To contest The Provincial Championships in 2017, horses must legitimately be under the care of a NSW provincial trainer or a trainer operating from the Australian Capital Territory (ACT) with a current stable return lodged on or before midnight on 27 September 2016, being the eligibility date.
The trainer must be licensed and operate, with current stable returns from:
one of the five provincial racecourses or otherwise be licensed by Racing NSW as a provincial trainer; or
Canberra racecourse.
For the avoidance of doubt, horses trained in provincial regions outside of NSW, in accordance with the definition of provincial area in the Racing NSW Local Rules of Racing or the ACT as outlined above, are not eligible to compete.
Horses trained by a trainer that operates from dual locations in both the Australian Capital Territory and in country NSW, are eligible for the Provincial Championships if they were trained at Canberra, with a current stable return lodged on or before midnight on 27 September 2016 and are continuously trained at Canberra from that date.
Horses trained by a trainer that is the holder of a metropolitan licence are not eligible to compete. Horses trained by a trainer who holds a licence to train at both a provincial or metropolitan track are not eligible to compete.
Horses transferred to a provincial or ACT stable after the eligibility date are not eligible to contest The Provincial Championships, unless they were eligible prior to the transfer.
Racing NSW may at its absolute discretion allow the nomination of a horse or refuse the nomination of a horse to the qualifying races and Final of The Provincial Championships for any reason it sees fit.
Qualifying Race Conditions
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 no more than 20 race starts prior to contesting the qualifying race.
Weight Conditions
Provincial 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.
Eligibility for Qualifying Series
To be eligible to contest races in the qualifying series, a horse must be trained at one of the five provincial racecourses or otherwise be under the care of trainer that is licensed as a provincial trainer.
Eligibility to contest The Provincial Championships qualifying races is further restricted to horses that have had fewer than 20 race starts prior to contesting the qualifying race.
Contesting Multiple Qualifying Races
Horses are free to contest any of The Provincial Championships qualifying races and may contest more than one of The Provincial Championships qualifying races, provided that they have not qualified for The Provincial Championships Final.
However, once a horse has qualified for The Provincial Championships Final it then becomes ineligible to contest further races in the qualifying series.
Qualifiers to Contest the Final
Horses contesting races in the qualifying series and qualifying for The Provincial Championships Final must contest The Provincial 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.
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.
Alteration of Conditions
Racing NSW may at its absolute discretion alter any conditions or other elements of The Provincial Championships qualifying series at any time.
Series
The qualifying series will comprise five races to be run at the five provincial racecourses.
The dates and venues for qualifying races in 2017 are outlined in the table below.
|
DATE |
VENUE |
DISTANCE |
|
Thursday, 23 February 2017 |
WYONG |
1350m |
|
Thursday, 2 March 2017 |
HAWKESBURY |
1400m |
|
Wednesday, 15 March 2017 |
GOSFORD |
1200m |
|
Thursday, 23 March 2017 |
KEMBLA GRANGE |
1400m |
|
Wednesday, 29 March 2017 |
NEWCASTLE |
1400m |
|
Saturday, 8 April 2017 |
ROYAL RANDWICK |
1400m - FINAL |
Prizemoney
Prizemoney for the regional qualifying races will be $150,000, divided as follows.
|
PLACING |
PRIZEMONEY |
|
1st |
$80,000 |
|
2nd |
$32,000 |
|
3rd |
$15,500 |
|
4th |
$7,500 |
|
5th |
$3,500 |
|
6th |
$2,000 |
|
7th |
$2,000 |
|
8th |
$2,000 |
|
9th |
$2,000 |
|
10th |
$2,000 |
Equine Welfare - $1,500
The field for The Provincial Championships Final at Royal Randwick will comprise 15 starters, being the first three finishers in each of the five qualifying races.
In the event that any of the first three horses from the qualifying races cannot contest The Provincial Championships Final, the highest benchmarked fourth placegetters from the qualifying series will be offered their place in The Provincial Championships Final.
The Provincial 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.
Ballot Order and Emergencies
Up to four emergencies will be declared following acceptances. These will comprise of the highest benchmarked runners that finish fourth in any of the qualifying races.
Emergencies will be ordered from the highest to the lowest benchmark. If equal, the ballot order will then be determined by the highest average prizemoney over the past five starts.
Apprentice Claims
Apprentices cannot claim.
Alteration of Conditions
Racing NSW may at its absolute discretion alter any conditions or other elements of The Provincial Championships Final at any time.
Prizemoney
Prizemoney for The Provincial Championships Final will be $400,000, divided as follows.
|
PLACING |
PRIZEMONEY |
|
1st |
$212,000 |
|
2nd |
$86,000 |
|
3rd |
$43,000 |
|
4th |
$21,000 |
|
5th |
$10,000 |
|
6th |
$4,000 |
|
7th |
$2,500 |
|
8th |
$2,500 |
|
9th |
$2,500 |
|
10th |
$2,500 |
|
11th |
$2,000 |
|
12th |
$2,000 |
|
13th |
$2,000 |
|
14th |
$2,000 |
|
15th |
$2,000 |
Equine Welfare - $4,000