Weekly Greyhound News
Weekly Greyhound News
GRADING DAY CHANGE FOR WESTERN AUSTRALIA DAY
Please be aware that the Mandurah Thursday 9 June meeting will be graded a day earlier on Friday 3 June in conjunction with the Cannington Wednesday 8 June meeting. Nomination preferences between these two meetings will be accepted.
The Greyhound Racing Department will be open on Monday 6 June for Northam scratchings only.
Qualifying trials at Cannington on Wednesday 8 June will be graded a day later than usual on Tuesday 7 June.
GRADING CHANGES
These changes have been brought in to help combat a number of the criticisms of the previous system.
Complaints have been common since switching to 3 Grade 5 races to win, that “classy” greyhounds hung around too long in Grade 5 company and that there is not enough of a spread of greyhounds up the grades in Grade 4 company and above.
By going back to 2 Grade 5 races to win and keeping the current 3 outs to drop back, there will be a larger Grade 4 pool of greyhounds and this will flow on into more Grade 3 greyhounds which will result in less Grade 4 greyhounds being moved up to FFA company.
RWWA will monitor these changes over the ensuing months to ensure that these changes are having the desired effect of moving greyhounds through the grades.
Juvenile racing has never been well supported despite numerous attempts to change the conditions of entry over the years. By establishing Novice racing in this state, we will see a genuine pool of greyhounds that are all at the same point of their career racing against each other in terms of wins rather than age.
It is intended that Juvenile racing will be phased out, however in the interim they will remain programmed once a month at Cannington and Mandurah for the short term. The June Chasing WA edition will cover this and will be out later this week.
The drop back Grade 6 race type in Country Class races has been established to help greyhounds of lesser ability compete in a playing field where by they will be more competitive and regain confidence before advancing to Grade 5 company again. This Grade type may potentially extend the racing career of greyhounds that may have been more limited in the previous system.
Changes to be implemented:
• Grade 5 wins across the board will revert back to 2 wins instead of the current 3.
• A new Novice (2 to win total) race type for greyhounds that have not been penalised for a Graded race win
• In Country Class races only, a drop back Grade 6 (1 to win) for greyhounds that have finished unplaced 3 times in Country Grade 5 company in the relevant distance category.
The translation of current Grade 5 chasers grades will look like this:
• Grade 5 (3 to win) – Grade 5 (2 to win)
• Grade 5 (2 to win) – Grade 5 (1 to win)
• Grade 5 (1 to win) – NO CHANGE
Novice racing will be for greyhounds that have not been penalised for a Graded race win. Therefore, to be eligible a greyhound must have all of its Grades at 5 (2 to win) and have not won a Country Grade 6 race. Age restricted races such as Oaks, Derbies and Puppy Classics are not considered Graded wins and will not affect novice eligibility.
Novice racing will be programmed across all classes and distances and will be budgeted at current Grade 5 stake levels. Greyhounds will be able to win 2 novices, irrespective of the Class of those wins. WESTCHA$E Bonuses will also apply to Novice races and will be $250 to the owner and $250 to the breeder for all Country and Provincial class Novices and $500 to the owner and $500 to the breeder for all City class Novices.
There will be no beating the grader in Novice races, therefore as per Maiden races the Unfulfilled Commitments Policy 3.2.10.1 will not apply.
Drop back Grade 6 racing in Country Class has been added to the programs in mid-June as it will take a little while for sufficient greyhounds to drop to this new grade. In some of the more specific areas where nomination numbers are traditionally lower, for example in Country Middle Distance chasing, it is encouraged that Grade 6 greyhounds are still nominated for these races even if a Grade 5 race has only been programmed. There is always the ability to turn the race into a mixed 5/6 if required.
Race programs in the June period are going to be open to change, as nomination patterns are established with the above changes.
The new Racing Aims and Grading Policy with these changes can be accessed via the following link and scrolling down to the bottom of the page.
https://www.rwwa.com.au/home/industry/greyhound-grading-314.html
2016 NATIONAL SPRINT AND DISTANCE CHAMPIONSHIPS
The National Condition of Acceptance Nomination Forms have been released by AGRA for this year’s Nationals to be held at Angle Park on Saturday 27 August 2016.
Greyhounds are eligible to represent WA should they be domiciled here for not less than 76 days out of the 150 days immediately prior to the National Acceptance Closing Date on Friday 22 July 2016. A greyhound first named and registered in WA may return here to qualify for the Nationals, ONLY if not eligible to compete for any other State under the domicility clause.
We are now well within both the 76 and 150-day eligibility periods. Trainers who send a greyhound interstate for any period of time leading up to the running of the WA Sprint & Distance Championships heats on Saturday 6 August 2016 should ensure they lodge the appropriate Notice of Training / Notice of Removal Form immediately, as these will be used to confirm greyhound eligibility. A greyhound competing interstate will be considered as domiciled here during that period, should it remain in the care of its WA trainer.
The National Condition of Acceptance Nomination Forms will be available in hardcopy soon and on the RWWA website. In a change to the process these forms will not have to be signed this year however it will be up to the nominator to be aware of the conditions outlined on the form. Nomination Forms for the state heats will be made available in hardcopy and on the RWWA website 2 weeks prior to the nomination closing day.
Trainers who have doubts about the eligibility of any of their greyhounds for the Nationals should contact the Greyhound Trainers’ Service Centre on 9445 5287. It is important that this is done prior to the heats closing date to avoid disappointment.