‘Nup to the Cup’ campaign ‘misguided’, says RV chief

Racing Victoria is fighting the 'Nup to the Cup' movement. The movement is campaigning for a ban on jumps racing and a removal of public funding for the horse racing industry. Racing Victoria's chief executive Andrew Jones says the movement's aim is ill-informed. Jones believes the industry is trending in the right direction after the second Melbourne Cup in a row without a death since more stringent vetting requirements were introduced. Victorian Greens leader Samantha Ratnam says her party will continue to fight to protect horses from cruelty. It seems they want to distract from the fact that the racing Industry continues to profit from animal cruelty and gambling harm.

Carnival likely to push deeper into November. $100 million in wagering turnover from Champions day to Cranbourne Cup day has caused Racing Victoria to take a serious look at rejuvenating the spring racing carnival. Racing boss Jones says casual racing fans have ‘switched off’ after Cup week. Jones will look for ways to keep high-grade metropolitan racing going on Saturdays after the Cup. He believes the Melbourne Cup will be on the third Tuesday of November instead of the first. He thinks it's unlikely the entire carniver will get pushed back a fortnight. The sport is missing out on capitalising on free air in the Victorian sporting calendar.