The Jockey Club of Canada approves 44 graded events for
2015
The Jockey Club of Canada’s Graded Stakes Committee held
its annual review of the graded and listed stakes in Canada. The committee
upgraded one listed race bringing the total to
44
graded stakes in Canada for
2015.
The Graded Stakes Committee meeting, conducted by Committee
Chair Jeff Begg with all committee members as well as Chief Steward Jim Lawson
and the racing secretaries from Hastings, Northlands and Woodbine, was held Tuesday, January 27.
After reviewing the NARC and RQS figures for all graded and
listed races in Canada, the committee determined that the Marine S. at
Woodbine would be upgraded from a listed stakes to a Grade 3 in 2015 with
the recommendation that the purse be bumped to be consistent with the other
Grade 3 races at Woodbine. The status for all other graded and listed stakes in
Canada will remain unchanged in 2015. Canada will host four Grade 1, 16 Grade 2
and 24 Grade 3 races in 2015.
The Jockey Club of Canada Graded Stakes Committee evaluates
and reviews the graded and listed stakes in Canada annually and determines
whether races should be upgraded, downgraded or remain the same. The committee
bases their decisions on the cumulative NARC ratings for five consecutive years
along with the new Race Quality Score (RQS) figures introduced last year by the
North American International Catalogue Standards Committee (NAICSC).
Graded and listed stakes in North America must maintain a
minimum purse and minimum cumulative NARC rating to retain or be considered as a
graded or listed race.
Changes to the requirements for stakes in North America to
receive non-listed black type in SITA catalogs (those compliant with
guidelines required by the Society of International Thoroughbred Auctioneers)
were implemented by the North American International Catalogue Standards
Committee (NAISCS) in 2014.
The primary change to the requirements was the
implementation of the Race Quality Score (RQS) as an additional quality control
for non-listed black-type races in North America.
Non-listed black-type races include open stakes races with
a purse of $50,000 to $74,999 available for distribution on the day of the race
and all stakes races with a purse of $50,000 or more that have a restriction
allowed by NAISCS (i.e. state bred, stallions’ progeny, sales graduates or
non-winners of a sweepstakes) that have or exceed a minimum Race Quality Score
(RQS) requirement for individual age/sex division.
The RQS is the average of the Annual Race Quality Score (ARQS) for
each of a race’s last three renewals. The ARQS is the
combination of the speed figures assigned to a race by Bloodstock Research
Information Services (BRIS), Daily Racing Form (Beyer), Equibase and Thoro-Graph,
and is calculated within 30 days after the date of the race. The speed figure
assigned to a race is the average of the speed figure assigned to each of the
top four placed horses in the race.
Non-listed black-type races that receive an RQS below the
minimum age/sex requirements and have a three-year cumulative RQS below the
minimum requirements will automatically lose their black-type status without
evaluation. The Jockey Club of Canada Graded Stakes Committee has been made
responsible for informing host racetracks of any black-type races that do not
meet the RQS requirement and subsequently have lost their black-type status. The
committee will also communicate a warning to host tracks if a race is at risk of
losing their black-type status in any given year.
The Jockey Club of Canada Graded Stakes Committee reports
that the following stakes races in Canada have lost black-type status effective
2015:
| RACE | TRACK | |
| Alberta Breeders’ H. | Northlands | |
| CTHS Sales S. (3YO Males) | Hastings | |
| Freedom of the City S. | Northlands | |
| Northlands Oaks | Northlands | |
| Redekop BC Cup Classic H. | Hastings | |
| Sonoma Handicap | Northlands | |
| Western Canada H. | Northlands |
The following black-type stakes races are at risk of losing
their black-type status in 2016 if the minimum age/sex RQS and the minimum
cumulative RQS is not achieved in 2015:
| RACE | TRACK | |
| BC Cup Nursery | Hastings | |
| Birdcatcher S. | Northlands | |
| Chris Loseth H. | Hastings | |
| Count Latham H. | Northlands | |
| Edmonton Juvenile | Northlands | |
| Hard Rock Casino Vancouver H. | Hastings | |
| Jim Coleman Province S. | Hastings | |
| KY Alta S. | Northlands | |
| Madamoiselle H. | Northlands | |
| River Rock Casino H. | Hastings | |
| Wild Rose H. | Northlands |
The following stakes races in Canada had already lost their
black-type status in Canada in 2014:
| RACE | TRACK | |
| Alberta Oaks | Northlands | |
| Beaufort S. | Northlands | |
| Bird of Pay S. | Northlands | |
| Buffalo S. | Assiniboia Downs | |
| Chariot Chaser H. | Northlands | |
| CTHS Sales S. (3YO Fillies) | Hastings | |
| Duchess of York H. | Northlands | |
| Fall Classic Distaff H. | Northlands | |
| J. W. Sifton S. | Assiniboia Downs | |
| Matron S. | Assiniboia Downs | |
| R.C. Anderson S. | Assiniboia Downs | |
| R.K. (Red) Smith H. | Northlands | |
| Red Diamond Express H. | Northlands | |
| Sturgeon River S. | Northlands | |
| Sun Sprint Championship H. | Northlands | |
| Three and Four Year Old Filly Sales S. | Northlands | |
| Three and Four Year Old Sales S. | Northlands | |
| Two Year Old Sales S. | Northlands | |
| With Approval S. | Woodbine |
Any new stakes races created and existing races with
material changes to their conditions must now be submitted to the NAICSC for
review and black-type approval no less than 30 days prior to the day the new
race or changed race is to be run. New stakes races 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.
For complete information on the RQS black-type requirements
and/or for black-type race status updates go to www.northamericanicsc.com or
contact Jeff Begg, Graded Stakes Committee Chair at The Jockey Club of Canada,
416-675-7756 or jockeyclub@bellnet.ca.
The Jockey Club of Canada was founded in 1973 by E.P.
Taylor to serve as the international representative of the Canadian Thoroughbred
industry. The mission of The Jockey Club of Canada is to promote and maintain a
high standard for Thoroughbred racing and breeding in Canada at a level which is
recognized internationally for the benefit of all those interested in the sport
including the general public by operations and services such as, but not limited
to: evaluating all Graded, Listed and Black-type races in Canada annually;
conducting the annual Sovereign Awards for outstanding achievement in
Thoroughbred racing and breeding in Canada; maintaining a field office in Canada
for the Jockey Club of the United States and the Jockey Club Registry Service;
and by representing Canada as a Member of the IFHA.
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