Greyhound and harness races rescheduled – but horse races still scheduled
RSPCA South Australia welcomes the decisions of Greyhound Racing SA and Harness Racing SA to reschedule races this long weekend in response to the current heatwave being experienced across the state but is concerned about horse races still scheduled to take place over the next three days.
Harness Racing SA has announced it has transferred a race meeting planned for Sunday at Kapunda to evening races at Globe Derby Park. Evening greyhound races are also scheduled for Gawler on Sunday night and Murray Bridge on Monday night. (Greyhounds are also scheduled to race during the day at Mount Gambier on Sunday, with the current forecast 35C.)
However, RSPCA SA is concerned for the welfare of horses participating in races scheduled at four racetracks this long weekend:
- Sat 9 March - Murray Bridge - 9-race program starting at 10.25am and last race at 2.48pm.
Forecast temp - 42C
- Penong (located on Nullabor Plain, west of Ceduna) - 5-race program starting at 1.49pm and last race at 4.13pm.
Forecast temp - 42C
- Sun 10 March - Clare Valley - 8-race program starting at 10.25am and last race at 2.08pm.
Forecast temp – 38C
- Mon 11 March - Adelaide - 9-race program starting at 12.30pm and last race at 5.35pm.
Forecast temp - 38C
Aside from the risks for horses racing in high temperatures, RSPCA South Australia is also concerned at the risks horses will be exposed to if required to travel long distances during the heat of the day to attend the meetings.
Animal welfare legislation does not have a capped temperature above which racehorses cannot be raced.
Racing SA does have a hot weather policy which outlines extra steps required if horses are racing in high temperatures, but decisions on whether scheduled races go ahead or not are made by stewards and vets from the racing industry. The advice and guidelines contained in Racing SA's heat policy are not prescriptive in terms of mandatory actions to be taken with regards to cancellations.
RSPCA advocates for mandatory standards for all racing codes which include provisions to cancel races in extreme high temperatures. Addressing this issue requires urgent attention, given climate change predictions that hot weather events will become more frequent in the future.
RSPCA South Australia calls on Racing SA to introduce a mandatory temperature limit for cancelling races in hot weather, and not to wait until a tragedy occurs for this to happen. The organization also calls on Racing SA – as the organization that is hosting these events in hot months – to invest in the research needed to determine what the maximum temperature should be.
