Stawell Athletic Club president Neil Blizzard said reports the club had rejected the government's deal were misrepresented and that negotiations around securing the future of the 141-year-old race were ongoing.

"We've been moving forward with this every step of the way, and there have even been really really good negotiations today," he said.

"Everyone is saying there's going to be no Gift and this isn't going to happen. We actually have a transition plan that's been agreed to by the government and ourselves going towards a new entity.

"It's about 80 per cent agreed.

"We've actually come up with what we believe and what the government believes is a great transition model to move forward to the next step

"Everyone is saying we're against this model. We're not."

The future of the event had been thrown up in the air with news filtering out on Thursday that the SAC had turned down a state government rescue package.

It was reported that the SAC rejected a government recommendation that a new committee be formed to oversee the carnival, which has been contested since 1878.

As a result, the offer - worth $280,000 in 2020 with the prospect of similar levels of funding in future years - was withdrawn.

In 2019, men's and women's Stawell Gift winners collected $40,000 each.

Blizzard said the club held concerns over the initial plan but were working with the state government to resolve them.

"When the first draft came out there were a lot of things in there that were of great concern to us," he said.

"It's very important that the club secures the longevity of the event.

"We went back with mark-ups, like a normal negotiation, and they were knocked on the head by the government.

"We've been going backwards and forwards, and we've got it really really close to a deal at the moment.

"It was just about getting things right about the longevity, the number of years that it was going to be involved, the structure of where they were headed and the make-up of what they wanted the Stawell Athletic Club to do," Blizzard said.

Earlier on Friday, Stawell Gift champion Matt Wiltshire revealed he had joined a group of past winners pleading with organisers to save the country's most iconic footrace.

The Ballarat boy, who charged to victory at Central Park in 2012, put his name to a statement that was to be put forward to the Stawell Athletic Club.

The stance taken by the SAC prompted 2014 Gift winner Luke Versace to stand down as club patron.

Versace was the author of the statement to the SAC.

"We the past winners of the Stawell Gift love the race and the event. We ask that you do everything in your power to help the event retain its place as an icon of Australian sport. We also ask that when making decisions about its future you consider everyone's interests," the statement read.

Wiltshire said it appeared the carnival would still run, but without government support it would carry far less prizemoney.

"It's just not the way you want to go - as soon as something like that happens to Stawell, it's going to effect professional running as a whole. There's no doubt about it," he said.

"They (SAC) obviously have run it the way they have, and successfully for a long time, but things are changing and if they don't change with the times it's one way they're going to be left behind."