Eligibility
 
The Provincial-Midway Championships in 2023 are open to horses that are Provincial trained and/or under the care of a Midway eligible trainer.
 
Trainer

The trainer must:
 

• be licensed and operate from one of the five provincial racecourses or otherwise be licensed as a provincial trainer: or  

Provincial Racecourses

Gosford

Hawkesbury

Kembla Grange

Newcastle

Wyong

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

• be a NSW metropolitan or provincial trainer and deemed eligible based on trainer’s overall results under the Midway Scale for the applicable prior twelve-month period (refer to 2021/22 Midway conditions).

 
For the avoidance of doubt, horses trained in provincial and metropolitan regions outside of NSW are not eligible to compete.
 
Horse
 
Horses are eligible to contest the Provincial-Midway races if the horse has been under the continuous care of an eligible trainer with a current stable return lodged on or before midnight on 1 July 2022, being the eligibility date. The lodgement date of the stable return will be the sole determinant of the eligibility date.
 
Horses transferred to a Provincial or Midway eligible stable after the eligibility date are not eligible to contest the Provincial-Midway Championships, unless trained in the provincial region or in a Midway eligible stable prior to being transferred.
 
 
Location and Training of Horses
 
Whilst in training, from the eligibility date, the horse must remain located at the trainer’s 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-Midway 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-Midway Championships.

Qualifying Race Series
The qualifying series will comprise seven races with the eligibility being:
 

• Three heats – Provincial trained horses only
• Three heats – Both Provincial trained and Midway Eligible horses
• Wild Card – Both Provincial Trained and Midway Eligible

 

Date	Venue	Dist.	Eligibility
Thursday, 23 February	Kembla Grange	1400m	Provincial/Midway Eligible
Saturday, 4 March	Hawkesbury	1400m	Provincial Trained Only
Thursday, 9 March	Newcastle	1400m	Provincial/Midway Eligible
Thursday, 16 March	Gosford	1200m	Provincial/Midway Eligible
Saturday, 18 March	Kembla Grange	1400m	Provincial Trained Only
Saturday, 25 March	Wyong	1350m	Provincial Trained Only
Thursday, 30 March	Newcastle	1400m	Wild Card - Both

 
Wild Card Race
 
Horses contesting the Wild Card race must have raced in, balloted or scratched with a vet certificate or by order of the Stewards from at least one of the six Provincial Trained or Midway eligible races in the series.
 
Qualifying for the Final
 
The Provincial Championships Final will comprise 15 horses, with qualifying for the Final being:
 

• the first two finishers in the Provincial Trained and Midway eligible qualifying races; and
• the three placegetters from the Wild Card race.

 
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.

Contesting Multiple Qualifying Races

Horses are free to contest any of the Provincial-Midway Championships qualifying races and may contest more than one of the Provincial-Midway Championships qualifying races, provided that they have not already qualified for the Provincial-Midway Championships Final.

Once a horse has qualified for the Provincial-Midway 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-Midway Championships Final must contest the 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.

The trainer of any horse qualified 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-Midway Championships qualifying series at any time.

Prizemoney

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

PLACING	PRIZEMONEY
1st	$76,500
2nd	$27,500
3rd	$13,250
4th	$6,750
5th	$5,000
6th	$4,000
7th	$3,500
8th	$3,500
9th	$3,500
10th	$3,500
Equine Welfare - $2,500
Jockeys Welfare - $1,500

 

Provincial-Midway Championships Final
 
The Provincial-Midway Championships Final will comprise 15 horses qualifying for the Final, being:
 

• the first two finishers in the Provincial Trained and Midway eligible qualifying races;
• the three placegetters from the Wild Card race

If any of the qualified horses Provincial Trained qualifying races cannot contest The Provincial-Midway Championships Final, the highest benchmarked third placegetter/s from the Provincial Trained qualifying races will be offered their place in the Provincial-Midway Championships Final.
If any of the qualified horses Midway eligible qualifying races cannot contest The Provincial-Midway Final, the highest benchmarked third placegetter/s from the Midway eligible qualifying races will be offered their place in the Provincial-Midway Championships Final.
If any of the qualified horses qualifying through the Wild Card race cannot contest the Provincial-Midway Final, the fourth placed horse will be offered their place in the Provincial-Midway Championships Final.
 
 
Weight Conditions
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 three emergencies will be declared following acceptances. These will comprise of the highest benchmarked runners that finish third in any of the qualifying races or fourth in the Wild Card.
 
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.


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 - $7,500
Jockey’s Welfare - $5,000

 
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.