Eligibility Date
 
To contest The Country Championships in 2018, horses must legitimately be under the care of a NSW country trainer with a current stable return lodged on or before midnight on 1 October 2017, being the eligibility date. The lodgement date of the stable return will be the sole determinant of the eligibility date.

The trainer must be licensed and operate from one of the following eight designated country racing regions in NSW.

Region

Mid North Coast

South East

Central Districts

Southern Districts

Northern Rivers

Hunter & North West

Western

BHFWRA

For the avoidance of doubt, horses trained in country regions outside of NSW and not in accordance with the definition of a country area in the Racing NSW Local Rules of Racing, are not eligible to compete.

Horses trained by a trainer that is the holder of a metropolitan or provincial licence are not eligible to compete. Horses with a stable return or trained by a trainer at Canberra or the Australian Capital Territory are not eligible to compete.
 
Horses transferred to a country stable after the eligibility date are not eligible to contest The Country Championships, unless eligible to compete in that region prior to being transferred. A horse that transfers from one of the eight designated country racing regions above to different region after the eligibility date, is not eligible to contest The Country Championships.
 
Dual Training Locations


Horses trained by a trainer who holds a licence to train at one of eight designated country racing regions in NSW and at a provincial, metropolitan, Canberra or interstate racecourse are not eligible to compete in The Country Championships.

Location and Training of Horses
 
Whilst in training, from the eligibility date, the horse must remain located at the trainers nominated training location and under the care of the nominated trainer. A horse that is spelled during the eligibility period must have a stable returned lodged advising the location of the said horse. The spelling of a horse will not render the horse ineligible for The Country Championships, provided it is immediately returned to the original nominated trainer when returning from the spell and the stable return amended accordingly.
 
Location of Horse Prior to Final
 
Subsequent to the running of the Wild Card qualifier, all horses included in the final field (including emergencies) may be relocated to a metropolitan or provincial region. A horse that is found to be located in a metropolitan or provincial region prior to the running of the Wild Card qualifier becomes ineligible to compete in The Country Championships Final.

Racing NSW the Sole Judge of Eligibility

Racing NSW will be the sole judge to determine eligibility to compete in The Country Championships.

Qualifying Race Conditions

The Country Championships qualifying races will be Class 5 set weight plate races.

Races in the qualifying series will be restricted to horses Class 5 and below that have had had 20 or less race starts prior to contesting the regional qualifying race.

Weight Conditions

Country Championships Qualifiers will be run under the following weight scale:
59.0kg     Class 5
57.5kg     Class 4
56.0kg     Class 3 or below

Fillies and mares will receive an allowance of 2kg from the above scale. There shall be no age allowance applied.

Ballot Conditions

In the event of a ballot being required for a race in the qualifying series, the order shall be as follows:
1. First eliminated shall be the lowest benchmarked runner(s) in ascending order;
2. If benchmarks are equal, the highest average prizemoney over the previous five starts;
3. No ballot exemptions are recognised.

Apprentice Claims

Apprentices cannot claim.

Eligibility for Qualifying Series

To be eligible for each regional race the horse must be trained by a trainer domiciled and licenced in that particular region. Horses cannot contest more than one qualifying race, or a race outside the region in which the horse is trained, with the exception of horses from the Broken Hill and Far West Racing Region as outlined below.

To be eligible for the Wild Card race, horses need to have nominated and accepted for the regional qualifying race in the region in which they are trained and not have qualified for the Final by finishing first or second in that race.



Qualifiers to Contest the Final

Horses contesting regional qualifying races or the Wild Card and finishing first or second must contest The Country Championships Final, unless a veterinary certificate to the satisfaction of Racing NSW Stewards is provided stating that the horse is unfit to race.

Racing NSW reserves the right to have a horse inspected by a Racing NSW approved veterinarian.

Notification

The trainer of any horse qualifying for the Final must as soon as possible, notify Racing NSW stewards if there is any doubt over the fitness of the horse to take their place in the Final.

