In short:
"Nup to the Cup" campaigners say Victoria was the deadliest state for racehorses in the 2025-26 season.
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Victoria → say → season
The annual DeathWatch report, released today, has found at least 160 racing-related deaths nationally.
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report → release → deaths
Racing Victoria disputes the report as "misleading, if not mischievous".
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Victoria → dispute → report
The group behind the "Nup to the Cup" anti-horseracing campaign has declared Victoria the deadliest state for horses last racing season, in a contested report released today.
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Victoria → declare → report
It is the first time Victoria has topped the annual DeathWatch report by the Coalition for the Protection of Racehorses (CPR), which tracks racing-related deaths nationally.
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which → top → deaths
The past 12 DeathWatch reports have recorded the most deaths in NSW, which runs about 1,000 more races than Victoria each racing year.
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which → record → Victoria
Another two Victorian racehorse deaths have been recorded since Ohope Wins was euthanised after falling in the Caulfield Cup: a two-year-old filly collapsed and died on track at Ballarat, and a six-year-old gelding was euthanised after an injury in Alexandra.
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gelding → record → Alexandra
CPR general manager Helle Erhardson said they are among 12 racehorses that died in the past nine weeks in Victoria.
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that → say → Victoria
This happens all the time, the only difference is it happened at such a high-profile race," she said.
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she → happen → race
The DeathWatch report details the death of 48 horses in Victoria between August 2025 and July 2026, the racing season.
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report → detail → August
Racing Victoria, the body that regulates thoroughbred racing in the state, said that figure is "misleading, if not mischievous" and that there had been 22 racing fatalities.
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figure → regulate → state
"The list of fatalities CPR has attributed to Victoria … includes horses that died of colic attacks and in paddock accidents, three horses that tragically died in a road accident, horses that last raced 10, 12 and 17 years ago respectively, and even a horse that died of complications from a suspected stingray attack," it said in a written statement.
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it → attribute → statement
Ms Erhardson said the CPR recognised off-track deaths, including 15 that died in the days after sustaining race injuries and nine from starvation.
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that → say → starvation
"We're not claiming these are all on-track deaths, these are the ones we know are racing-related," she said.
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she → claim → track
"We need to honour them as well."
The CPR gave the ABC a list of the Victorian racehorses in its report and asked Racing Victoria for the same transparency, to verify the non-racing-related deaths.
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CPR → need → deaths
Racing Victoria said it was unable to supply the ABC with a list of horse names.
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it → say → names
Transparency questions
The DeathWatch Report 2026 attributed "at least" 160 deaths nationally to the horseracing industry, with front limb injuries the cause of more than 50 deaths.
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injuries → attribute → deaths
The CPR said nearly 70 per cent of the horses had started racing or trialling at two years of age, before they likely reached full skeletal maturity.
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they → say → maturity
Ms Erhardson said the CPR uses "at least" because of a lack of transparency and the difficulty in confirming the cause of racehorse deaths.
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CPR → say → deaths
"These are only the horses that we know of and we can get confirmed," she said.
"
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she → know → that
The public don't have insight into what happens during trials and training at private properties."
The Victorian government has spent $72 million through the Victorian Racing Industry Fund across the last four years, a figure Labor has promised to increase to $80 million if re-elected next month.
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Labor → have → million
Ms Erhardson said racing bodies should be publicly tracking deaths themselves.
"
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bodies → say → deaths
The public has a right to know what sort of industry they're supporting."
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they → have → industry
In Victoria she said nearly all deaths were listed in stewards' reports as due to an unspecified "serious racing injury" and race video of incidents erased.
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video → say → incidents
The Caulfield Cup replay online has been edited to remove the fall involving Ohope Wins and Half Yours.
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replay → edit → Wins
Stewards cleared the jockeys involved and said Ohope Wins was euthanised following a "serious racing injury".
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Wins → clear → injury
Racing Victoria said Victoria averages more than 40,000 thoroughbred starters each year, with a safety record of 99.95 per cent for the past decade.
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Victoria → say → decade
"The Victorian racing industry contributes $5.5 billion in economic activity to the state each year and supports nearly 34,000 full-time equivalent jobs," the statement said.
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statement → contribute → jobs
"Organisations like CPR want to deprive thousands of Victorians of their jobs and the enjoyment of a lawful, social activity by shutting down racing."
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Organisations → want → racing
A Victorian government spokesperson said it was working with Racing Victoria to ensure the industry "continues to meet the highest standards of animal welfare".
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industry → say → welfare
Ms Erhardson said CPR's Nup to the Cup campaign will continue throughout the Spring Racing Carnival, including next week's Melbourne Cup.
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campaign → say → Cup
The Aporia