parliament is reflecting this change in attitudes.

"The time for this business, the time for this industry has now elapsed. There's a reason there were only ten jump races left in South Australia."

Noting the introduction of the bill to the House of Assembly, Racing SA CEO Nick Redin said: "The decision taken in October 2021 to no longer schedule jump racing in South Australia was based on the economic viability of the industry and not on welfare."

The legislative bill, first introduced by the SA Greens, is set to pass through the South Australian Parliament on Thursday, with jump racing to immediately be outlawed.

It leaves Victoria as the only state in Australia to host jump racing.

Racing Victoria is a big supporter of jump racing and recently announced significant prize-money increases and changes to its jump schedule to strengthen the sport in the state.

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