A jockey is in an induced coma following a horrific final day of the jumps racing season in Victoria, Australia, where three horses died. Lee Horner, a three-time winner of the Grand National Steeplechase, was riding Sky Hero in the feature race at Ballarat when he fell in a three-horse pile-up. He was taken to Royal Melbourne Hospital with a head injury and placed into an induced coma; his condition is reported as stable.
Another jockey, Will Gordon, was also hospitalised and scheduled for an MRI scan for a shoulder injury. The horse involved in the same incident, Mighty Oasis, sustained a serious injury and was humanely euthanised. Two other horses, Maserartie Bay and Buffalo Bill, were also euthanised after suffering injuries in earlier races on the same card.
Racing Victoria acknowledged the deaths, stating that each fatal incident will be reviewed by the Jumps Review Panel with post-mortems conducted. The organisation described the day as 'heartbreaking' and noted that the safety record regressed in the 2024 jumps season, despite a 60% reduction in fatal incidents from 2009 to 2023. A review of the season will be conducted.
Jumps racing is now virtually extinct in Australia, and the rise in deaths—from a three-year average of 2.3 to seven this season—is expected to fuel renewed calls for a ban.
