Racing Services

Westspeed

The W.A. Thoroughbred Breeder and Owner Incentive

Introduction

Racing and Wagering Western Australia (RWWA), maintains and supports the Westspeed Incentive Scheme as a means of fostering and promoting local thoroughbred breeding and racing activities by,

• Increasing the financial rewards associated with owning and racing a locally bred horse and therefore encouraging owners to remain in the industry longer and possibly extend the level of their investment.
• Encouraging local breeders to source quality sires and/or dams in order to develop well bred progeny and improve Western Australian bloodlines.
• Providing breeders with the opportunity to access an on-going revenue stream from the yearlings they've previously sold, via their racing success.

The scheme commenced operation at the beginning of the 1999/2000 Racing Season and the following table illustrates how much it’s grown!

Season	Sub's Rec'd	Bonuses Paid
1999/00	$643,000
2000/01	$487,000	$236,500
2001/02	$476,000	$686,500
2002/03	$517,000	$605,000
2003/04	$666,000	$1,032,250
2004/05	$842,000	$1,739,000
2005/06	$1,036,000	$1,785,625
2006/07	$1,160,500	$2,171,875
2007/08	$1,216,000	$3,208,000
2008/09	$1,271,500	$4,245,000
2009/10	$1,299,500	$3,081,250
2010/11	$1,612,000	$3,220,312
2011/12	$1,524,000	$3,440,937

 

Which Yearlings are Eligible?

The following rules must be satisfied for a horse to be eligible to participate in the Westspeed Incentive Scheme.

• A yearling must be a product of a sire standing in W.A. at the time the dam is served, or,
• Be the product of any sire provided the dam,
  1. was owned or part owned by a West Australian breeder at the time the yearling was conceived, or
  2. carrying that foal, or with that foal at foot, at the time she was purchased by a W.A. breeder.
  3. is bred back to a W.A. based stallion in the following stud season.

How Does Westspeed Work?

The Breeder begins the process during a horse's yearling (one year old) season by lodging a Westspeed Breeder Nomination ($550). In doing so, the breeder

• Becomes eligible to receive a Breeder's Bonus for all eligible wins the horse in question may record (as detailed below).
• Provides the owner of the yearling (who may be the breeder themselves or another entity if the horse has been sold) with the option of paying an Owner Nomination Fee (also during its yearling season), thus making it fully Westspeed nominated and entitling the registered owner at the date of the eligible win, to receive an owner bonus for all eligible wins, as detailed below.

The Owner of breeder nominated yearlings who wish to be in the scheme can choose between two levels of participation.

• Westspeed Standard, for which the Nomination Fee is $1100 (inc. $100 GST)
• Westspeed Extra, for which the Nomination Fee is $2200 (inc. $200 GST)

There is no obligation upon the owner of a breeder nominated yearling to participate in Westspeed and should they elect not to do so, the horse will remain a “Breeder Only” nomination and only that portion of the bonus will be paid in the event of eligible wins.

The owners of yearlings which have not been breeder nominated do not have the option of Westspeed participation at any level.

Westspeed runners which are competing for bonuses will be denoted via one of the following logos next to their name in the race book.

What are the Bonus Levels?

The following Westspeed Bonus Schedule will apply in 2012/13.

Westspeed Bonus Schedule
Bonus Level	Advertised Race Stake	Breeder's Bonus (B)	Standard Owner's Bonus (S)	Extra Owner's Bonus (X)
Tier 1	$40,000 - $99,999	$5,000	$15,000	$22,500
Tier 2	$17,000 - $39,999	$2,500	$7,500	$7,500
Tier 3	$7,500 - $16,999	$1.250	$3,750	$3,750
Tier 4	< $7,500	$625	$1,875	$1,875

Bonus Availability

1/ Full Bonus (as per the above table)

The connections of participating gallopers will receive the aforementioned bonuses for wins in the following races conducted in W.A.

• All participating two and three year winners of any TAB covered race conducted in W.A. for which the advertised stake money falls within the parameters defined above.
• All wins recorded by participating gallopers at four years of age in TAB covered events conducted over a distance of 1800 metres or more, for which the total advertised stake money falls within the parameters defined above.

2/ Consolation Half Bonus (half of the total indicated in above table)

The connections of any Westspeed galloper which records its first career win at four years of age in a West Australian race which is less than 1800 metres in distance, but which is TAB covered and for which the total advertised stake money falls within the parameters defined above, shall receive a bonus of half of the amount relevant to the race, as described in the above table.

3/ Trainers and Riders

From the beginning of the 2012/13 Racing Season, trainers and riders of Westspeed winners will also be beneficiaries of the scheme. They will receive a bonus of 6% and 3% respectively, of the total bonus awarded to the connections (breeder/owner) of all Westspeed winners.

It should be noted that trainer and rider bonuses are not sourced from the existing breeder and owner pool of funds but from a separate RWWA funded pool.

