The decision by Moyne council, which was only decided by mayor Jim Doukas’ casting vote, prohibits racehorses from accessing the beach, as well as prohibiting “any horses from galloping, cantering or trotting on Killarney Beach” on an ongoing basis.

While Weir didn’t want to comment on the issue on Thursday, McLean said the decision would mean a larger volume of horses on the region’s other beaches.

“I just think it’s disappointing overall,” McLean told The Courier.

“Once you lose it, you don’t get it back.”

McLean said Weir has about 50 horses in work at Warrnambool, a satellite stable that has been one of the major driving forces behind his success in recent years.

Councillors Colin Ryan and Jordan Lockett supported the racehorse ban, while councillors Daniel Meade, Ian Smith and Mick Wolfe were in favour of a proposal that would have allowed up to 16 horses to use the beach between 7am and 10am from April until November.

Cr Doukas indicated he supported the idea of racehorses using the beach, but felt the terms and conditions laid out in the alternate proposal weren’t tight enough, and as a result sided with councillors Ryan and Lockett.

The council heard presentations from Belfast Coastal Reserve Action Group (BCRAG) members Shane Howard and Bill Yates, as well as Warrnambool Racing Club chief executive Peter Downs, with the latter asking councillors to take the emotion out of the argument and look at it factually.

Cr Ryan said the beach was “an inappropriate place for training a racehorse and should be reserved for families”, whether it be in summer or winter.

Cr Lockett, in a speech that drew applause from the gallery, said there was no safe way to allow galloping racehorses on a public beach.

“We wouldn’t let formula one cars train on the Princes Highway … so why let a racehorse train on a public beach?” he said.

“You wouldn’t let your own child run on to a racehorse track. Killarney Beach is a public beach … which should be safe for residents and tourists to use at any time of day.” 

BCRAG’s Bill Yates said the decision showed Moyne Shire was listening to the community to ensure “the protection of a beautiful and fragile environment and the preservation of a critically important local amenity”.

“Seventy-one community submissions were received (by council on the matter), 86 per cent of which were totally opposed to horse training on Killarney Beach,” Yates said.