The Thoroughbred Breeders’ Association is pleased to announce that the Horserace Betting Levy Board (HBLB) has approved funding for a new initiative aimed at persuading more owners and trainers to race NH mares, and thus provide vital support to British NH breeders.
The scheme, known as NH MOPS (NH Mare Owners’ Prize Scheme) will commence on January 1st 2016 and will apply to British-bred fillies intended for NH Racing, beginning with the foal crop of 2012. Fillies born outside Great Britain but sired by stallions based in Britain at the time of conception can also benefit from NH MOPS.
Prizes of £10,000 will go to the owners and connections of eligible fillies that win Class 1-4 Mares Novice Hurdles and Novice Chases or Class 1-2 Mares Open Hurdles and Chases, with £5,000 going to eligible winners of Mares NH Flat races.
In order to be eligible for the scheme fillies must be nominated by their present owners at a cost of £50 each for members of the TBA or ROA and £150 for non-members. The TBA will administer the scheme on behalf of the Levy Board and nominations for fillies born in 2012 will close on 31st January 2016. Nominations for subsequent crops will close at various intervals during 2016.
The scheme was born from the findings of the ‘Economic Impact Survey’ commissioned by the TBA two years ago, which revealed the chronic unprofitability of British NH breeding. NH foal crops have shown declines of around 50% over recent years, a much greater reduction in numbers than for Flat foals; and this is a major reason why field sizes for NH races have fallen.
TBA Board Member and NH Committee Chairman, Bryan Mayoh commented: “If we are to see more horses racing in NH races then one obvious way of achieving this is to persuade owners and trainers to race more of the horses that are already on the ground, namely fillies and mares. Less than one in five of the NH horses racing in this country are females, compared with around one in three in France. We believe that NH MOPS will close this gap and thereby produce more competitive NH racing, with larger field sizes generating greater betting turnover and increased levy yields.
“At the same time British NH breeding desperately needs help. The biggest reason why NH breeders lose money is that half the animals they produce, the fillies, are likely to be sold at losses that cannot be offset by the other half. Offering valuable rewards to British-bred and sired NH fillies should persuade more people to buy them for racing and allow more breeders to race their own stock, thus supporting the long-term future of the industry in this country.”
TBA Chairman Julian Richmond-Watson added: “The HBLB’s agreement to fund NH MOPS, despite the present uncertainties in Levy income, represents a real commitment by the Levy Board to the future of NH breeding in this country. The TBA is extremely grateful for the support we have received during this process from our partners in the Horsemen’s Group and the BHA. We are confident that NH MOPS represents a major step in revitalising the British NH breeding industry.”
Levy Board Chief Executive Alan Delmonte said: “The Board was pleased to be able to fund this innovative scheme and was taken by the arguments that the MOPS incentives would provide an immediate and tangible encouragement to put into and keep in training fillies and mares over jumps.”
Full details of the scheme and nomination forms can be obtained from the TBA Office, Stanstead House, 8 The Avenue, Newmarket, CB8 9AA.