Handicapping changes only tinkering - some major holes in the system not addressed

It’s a start, but trainers say the handicapping changes just announced by Harness Racing New Zealand do little to address the main problem that is seeing horses leaving the country in droves.

While horses who win their maiden race will now not rise immediately in the ratings and four-year-old and older horses, up to rating 70, will get one penalty free win each year, not just in their lifetime, they’re only one race bonuses.

And the tinkering that sees fifth-placed horses drop a rating point, and horses who win with juniors on board get a concession, still doesn’t do enough to solve the issue of horses getting too high in the ratings too quickly.

Cambridge trainer Nicky Chilcott has just had to sell in-form trotter Ivegotbills, winner of three of his last five starts, because she says he’s risen so fast in the ratings he’s one win away from being uncompetitive.

The Team Teal ambassador says it’s ludicrous that Ivegotbills is now rated 67 after just five wins at Cambridge and $33,360 in earnings, whereas his stablemate Monkey Selfie has a lower rating of 66, from six wins and $68,722 in stakes.

HRNZ says its revised race winner’s matrix - a chart showing what penalty is incurred by winners of every rating - is designed to reflect the value of the stakes the horse is racing for.

Nicky Chilcott … I don’t want to sell Ivegotbills but what am I going to do with him now?”But if Ivegotbills wins an $8000 race at Cambridge he would now still get a five point penalty while if he wins a $29,999 race at Auckland the penalty is only one point higher at six.

Similarly if her one win rating 53 pacer Ideal Tomado wins a $29,999 race at Auckland he would get eight points, yet still cops seven points for winning a race worth up to $9000 at Cambridge.

“I don’t want to sell Bills, I bred him and I love him, but what am I going to do with him now?

“I’m racing at Cambridge for a reason, he’s not good enough to go to Auckland and take on Temporale and Bolt For Brilliance.

“I’m not going to go round just to make up numbers.

He doesn’t have to win every start but he needs to be able to earn his keep and he is so high in the ratings now he won’t be able to.”

Chilcott cites Ideal Tomado as another perfect example of what is wrong with the present ratings system.

“He won one race and straight away was up against Emmber, a four race winner. In what universe is that right?

“Making a maiden win penalty free is fantastic but it’s only one race.”

Chilcott says it is critical the one to two-win grade is better looked after as most of the horse population is only average. “Those are the ones being sold.”

The ratings matrix is upside down, she says. Instead of the best horses incurring fewer penalty points it should be the lower graded ones.

Chilcott hails the long overdue programming of fillies’ and mares’ trots but fears there may not be the numbers left to support them.

“They’ve sat on their hands for so long, when no one listened, and I’m not sure it’s not too late as numbers have dwindled so much.”

Josh Dickie with his father John … “There are some major holes in the system that haven’t been addressed.”Auckland trainer Josh Dickie says the lack of races for fillies and mares, for trotters in particular, has long made him cross.

Programming some before Christmas was a start but with stakes of only $15,000 and $20,000 it wasn’t enough.

“Trotters cost the same amount to train as pacers. We must be the only country in the world that makes two-year-old trotting fillies race against the boys to win a Group I race.”

Even top pacing filly Spellbound had to go to Australia to escape the males.

“Since she’s gone to Australia she hasn’t raced the boys once.”

Dickie says finding the solution to the ratings mess was difficult.

“I’d like to see the rating points drop for a win but quite how you do that I’m not sure.

“I understand they can’t fix it overnight but there’s got to be more. There are some major holes in the system that haven’t been addressed.”

Dickie believes helping the age group horses is crucial in the bid to retain numbers in the country.

“I’d like to go back to two-year-old wins being penalty free. As a three-year-old you come back as a maiden.

“No one wants to win more than one or two races as a two-year-old now because you come back at three and you can’t place them.”

Race winners of lower stake races will still cop almost as many penalty points as those who win much higher purses.