How Do I Enter?

There are several ways in which a yearling can become a Westspeed participant.

• Yearlings sold at a public sale.
  

  A breeder offering an eligible yearling for sale at a public auction and intending it to be a Westspeed lot, can state that wish on the Sales Nomination Form.

  If accepted for the sales, this horse then carries the Westspeed logo in the sales catalogue and for all such lots which are sold, the breeder's nomination fee ($550 inc. GST) is deducted from the sale proceeds by the Sales company and forwarded directly to RWWA. Purchasers of all such yearlings then have the option to nominate them for the Owner's aspect of the scheme using the forms attached to this web page. It should be noted however that,

  • any yearlings which go through the sale as Westspeed lots, but for which no sale is affected, can still participate in the scheme but they'll need to be nominated privately in a manner as described below.
  • any yearlings which go through the yearling sales as non Westspeed nominated horses cannot be nominated for the scheme subsequent to the sales by breeder or owner.
• Yearlings sold or acquired privately.
  

  Eligible yearlings which have been sold or acquired privately, either as yearlings, weanlings or in utero, are also eligible for nomination to the scheme. They can be nominated via the forms attached to this web page, which should be completed and forwarded to RWWA along with the appropriate payment, by the advertised closing date.

  - It should be remembered however that a yearling must be breeder nominated in order for the owner to have the option of participating and the registered breeder of the horse, as per the Australian Studbook, must be given first option to lodge that breeder nomination. Should an owner wish to participate with an eligible yearling which has not been breeder nominated, the registered breeder can be contacted by RWWA and given the option to either,

  1. Pay the Breeder Fee (and thus receive any Breeder Bonuses the horse may ultimately win) and facilitate the participation of the new owner.
  2. Provide written permission for the new owner to lodge the Breeder Nomination as well as the Owner's, and thus receive both components of any bonuses the horse may win in the future.
  3. Do nothing, in which case an owner nomination cannot be accepted and the horse in question will be omitted from the scheme.
• Yearlings Bred and Retained
  

  Breeders are also welcome to consider Westspeed participation with any eligible yearlings which they are intending to retain and race. Obviously any such yearlings that are breeder nominated can also be owner nominated and for breeders looking to retain stock for future breeding purposes, the following Westspeed conditions relating to leased horses may be most relevant.

Westspeed Horses Sold or Leased

Breeder
The entity which breeder nominates a yearling for Westspeed remains unchanged throughout its career and therefore receives that portion of all bonuses won throughout its career, regardless of how many times the horse may change ownership or be the subject of a lease arrangement.

Owner
Sale
In the event of a fully nominated Westspeed galloper being sold, the rights to Owner's Bonuses automatically transfer to the new ownership entity identified on the relevant “Transfer of Ownership Form” effective from the date of transfer as stipulated on said form, irrespective of who paid the original Owner's Nomination Fee.

Lease
If a fully nominated Westspeed galloper is subsequently leased out, the original owner (lessor) retains the right to the owner's portion of any bonuses won during the period of the lease, i.e. lessees do not receive any portion of the Westspeed bonus. It is permissible for the parties to a specific lease to negotiate an alternative arrangement to this re Westspeed and include it in the “special clauses” however RWWA will continue to pay the full owner's bonus to the lessor who should then deal privately with the lessee to satisfy the conditions of the lease.

History of Bonus Levels

The level of support the scheme has enjoyed within the local industry has facilitated a dramatic rise in bonus levels since the 2003/04 Season, as indicated below.

History Of Westspeed Bonus Levels
	1st Tier	2nd Tier	3rd Tier	4th Tier
1/08/2000	$9,000	$4,000	$2,000
1/08/2003	$12,000	$5,000	$3,000
1/08/2004	$15,000	$7,500	$3,000
1/08/2005	$15,000	$7,500	$5,000
14/02/2007	$20,000	$8,000	$5,000	$2,000
16/02/2008	$20,000	$10,000	$5,000	$2,500
1/08/2011	$27,500/$20,000	$10,000	$5,000	$2,500

The Big Winners So Far

Top Westspeed Winners (as at 1/8/2012)
Rank	Horse	Wins	Breeder	Owner	Total	Foaled
1	Hawkeye Mort	8	$40,000	$120,000	$160,000	2005
2	Star Encounter	8	$36,250	$108,750	$145,000	2004
3	For Your Eyes Only	8	$30,000	$100,000	$130,000	2006
4	Chester Road	7	$30,625	$91,875	$122,500	2007
5	Revolition	6	$30,000	$90,000	$120,000	2005
6	Dark Target	6	$27,000	$81,000	$108,000	2004
7	Nollamara	6	$26,250	$78,750	$105,000	2005
8	Xaaravid	5	$25,000	$75,000	$100,000	2006
8	Hot Tamale	5	$25,000	$75,000	$100,000	2007