The North American International Catalogue Standards Committee has announced it will implement additional quality control requirements for North American races eligible for non-listed black-type status in sale catalogs, effective Jan. 1, 2014.
According to the Nov. 19 announcement, the new requirements will be in effect for catalogs 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, such as state bred, stallions' progeny, sales graduates, or non-winners of a sweepstakes.
The new requirements include the addition of a minimum "Race Quality Score" for individual age/sex divisions. Because 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 NAICSC announcement said.
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, Daily Racing Form (Beyer), Equibase and Thoro-Graph.
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.
Following are the North American Black-Type Requirements, effective Jan. 1, 2014, according to the North American International Catalogue Standards Committee.
In 2014, for a stakes race in the United States and Canada to receive black type in SITA catalogs, it must:
--Have a minimum purse value of $50,000 distributed on the day of the race
--Have a Black-Type Race Quality Score equal to or above the established minimum Race Quality Score for its age/sex division;
--Close at least 72 hours in advance of its running, have a fee paid by the owner of the entrant, and have a total purse value distributed on the day of the race equal to or greater than the established minimum;
--Have all entries be eligible for the purse monies used to determine the minimum purse value for black type or listed status
--Not have restrictions other than state-bred, non-winners of a sweepstakes, sales graduates or stallions' progeny; or
--Not contain a preference clause(s) based on criteria unrelated to the quality of the horse if such preference clause(s) could possibly exclude any horse(s) of superior quality from competing
A Black-Type Race Quality Score is the average of the Annual Race Quality Score for each of a race's last three renewals.
The Annual Race Quality Score is the combination of the speed figures assigned to a race by Bloodstock Research Information Systems (BRIS), Daily Racing Form (Beyer), Equibase, and Thoro-Graph. The speed figure assigned to a race is the average of the speed figure assigned to the top four finishers in the race.
If a race has a Black-Type Race Quality Score and an Annual Race Quality Score for the most current renewal below the established minimum Race Quality Score for its age/sex division, then a race will lose its black-type status.
A race that is not conducted for two consecutive years will lose its black-type status.
For turf races the three most current turf renewals will be used to calculate the Black-Type Race Quality Score.
A race that has lost black-type status must be conducted two times subsequent to losing its black-type status before being evaluated for reinstatement of black-type status. The race must have a Black-Type Race Quality Score and an Annual Race Quality Score for the most current renewal equal to or above the established minimum Race Quality Score for its age/sex division in order for black-type status to be reinstated.
Starting in 2014 and thereafter, new races created and existing races with material changes to their conditions will be submitted to a committee of the ICSC for review prior to the inaugural running to determine if the inaugural running will receive black-type status. To be eligible for review by the committee a new race must have a minimum purse of $75,000 available to all entries and appear in the track's published stakes book. New races eligible for review and existing races with material changes to the conditions must be submitted to the committee no less than 30 days prior to the start of a track's race meet in which the new race is to be run.
A race granted black-type status for its inaugural running will need to run under essentially the same conditions for each of its first two renewals, including having a purse of no less than $75,000 available to all entries, and achieve an Annual Race Quality Score for each of its first two renewals equal to or above the minimum Race Quality Score for its age/sex division. The inaugural running must achieve an Annual Race Quality Score equal to or above the minimum Race Quality Score for its age/sex division for the second running to maintain black-type status.
New races created in 2014 and thereafter with a purse of less than $75,000 available to all entries must run twice under essentially the same conditions before being evaluated for black-type status. To receive black-type status for its third running a new race will need to achieve an Annual Race Quality Score for each of its first two renewals equal to or above the minimum Race Quality Score for its age/sex division.
Notice of race name changes must be submitted to a committee of the ICSC no less than 30 days prior to the start of a track's race meet in which the race is to be run.