BENDIGO Jockey Club (BJC) has welcomed Racing Victoria (RV) assurances its track was prepared in accordance with jumps racing guidelines for last Sunday’s Mosstrooper Steeplechase meeting.

An incident-packed meeting, highlighted by six jumps races, ended with eight horses falling and one having to be euthanised.

The White Hills track was prepared as a Good 4, was a Soft 5 at the start of the day, and later upgraded to a Good 4 for the rest of the day.

Racing Victoria jumps racing manager Paul Bloodworth was firm in his ruling the track had been prepared in accordance with racing guidelines, but this week acknowledged RV was open to discussions with stakeholders if they believed tracks for jumps meetings should be conducted on softer ground.

BJC chief executive officer Aaron Hearps said he was grateful for the assurance from the governing body.

“We are adamant the track was prepared in line with the track rating policy for jumps racing,” he said.

“It was grateful to hear Paul Bloodworth come out and be very firm on that – the club has only acted within the parameters that have been issued through Racing Victoria.

“What is also pleasing is that our track manager (Bernard Hopkins), who we think is the best in the business and the only two-time regional track manager of the year winner, has received a lot of support from the local trainers here in Bendigo.

“That includes Rod Symons, who did have jumper (Steel Caps), who fell, but only fell because he got pushed while jumping a hurdle, which had nothing to do with the track.

“The trainers were adamant the track was fine, but Bendigo when it does hold jumps racing is renowned for being a bit firmer than a Ballarat or Warrnamabool.”

Hearps admitted surprise with reports in Fairfax Media that Warrnambool Racing Club was preparing to make a pitch to RV to lure the feature jumps racing day away from Bendigo.

“We will continue to consult with Racing Victoria to see what the future programming for Bendigo will be for the next 12 months and beyond,” he said.

“There is still a review to take place as to whether Bendigo remains a jumping venue.

“We will also continue to work with the Australian Jumps Racing Association to determine our future and that will be based on the best interests of safety and all stakeholders.

“It is one of our features and it’s our only jumps meeting, but we’ll continue to work with the industry to determine what’s in the best interests.”

The Mosstrooper Steeplechase meeting is one of the BJC’s big-three race meetings in terms of both crowd numbers and sponsorship, behind only its Jayco Bendigo Cup meeting in November and the popular beach party race day in October.

Three of the eight falls came in the 3600m feature race, won by champion jumps galloper Wells, with 10-year-old gelding Something to Share being euthanised after coming to grief on the second last obstacle.

The horse fatality was the first in the event’s seven-year history, since the return of jumps racing to Bendigo following a decades-long hiatus.

RV figures this week revealed a 70 per cent improvement in the safety record of jumps racing since 2009.

Former BJC chairman and committeeman Brendan Drechsler, who the meeting’s feature hurdle race was named after, said a decision on whether the event was retained in Bendigo was a matter for the BJC.

“But I think Bendigo has created something special with Mosstrooper day and it’s something I am extremely proud of,” he said.