The North American International Catalogue Standards Committee (NAICSC) on Monday announced that effective January 1, 2014, additional quality control requirements will be implemented for races in North America eligible for non-Listed black-type in SITA catalogues (those compliant with guidelines required by the Society of International Thoroughbred Auctioneers).
Non-Listed black-type races include open stakes races with a purse between $50,000 and $74,999 and all stakes races with a purse of $50,000 or more that have a restriction allowed by NAICSC (i.e., state bred, stallions' progeny, sales graduates or non-winners of a sweepstakes).
The new requirements include the addition of a minimum Race Quality Score (RQS) for individual age/sex divisions. Statistics used in the evaluation of Graded and Listed races, including ratings provided by the North American Rating Committee, are not available for non-Listed black-type races. The RQS provides an alternative quality control measurement for these races.
The RQS is a composite number compiled by using speed figures for the first four finishers in each race over three years. Four speed figures are used to compile the RQS and are provided by Bloodstock Research Information Systems (BRIS), Daily Racing Form (Beyer), Equibase and Thoro-Graph.
This document provides an overview of North American black-type requirements that will become effective January 1, 2014. In January of 2013 a website (northamericanicsc.com) will be made available that will include a listing of non-Listed black-type races with their RQS and the minimum RQS requirements for each age/sex division.
Current North American black-type rules will stay in effect for 2013, and the minimum purse requirement for SITA black-type races will remain at $50,000.
Also, as announced last year, the American Graded Stakes Committee and the Canadian Graded Stakes Committee will evaluate eligible races for Listed status at their upcoming grading sessions using the same technique and information, including fact-based statistical analysis, that is used during their annual evaluation of Graded Stakes races. Races not deemed to be of Listed quality using this process will lose their Listed status beginning in 2013 and be treated as other non-Listed black-type races.
