The North American International Catalogue Standards Committee (NAICSC)
Friday announced that all listed stakes races in the United States and Canada
will undergo further review of their listed status annually by the Thoroughbred
Owners and Breeders Association’s American Graded Stakes Committee (AGSC) and
the Canadian Graded Stakes Committee (CGSC), respectively, beginning in 2012.
Currently, North American stakes races with a minimum purse value of $75,000
available to all starters that close 72 hours in advance and have no
restrictions receive listed status in catalogues for sales organized by Society
of International Thoroughbred Auctioneers (SITA) members. Restrictions that
prevent a race from receiving listed status include any conditions that tend to
exclude runners of greater quality for considerations other than sex or age.
Listed races are reviewed annually for possible upgrade to Grade 3 status.
Under the new procedures, listed stakes will also be reviewed for possible
downgrade by removal of their listed status. Races that lose their listed status
would still qualify for non-listed black-type in SITA catalogues.
Listed races for 2012 in the United States and Canada will be initially
reviewed at the 2012 meetings of the AGSC and the CGSC. The committees will
apply 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.
In addition, during 2012 the Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders Association has
been charged by the NAICSC with investigating options for further quality
control measures for non-listed black-type races.