Eligibility Date
 
To contest The Provincial Championships in 2018, horses must legitimately be under the care of a NSW provincial 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 six designated provincial regions in NSW or ACT.

Region

Gosford

Hawkesbury

Kembla Grange

Newcastle

Wyong

Canberra

For the avoidance of doubt, horses trained in provincial regions outside of NSW and not in accordance with the definition of a provincial area in the Racing NSW Local Rules of Racing other than Canberra, are not eligible to compete. Horses trained by a trainer that is the holder of a metropolitan licence are not eligible to compete.
 
Horses transferred to a provincial stable after the eligibility date are not eligible to contest The Provincial Championships, unless trained in the provincial region prior to being transferred. A horse that transfers from a region other than a NSW provincial region after the eligibility date, is not eligible to contest The Provincial Championships.
 
Dual Training Locations


Horses trained by a trainer who holds a licence to train in a designated provincial region and a metropolitan area are not eligible to compete in The Provincial Championships. Horses trained by a trainer who holds a licence to train in a designated provincial region (including Canberra) and a country region are eligible to compete in The Provincial 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 Provincial Championships, provided it is immediately returned to the original nominated trainer when returning from the spell and the stable return amended accordingly.
 
Racing NSW the Sole Judge of Eligibility

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

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. There shall be no age allowance applied.

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 20 or less 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 2018 are outlined in the table below.
 

Day	Date	Venue
Saturday	03 March 2018	Wyong
Saturday	10 March 2018	Hawkesbury
Saturday	17 March 2018	Gosford
Saturday	24 March 2018	Kembla Grange
Saturday	31 March 2018	Newcastle
Saturday	14 April 2018	Royal Randwick

 
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
Jockeys Welfare - $1,500

The Provincial Championships Final
 
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 placegetter/s 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. There shall be no age allowance applied.

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 $500,000, divided as follows.

PLACING	PRIZEMONEY
1st	$270,000
2nd	$100,000
3rd	$50,000
4th	$22,500
5th	$12,000
6th	$4,600
7th	$4,600
8th	$4,600
9th	$4,600
10th	$4,600
11th	$2,500
12th	$2,500
13th	$2,500
14th	$2,500
15th	$2,500
Equine Welfare - $5000
Jockeys Welfare - $5,000