I’ve had a closer look at the information sent by NZ Standardbred Breeders Assn on the new The Breeders “Golden Girls” Series.
This is an excellent initiative because it gives 4yo and older mares some real opportunities to get form, earn stakes and post decent times competing against a similar class of their own sex.
Kiely Buttell, executive manager for the NZSBA says she’s delighted at how clubs, HRNZ and others have come to the party and got the series up and running for this season. It’s a huge achievement given the structure of our industry!
Now it is up to trainers and owners to grab the opportunity and make it a success. It must be so frustrating when the calls for more like-against-like races are answered, only to struggle for nominations.
The great thing about this series is that it gives dates that trainers can plan for – and an aim for the latter part of the season which is a great way to keep owners interested. Owners will also get sufficient time for their mares to compete in the series and then let down ready for the breeding season – hopefully with a few more credentials. Fillies usually take longer to mature than the colts, and many are only showing their true worth at 4 or 5 years old. Although a series like this may delay the retirement-to-breed of some fillies at the end of their 3yo season, it will add to their value as broodmares in the longer term. It makes those 4yo and 5yo seasons more viable for owners who enjoy racing fillies and mares and are willing to give them time to mature.
The series spreads $217,500 in stakes across 27 races at shorter distances (from 1 mile, through 1700, 1950 and 2000 metres) and programmed from late May through to late July. The series is made up of 6 finals with regionally based heats – usually 3 heats but in some cases 4 heats. There are 3 series for 0-1 win mares and 3 series for 2-4 win mares. Only one of the series is in the North Island, however, and that’s for the 0-1 win mares with all heats at Cambridge.
This regional approach gives local clubs more involvement, and also recognises that transport costs away from your region can be a real disincentive when horses are only an outside chance to bring home a winner’s cheque. So it is a smart idea to run regional finals – ease the costs and spread the kudos around.
Being labelled a ‘Breeders’ series, I asked Kiely if there was going to be recognition for the original breeders of the competing mares, and the answer is ‘yes’ – in the final of each series, the first mare home that was bred by a member of the NZSBA will earn a ‘breeders bonus’ for that breeder. So that’s an incentive to join the NZSBA as well as encouraging support for the series overall!
This is a very positive response to the issue of maintaining the quantity and quality of our racing mares who then become our future broodmares.
Use it or lose it!
There’ll be details on the NZSBA website and HRNZ I’m sure, or contact your local club or Kiely Buttell at kiely.buttell@vodafone.co.nz for a leaflet.
Congratulations to all involved in this initiative.
Leave a Reply