EXTRA obstacles and an increased number of track staff are measures that Racing Victoria is hoping will eliminate the slow changeover process between hurdles and steeple brush tops when the jumps racing season begins at Hamilton on Saturday, reports The Age.It says: With just two days until the 2010 jumps season starts, RVL staff will put the finishing touches on the final batch of obstacles today after the second shipment of brush tops arrived at Melbourne Airport overnight, with 26 obstacles a

EXTRA obstacles and an increased number of track staff are measures that Racing Victoria is hoping will eliminate the slow changeover process between hurdles and steeple brush tops when the jumps racing season begins at Hamilton on Saturday, reports The Age.

It says: With just two days until the 2010 jumps season starts, RVL staff will put the finishing touches on the final batch of obstacles today after the second shipment of brush tops arrived at Melbourne Airport overnight, with 26 obstacles already in use during recent trials at Stony Creek and Warrnambool.

RVL chief operating officer Bernard Saundry said the recent jumps trials had provided crucial lessons regarding the varying set-up times of the hurdles and steeples, as well as the number of staff needed to avoid the hour or more delays experienced when swapping brush tops between hurdle and steeple events at trials.

''We've learnt a lot over the last couple of weeks and we will have the appropriate amount of resources and manpower on hand at jumps meetings to avoid any unnecessary delays,'' he said.

Eleven new brush tops will complement the 26 obstacles already transferred to Hamilton ahead of the weekend to provide further relief, with a strong possibility that steeplechase events will be run before hurdle races throughout the season to ease the burden on track staff.

Another issue that jumps participants are keen to have addressed ahead of the weekend is that of the presence of anti-jumps protesters, with a strong contingent anticipated at the majority of meetings where jumps races are to be run this season.

After some heated exchanges at jumps meetings last year, and the worrying habit of protesters running onto race tracks to photograph or point out fallen horses, Saundry said that every security measure would be taken to avoid repeat incidents and to ensure that safety and security protocols were in place on race days.