Breeders costs

The broodmare nominations for the Aust.Breeders Crown close on Sept 1 each year and it is the first step in making your resultant foal ABC eligible. I nominated 16 pregnant mares @ a cost of $38.50 each and received the invoice from HRV in the first week of November. In the interim period between nomination and invoice the mares have started foaling and unfortunately we lost 3 foals at birth and HRV have the mares recorded as having dead foals.
I am still required to make the $38.50 payment for each of these DEAD foals to make them eligible for the ABC ! HRV advised me that they use these funds to 'top up' the pool and if they waived the nomination payments for dead foals they could not sustain the ABC prize money. I was flippantly told that it is ' only a nominal payment ' . It is morally wrong to expect payment for something that doesn't exist , will never race at all, let alone in the ABC. It is heartbreaking to lose a foal, help the mare get over her grief and nurse her back to health without additional angst.

Not just the dead foals either, small breeders with a mare due in December might be looking suspiciously at their mare in mid sept and saying is she or isn't she in foal. The option to get her checked by vet is not viable- you spend upwards of $100 to try to save the $38.50. Increasingly they then review all the other perceived wrongs (too costly, easy ride for some into semis etc) and decide not to pay up for any of their mares.

Hi Anne, So very sorry to hear about your sad loss, HRV have got to be kidding if they expect you to pay up for foals that have died, This is an absolute disgrace and there's no way in hell I would be paying for them, And they wonder why people are asking for their heads to be served up on a platter.

Thanks Richard. I have previously paid for healthy foals that have been injured as weanlings and have never raced or have had to be put down. I have never asked for nor expected a rebate for these foals. However , I did think commonsense would prevail in this instance .