Racing Victoria has announced the expansion of its post-race scoping program to 135 country race meetings from September 1.

The service, the only one of its kind in Australia, has proven an invaluable resource for trainers, owners and punters at metropolitan meetings since its introduction in 2013.

As part of the program, RV veterinarians acting upon the request of RV stewards conduct thorough and timely post-race endoscopic examinations of horses’ that perform below expectations to identify any abnormalities and the need for further veterinary treatment.

An on-demand service is also available for those trainers seeking to have post-race endoscopic examinations conducted on horses not requested by the stewards.

Having been expanded to synthetic meetings at Geelong and Racing.com Park (Pakenham) earlier this year, the program will now take in turf meetings at both tracks along with all meetings at Ballarat, Bendigo, Cranbourne, Mornington and Warrnambool.

Today’s announcement coincides with the commencement of a 1% allocation of all Victorian prizemoney to equine welfare and a celebration of the horses’ birthday with a pamper party for 50 retired racehorses at Geelong Racecourse as part of RV’s Off the Track program.

“The 1% prizemoney contribution to equine welfare will support our initiatives and programs for horses before, during and after racing and help build upon the great work done by many in maintaining appropriate standards and care,” RV General Manager – Veterinary Services, Dr Grace Forbes, said.

“The first such initiative is an expansion of our post-race scoping service from 1 September 2017 to all race meetings at seven major regional tracks as part of the veterinary and welfare services we offer for horses during their racing career.

“The post-race endoscopic examinations allow us to check a horse’s airways to identify if there are any abnormalities that may have affected its performance and provide immediate feedback to trainers whilst their horse is cooling down.

“To be able to offer the service at an additional 135 race meetings a year is tremendous for the welfare of our horses during their racing careers. It’s proven invaluable for trainers and owners and popular with punters as we’ve been able to afford a clear reason why a horse has performed poorly in 20% of our examinations.”