Alteration of Conditions

Racing NSW may at its absolute discretion alter any conditions or other elements of The Country Championships qualifying series at any time.

Series

The qualifying series of races will be staged regionally, one each in each Country Regions as follows:
Northern Rivers Region
Mid North Coast Region
Hunter & North West Region
Central Districts Region (excluding Dubbo)
Western Region (including Dubbo)
South East Region (excluding ACT)
Southern Districts Region

Horses trained in the Broken Hill and Far West Racing Association are able to compete in any association qualifying race but once they compete in a heat then they are ineligible to compete in any other qualifying race other than the Wild Card.

Wild Card – horses from any region not previously qualified.

The dates and venues for qualifying races in 2018 are outlined in the table below.
 

Day	Date	Venue	Region
Sunday	18 February 2018	Port Macquarie	Mid North Coast
Saturday	24 February 2018	Goulburn	South-East
Sunday	25 February 2018	Mudgee	Central Districts
Sunday	4 March 2018	Wagga Wagga	Southern Districts
Sunday	11 March 2018	Grafton	Northern Rivers
Sunday	18 March 2018	Scone	Hunter & North West
Sunday	25 March 2018	Dubbo	Western
Sunday	1 April 2018	Muswellbrook	Wild Card
Saturday	7 April 2018	Royal Randwick	Final

 
Prizemoney

Prizemoney for the regional qualifying races will be $150,000, divided as follows.

PLACING	PRIZEMONEY
1st	$80,000
2nd	$31,500
3rd	$15,000
4th	$7,000
5th	$3,500
6th	$2,000
7th	$2,000
8th	$2,000
9th	$2,000
10th	$2,000
Equine Welfare - $1,500
Jockey Welfare - $1,500

Prizemoney for the Wild Card race will be $50,000, divided as follows.

PLACING	PRIZEMONEY
1st	$27,460
2nd	$9,900
3rd	$4,950
4th	$2,340
5th	$1,225
6th	$625
7th	$625
8th	$625
9th	$625
10th	$625
Equine Welfare - $500
Jockeys Welfare - $500

The Country Championships Final
The field for The Country Championships Final at Royal Randwick will comprise 16 starters, being the first two finishers in each regional qualifying race and the Wild Card race.

In the event that either the winner or second placed horse from a regional qualifying race or Wild Card race cannot contest The Country Championships Final, the vacant place in the field will be offered to the third or fourth placed runners from that region’s qualifying race, in that order. Should the third or fourth placed runners from that region not be available to fill the vacant place, the vacant place for that region will be offered to the third or fourth placed runner, in that order, from the Wild Card qualifier.

Weight Conditions

The Country Championships Final will be run as an open set-weight plate race for qualifiers under the following weight scale:
59.0kg Class 6 and above
57.5kg Class 5
56.0kg Class 4 and below

Fillies and mares will receive an allowance of 2kg from the above scale. There shall be no age allowance applied.

Order of Emergencies

Up to seven emergencies will be declared following acceptances. These will comprise the highest placed runner from each of the regional qualifying races.

In the event of a scratching, accompanied by a veterinary certificate, the emergency runner from the scratched runner’s regional qualifying race will be elevated into the field.

Apprentice Claims

Apprentices cannot claim.

Alteration of Conditions

Racing NSW may at its absolute discretion alter any conditions or other elements of The Country Championships Final at any time.

Prizemoney

Prizemoney for The Country Championships Final will be $500,000, divided as follows.

PLACING	PRIZEMONEY
1st	$270,000
2nd	$100,000
3rd	$50,000
4th	$22,300
5th	$12,000
6th	$4,500
7th	$4,500
8th	$4,500
9th	$4,500
10th	$4,500
11th	$2,200
12th	$2,200
13th	$2,200
14th	$2,200
15th	$2,200
16th	$2,200
Equine Welfare - $5,000
Jockey Welfare - $5,000