Qualifying Series

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.
Wild Card Races Eligibility
To be eligible for the Wild Card races, horses need to have:

• Contested the regional qualifying race in the region in which they are trained, and not qualified for the Final; or

• Nominated and accepted for the regional qualifying race in the region and been balloted; or

• Nominated and accepted for the regional qualifying race in the region and not started due to being withdrawn by order of the stewards, scratched with a veterinary certificate or scratched for reasons otherwise approved by Racing NSW.

 

Qualifiers to Contest the Final
Horses contesting regional qualifying races finishing first or second, or winning the Wild Card races, 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 (including 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 applying to that region.

Wild Cards
Northern – horses from the Hunter & North West, Western, Northern Rivers and Mid North Coast regions not previously qualified.
 
Southern – horses from the Southern Districts, South East, and Central Districts regions not previously qualified.
 

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

PLACING PRIZEMONEY

1st: $76,250

2nd: $27,250

3rd: $13,050

4th: $6,700

5th: $5,000

6th: $4,000

7th-10th: $3,500

Equine Welfare : $2,250

Jockeys Welfare: $1,500