If Labor is successful in the state election in November it will leave any decision on the future of jumps races to the board of Racing Victoria.
Despite speculation that jumps racing would be abolished if Labor were successful, that was ruled out by shadow racing minister Martin Pakula.
"RVL has created for the purpose of making clear-eyed and sometimes difficult decisions with the best interests of racing in mind,'' Pakula said. "That applies to jumps racing as much as anything else. As minister you can't ask a board to do a job and then tell them how to do it."
The decision has given some certainty to the people employed in jumps racing.
Former jumps jockey and now trainer Patrick Payne called on all racing enthusiasts to support the sport next winter.
"Numbers is the critical thing here and I think we should look at non-jumping states like Tasmania, NSW and Western Australia as direct sources of recruitment,'' Payne said.
"If we can attract more numbers it will go a long way to making the sport a healthy and viable one in seasons to come."
Payne said racehorse owners should look at horses like Lord Of The Song when deciding to convert flat horses to jumpers.
"Lord Of The Song, after 30 starts on the flat, had amassed just $30,000. When I was given the horse, I asked the owners if we could jump him and since he went over the obstacles he has now won over $400,000,'' he said.
"People must remember that it refreshes horses and makes them concentrate. And you should never forget that great horses like Vintage Crop, who won a Melbourne Cup, was also a prolific winner over jumps."
