On the eve of the new national ratings based handicapping system, Harness Racing Victoria (HRV) reminds the industry of this important change and has created a list of “need to know” items to help participants with the transition.
Nominations close for the first meeting under the new system close tomorrow (26 June) at noon.
HRV released its July programs on June 3. They can be viewed here.
National Ratings Based Handicapping System – Need to Know
- Each horse’s National Rating (NR) has been live from 1 May and has calculated on racing performances since
- Field Selection Points will remain as the primary balloting tool independent of NR
- Horses can race in advance of their rating but cannot have their rating reduced for performances in such races
- Races run as divisions will not be divided based on NR – current ideals will remain
- In lower rating races where concession claims don’t apply for eligibility purposes, there may be the facility for concession drivers to claim in the barrier draw only (when stated on race conditions)
- Horses that exceed NR criteria after acceptances will be deemed ineligible, however a concession claiming driver may then be applied to remain eligible if they are applicable on the race
- Concession claims are tiered
- 5 points for 0-100 lifetime wins
- 3 points for 101-250 lifetime wins
- 5 points in metro races for 0-50 lifetime metro wins
- Mares allowance is 5 points
- No provision for dual allowances (mares & concession driver) but may be explored in future
- Horses imported from New Zealand from 1 July onwards will have their NR calculated on their lifetime performance against the Points Matrix
- At metropolitan meetings, only Metro races will be selected manually, the remainder will be selected based on Field Selection Points
- For the purposes of racing guidelines races will be categorised as follows:
- Restricted $4,500
- Career $4,501 to $14,999
- Metro $15,000+
Ratings Points Matrix
