MELBOURNE, Australia — Four horses had to be euthanized in four days from injuries suffered in steeplechase races in Victoria state, renewing calls for the races to be banned.

Jumper Hanging Rock became the latest casualty after a fall at the last hurdle at Yarra Valley race track on Sunday. Hanging Rock held a winning lead before breaking his off-fore elbow and had to be put down, but jockey Trent Wells was not hurt.

Other jumpers to be put down include Shrogginet, after breaking a leg in a Cranbourne trial last Thursday, and Taken At The Flood and Wool Zone after falls at the Morphettville track on Saturday.

Lawrence Pope, president of the Victorian Advocates for Animals, called on state Racing Minister Rob Hulls to stop the races — also referred to as "jumps."

"What makes this (Hanging Rock) particularly nasty even by jumps racing standards is that he died at a bushfire charity event with many children present," Pope told Melbourne's Herald-Sun newspaper Monday. "With 60 jumps races left in the long season, this year is shaping up to be just as bad as last year and the year before that."

Racing Victoria chief executive Rob Hines said he was expecting a report from stewards on Hanging Rock's fall.

The deaths bring jumps racing under greater scrutiny as the industry prepares for the Warrnambool May Racing Carnival, which starts next week.

The race meeting features the Dominant Grand Annual Steeplechase, which consists of 33 jumps over roughly 6,000 yards. It is the longest thoroughbred race in Australia and reportedly has the most jumps of any horse race in the world.