Westspeed Freezing Payments to Ownership Group
Racing and Wagering Western Australia (RWWA) has introduced a process providing for outgoing owners to retain Westspeed bonuses following the thoroughbred being sold. Both parties to the sale transaction may now lodge a form with the RWWA Racing Department demonstrating the parties agree that Westspeed payments remain with the ownership group selling the horse.
Westspeed payments have historically always been made to the current registered owner/s of a horse, irrespective of the person or entity who may have invested in breeding the horse or its initial purchase at the yearling sale, and paid the nomination fee to be part of the scheme.
Horses bred or purchased by owners to race in the metropolitan/inner provincial area are often sold on the secondary market prior to the horse turning five, with the new owner/s enjoying the benefits of the Westspeed payments. This change will provide the opportunity for the initial owners to sell the horse while still retaining the Westspeed bonus through until the end of the horses four-years-old season.
The default position whereby the Westspeed bonus is paid to the current registered owner of the horse has not been altered. This means that if the Westspeed bonus is intended to move to the new Owners of the horse then this will occur automatically with no form required to be lodged.
This new process will allow vendors and purchasers of horses on the secondary market to negotiate whether the Westspeed bonus is retained by the previous ownership group.
A form has been introduced where the purchaser is required to acknowledge that they have relinquished entitlement to future Westspeed bonuses as a condition of the sale.
It is important to note that this form must be lodged directly with RWWA, not Racing Australia.
The form can be found here.