Jay Abernethy says racing in the north is being hobbled by a ratings points system that is not working as designed.
Jay: Horsemen adamant we need revised handicapping system for the north
By Barry Lichter • 13 May 2020
Horsemen are pushing for a separate handicapping system to be introduced in the north before harness racing begins at the end of the month.
Harness Racing New Zealand has just approved minor tweaks to the present ratings matrix to acknowledge the lower stakes that will be on offer but in a letter to Harness Racing New Zealand CEO Peter Jensen yesterday, North Island Trainers’ and Drivers’ Association president Jay Abernethy says the points system is not working in the north as designed.
“It is promoting horses too quickly through the grades and doesn’t allow them to drop back fast enough to the grade where they are most competitive.”
Abernethy says the association considered a number of options and it became clear that it would be easier to tweak the present ratings system than to throw it out and start again.
“Whatever is proposed must be simple and easily understood.”
Abernethy says while it was nearly impossible to find a solution that everyone agreed with 100 percent, the suggested changes best represent the northern horsemens’ concerns and are supported by 139 of them.
- Instead of penalising horses eight points for a win, the new system sees six points added regardless of the track.
- Horses who finish further back than fourth will drop back one point (presently further back than fifth)
- And horses rated at 70 and above will drop back two points until they reach 70.
The horsemen want the race winners’ matrix to be suspended in the north while the new system is trialled until the end of the year.
First win
Other changes proposed include:
- A maiden’s first win will move it from an MR rating to an R rating without accruing any points. Whether it is an MR50 or MR44 it remains on that mark and becomes an R rated horse ie: R50 or R44.
- No limit on how far a horse can drop back until it reaches R40. Horses drop points on their true form and need to be able to find their true ratings.
Age group concessions include:
- Two-year-olds get one penalty free win for races under $15,000. (The horse will revert to MR50 as a three-year-old).
- Every third win as a three-year-old will be penalty free and
- Four-year-olds can have one penalty free win in a race for juniors or invited drivers.
“We know there is more work to be done such as better support for fillies and mares races and two-year-old and three-year-old caps but this is a start.”
Harness Racing New Zealand has previously been opposed to adopting different ratings system in the two islands but it has become obvious that with much smaller fields in the north, horses are reaching non competitive levels too quickly and aren’t dropping back quickly enough.
In the post COVID-19 landscape, with much lower stakes at Auckland, owners could not afford to wait months before their horses earned prizemoney again.
“We believe with the many changes thrust upon our industry now is the time to trial an amendment.”
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Ray’s comments
Friday night at Cambridge
Race 1: Spirited Belle
4.46pm
Delany: “I saw she’d been punted but somebody must know something we don’t as I’ve been working her myself and, while she feels all right and hasn’t put the boot in like at Auckland, I think she’ll need the run. She hasn’t got any high speed but feels like she will stay. She has improved a bit but I’d be surprised if she won.”
Race 1: Lincoln Maree
4.46pm
“It’s always hard from these draws but she’s a tough mare who will make her own luck at some stage. She’s going well enough - her drivers have all been happy - and she’s a little warrior who tries like hell.”
Race 2: Major Copy
5.12pm
“He’s only two and very inexperienced but he feels like a good colt and there’s a lot of improvement in him. He certainly caught a lot of people’s attention last time. I don’t know how good he is yet but he’ll be right there.”
Race 2: Prince Lincoln
5.12pm
“If he can lead without having to do too much work I can’t see anything beating him. I thought he went great last start. He pressed the winner hard ’til the corner then just flattened out in the run home, but he had every reason to do that after all the work he’d done.”
Race 4: Spirit Of God
6.12pm
“She’s been undone by bad draws. If she led easily from three she’d be hard to beat as she’s a good front-runner.”
Race 4: Spirited Peggy
6.12pm
“We’ve had her for only two weeks but she’s seven now and has had her chance to win one. She has a bit of speed but I think she gets pulling so we’ve got the Hidez (compression) hood on her and plugged her ears up.”
Race 6: Copy N Paste
7.10pm
“We won’t see the best of him for another six months. He’s been a slow developing horse but is improving all the time and getting stronger.”
Race 6: Jessie Lincoln
7.10pm
“If I was having a bet on one of them in the race it would be her. She deserves to win one. Her last two have been really good - she just ran into one who was a bit slicker last time in Major Copy.”
Race 6: Lincoln Dealer
7.10pm
“He’s a bit one-dimensional - you’ve got to feed him track and let him run - so the second row draw is a big handicap. To his credit I was surprised he finished so close last time after all the work he did. When he gets a decent draw and crosses them they’ll know they’re at the races. He’s got a big motor and tries hard.”
Race 8: Rivergirl Bella
8.08pm
“She clawed her way to the front last time but had nothing left at the finish. That won’t happen this time and she should lead easily from one.”
Race 8: Angelic Copy
8.08pm
“She’s had terrible draws but has been going good races. The others last time were just better than her but this is a big drop in class. With the right trip she could get some of it at huge odds.”
Race 9: Sugar Ray Lincoln
8.35pm
“He’s not quick away from a stand but he won’t muff it completely. He steps from the front line and Peter Ferguson was quite happy with his last run.”
Race 9: Lincoln Wave
8.35pm
“He bombed the stand the first time but to be fair all those horses were rushing up at him from the back and that panicked him a bit. He’s on 10 metres this time so that won’t happen.”
