What is Vicbred?
Vicbred is Victoria’s gold standard breeding scheme, carrying Australia’s most generous incentives and race series to encourage and reward breeders and owners.
Incentives and opportunities vary depending upon whether your foal is Vicbred Pure, which is the top tier, Vicbred Platinum or Vicbred.
Vicbred carries a first win bonus of up to $12,000 (details below).
Put simply, if you’re Vicbred, you’re racing for more money.
Is my horse Vicbred Pure?
Yes, if my foal was born in 2021 or later, is out of a Victorian mare and is by an Australasian-bred sire who is physically standing in Victoria.
Vicbred Pure horses receive a $12,000 first win bonus and can contest Vicbred races, including Vicbred Platinum.
My horse isn’t Vicbred Pure, but is it Vicbred Platinum?
If your mare is inseminated and foals in Victoria, that foal is Vicbred Platinum eligible.
Foals born prior to 2021 are deemed Vicbred Platinum if they are Vicbred eligible and have a Victorian freezebrand (signified by S3 as the first two symbols).
Vicbred Platinum horses born 2021 and later are eligible to receive a $9000 first win bonus.
Vicbred Platinum horses can also contest races worth $850,000 in prizemoney each year that are restricted to Vicbred Platinum eligible horses. They include:
• Vicbred Platinum Home Grown Classic (for horses who have not earned more than $10,000): $10,000 heats & $50,000 finals for 2YO & 3YOs divided by sex (pacers & trotters).
• Vicbred Platinum Mares Sprint Championship (restricted to non metro winners): 10 x $10,000 pacing heats with a $40,000 final, five x $10,000 trotting heats with a $30,000 final.
• Vicbred Platinum Metropolitan Bonus Races (pacers and trotters): Up to eight metropolitan class races ranging from $15,000 to $40,000.
My horse isn’t Vicbred Pure or Vicbred Platinum, but is it Vicbred?
Yes, if your mare is served by a stallion who is standing in Victoria, South Australia or Tasmania.
If your mare is not served by a Vicbred stallion, she must be inseminated in and foal in one of those states.
If your mare is not in Victoria, South Australia or Tasmania and you don’t breed her to a sire based in one of those states you are unable to make the resultant foal Vicbred eligible.
My horse is Vicbred, what now?
If your mare is served by a stallion who is standing in Victoria, South Australia or Tasmania either of these two options can apply:
• If your foal is notified to Victoria (HRV) it will automatically be nominated for Vicbred
• If your foal is notified outside of Victoria (not to HRV) you will need to lodge the Vicbred Eligibility Coupon (found on the bottom of your service certificate) with HRV. You’ll be charged $220, which is the price of a foal notification in Victoria. Coupons must be received by HRV no later than the 1st of May immediately following your foal’s birth.
If your mare is not served by a Vicbred stallion, she must be inseminated in and foal in Victoria, South Australia or Tasmania and her foal must be notified to HRV.
The fee for this scenario is:
- $220 for sires based elsewhere in Australia, Canada or Europe, and USA trotting stallions
- $332 for USA based pacing stallions
Tell me more about the First Win Bonus?
The Vicbred First Win Bonus is a bonus for a Vicbred eligible horses first win in a career or metropolitan race (stakemoney of $4,501 or more) as a 2YO, 3YO or 4YO in Victoria.
The Vicbred First Win Bonus is $7000.
Starting with foals born in the 21/22 breeding season, the Vicbred bonus will be increased to a basic level bonus of $8000, a Platinum level bonus of $9000 and a Pure level bonus of $12,000.
If a horse’s first applicable win is in a restricted race (stakemoney of $4,500 or less), half of the bonus will be paid. The other half will be payable if the horse wins a career or metropolitan race at a later date.
Note: The remaining half of the bonus cannot be won by winning a race worth $4,500 or less.
No National Rating restrictions will apply for any first win bonus.
A Vicbred First Win Bonus, equitable to half the applicable standard bonus of that foaling year (i.e. $3500 for those eligible for $7000), will be paid to any Vicbred eligible horse aged 5YO or over who wins a race of $4,501 or more, provided they have never previously won a bonus (including a half bonus).There are no sustaining payments required for 5YO and older horses.
Vicbred First Win Bonuses are distributed in the following manner:
80% Owner
5% Trainer
5% Driver
5% Foal Nominator (The ‘Foal Nominator’ is the person who owns the mare at the time of foaling)
5% Stallion Nominator*
*If there is no stallion nominator, the Foal Nominator will receive 10%.
For the Stallion Nominator to collect their 5% the stallion must have physically stood at stud in Victoria for the applicable season when the horse was bred
Bonuses may only be won where the applicable Vicbred Age Acceptance payments (and all late payment fees if applicable) have been received and processed by Harness Racing Victoria.
Breeder benefits and foal nominator bonuses
Given their higher earning potential, Vicbred eligible horses are a more attractive proposition for potential buyers and generally sell for a higher premium.
If you are the foal nominator of a Vicbred horse you will receive 5% of prizemoney (including Vicbred bonuses) if that horse wins a Vicbred race (or 10% in cases where there is no stallion nominator).
If you are the foal nominator of a Vicbred horse you also will be eligible for foal nominator bonuses. Foal nominator bonuses apply when a horse you bred wins a two, three or four-year-old age-restricted race in Victoria.
The payment of foal nominator bonuses is not dependent on Vicbred age acceptances being paid, the horse simply needs to have met the original Vicbred criteria.
The foal nominator bonus amounts to 10% of the prizemoney offered. For example a Vicbred horse that wins a $7000 two-year-old race would earn their foal nominator a bonus of $700. If you bred the winner of a $280,000 Breeders Crown Final you would receive a Foal Nominator Bonus of $28,000.
The ‘Foal Nominator’ is the person who owns the mare at the time of foaling.
Vicbred fees
There are no yearling fees under the Vicbred program.
A two-year-old age acceptance fee of $220 will be invoiced on December 1 (one month before your horse becomes a two-year-old). At this point you may instead choose to pay a higher fee of $440, which will make your horse eligible for its two, three and four-year-old seasons.
If you don’t choose to pay the $440 as a two-year-old, you’ll need to pay $220 for each age acceptance thereafter ($660 total cost to be paid up as a two, three and four-year-old).
If you don’t contact HRV prior to the 1st of December to accept (age or series) you’ll automatically be invoiced for the relevant $220 age acceptance fee. If you fail to pay the invoice by 1st of February your horse will automatically be withdrawn and will no longer be Vicbred eligible for that season.
If you miss the deadline but still want your horse to be Vicbred eligible, the following late fees apply:
Payments received from February 2nd – June 7th: $440 for a single year acceptance
Payments received from June 8th – September 8th: 3% of respective gaits Vicbred Super Series final prizemoney for a single year acceptance
Payments received from September 9th: 4% of respective gaits Vicbred Super Series final prizemoney for a single year acceptance
Vicbred first win bonuses are only payable if payment has been received and processed and may not be backdated.
If you don’t choose to make your horse eligible for their two-year-old season you can still pay up for their three-year-old and/or four-year-old seasons.