Time for a little mathematics. Promise it won't be boring, rather it will frighten your socks off. It will explode the myth perpetrated by the jumps racing community that last week's Warrnambool carnival was a wonderful success.
Sirrocean Storm, for one, thought it a failure. His horrible, tortured death is proof enough. If you have the courage you can see it on YouTube but be warned it is sickening vision. But listen to the jumps racing community and the sycophants that trail around behind it, a swell time was had by all.
That irreverent newsletter, Jumping Informer reported that RVL chief executive Rob Hines praised the effectiveness of jumps racing's new obstacles following the three-day carnival.
"We are confident that the new obstacles are working and believe they have been a positive measure in improving the safety of jumps racing for riders and horses this season," Hines said. He added that six jumps races were conducted with one fatality. Hines also praised the Warrnambool Racing Club for its conduct of the carnival and thanked the fans of racing for supporting the three days.
"The racing was exciting across all three days and the atmosphere generated by the big crowds certainly added to the experience for those trackside," he said.
Oh, yes it was a ripper all right. Sydney's megaphone Richie Callander thought it the best darn thing he had seen outside a city racetrack. All the journalists raved about it. Veteran Herald Sun racing writer Tim Habel gave the meeting an overwhelming pass mark.
Well, let's do some serious analysis rather than cheerleading. A little mathematics. If one death per six races is a pass mark, a statistic that more than pleased Hines, the man who runs Victorian racing, then we should apply the formula to races across Australia yesterday and to be run today and tomorrow.
The Australian Racing Board website lists 14 meetings around the country for a total of 113 races over the three days. If it is acceptable for a horse to die on Australian racetracks every six races then the fatality count come tomorrow night will be near enough to 19 horses. By any measure that would be a disaster and the sport of racing under national review.
So Warrnambool's carnival does not look quite as wonderful as the jumping people would have you think. Let's look at it another way then. In those six jumps races 49 horses went around, all or part of the course. So Racing Victoria thinks one death in 49 starters is an acceptable ratio. Apply that formula across the races yesterday, today and tomorrow where the ARB website tells us about 1500 horses (allowing for scratchings and emergencies) could have gone round.
The one-in-49 formula so admired at Warrnambool would bring a fatality count over three days of at least 30 horses. Give it six months and there would be about three horses left alive in the country.
To suggest that one fatality per 49 horses is acceptable really does underline that racing uses horses for no other reason than to make money no matter what the consequences to the horses.
Add in the factor that the ARB has collapsed under the lobby of breeders, owners and auction houses to increase the legal use of the whip to about 17 strikes per horse per race, jockeys will have been entitled collectively to strike horses 25,500 times over three days. How do you reckon the sport is going?
The racing industry is uncomfortable that you are told this information because it challenges the idyllic environment in which it seeks to portray racing. The Melbourne Cup carnival of pretty girls and fast horses, bush racing with its earthy people and picturesque courses, of jumps racing with its brave animals and brilliant horsemen and women. It is an illusion, a public relations trick.
If racing really wanted you to know what happens on the track, it would not have put up a sign at Warrnambool that read in part: "A person may only take images of activities at the racecourse for personal use only and must not make available any images for commercial exploitation, sale or distribution by any persons unless accredited by the RVL."
Even that heavy handed attempt at damage control could not stop the public exposure of the grotesque vision of Sirrocean Storm, back leg swinging at nearly 360 degrees, being dragged to his death.
Patrick Smith @'The Australian'
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