Victoria tonight kicks off its 2016-17 season and welcomes a new four-tiered stakemoney format at Bendigo.
Owners and trainers will note that additional programming clauses will feature on the majority of races for $3500 and $5000 prizemoney levels.
The most common theme expressed by industry participants throughout the tiered racing consultation process was to ensure that the $3500 and $5000 prizemoney races were programmed in a manner that would limit the likelihood of well-performed horses dominating such races.
Accordingly, the majority of races will comprise one of the additional programming clauses listed below.
• Restricted to horses which have not won a race in their last 6 starts and which have had at least 2 Australian race starts.
• Restricted to horses which have not won more than 1 race in their last 6 starts and which have had at least 2 Australian race starts.
• Restricted to horses with nil lifetime wins which have had at least 2 Australian race starts.
• Restricted to horses which have no more than 24 field selection points at Acceptance Time and which have had at least 2 Australian race starts.
• This field will be selected in ascending points score order (i.e. from the bottom up).
Also, the majority of career penalty and restricted penalty class races of $3500 or $5000 will be programmed for horses 4YO and older. This will enable lesser-performed horses to maximise their earning capacity without competing against well-performed 3YO horses which have already won multiple races during that season.
The use of the clause ‘and which have had at least 2 Australian race starts’ is designed to prevent poorly performed New Zealand imports from dominating such races at either of their first two Australian race starts.
HRV Chairman Dale Monteith said the system would be critically reviewed with industry participants after six months.
“This review will determine if the Board, with the HRAC’s advice, needs to take further action in the interests of the industry,” he said
Approved By Dean Baring www.harnessbred.com
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