Eliminations?

[Allan]

Down under (both Australia and New Zealand) do you race eliminations for lucrative races? Personally I hate them. In North America I see too many horses racing to qualify instead of trying to win an elimination. Quite honestly, how do you blame them when they race for $50,000 in an elimination and then race for $1 million in the final. Are you going to push your horse that hard to win an elimination to pull down $25,000 or are you going to save something for a potential $500,000 pay off the following week?

[aussiebreno]

As a general statement we don't have eliminations. However some races have heats/semis but horse not trying isnt a major problem. Only elimination type racing for Grand Circuit horses is in the Interdominion - our premier race in Australasia. Two (used to be three) rounds of heats and its based on a point system - so higher you finish the better. In the old three heats version if a horse won their first two heats then in the third heat they may have got a soft run but because there is only two rounds of heats nowadays you have to finish as close as you can so can't really give a horse an easy run. Plus our horses are tougher haha

[nat]

We have heats and eliminations for some races the main big race is the Inter but non of these are run on the same day nearly always a week apart. For some of the bigger group 1 races we race for ballot exemptions as in the Cranbourne Cup the winner will be exempt from ballot into the $425,000 Victoria Cup this encourages trainers to take their guns to the country cup mettings here in Victoria

[Phoenix]

As a general statement we don't have eliminations. However some races have heats/semis but horse not trying isnt a major problem. Only elimination type racing for Grand Circuit horses is in the Interdominion - our premier race in Australasia. Two (used to be three) rounds of heats and its based on a point system - so higher you finish the better. In the old three heats version if a horse won their first two heats then in the third heat they may have got a soft run but because there is only two rounds of heats nowadays you have to finish as close as you can so can't really give a horse an easy run. Plus our horses are tougher haha

Ahh loved the three heat system (especially the midweek meeting) but you are right, the two heat system doesn't allow for slackening off and also a week between races doesn't tax the 'upness' of runners...

[peacheymagic]

Recently in NZ there have been qualifying heats for Derby's to give every horse a chance at qualifying.

[Phoenix]

I like when clubs pick fields only because they can assess horses over recent runs as opposed to horses having to qualify - where they can sometimes come into trouble or have an off run.

[justdoit]

Clubs should look after the track and mow the lawns and nothing else.

[peacheymagic]

I think the idea of eliminations is ok as it gives all horses an opportunity to qualify, in saying that I believe clubs should have the discretion to choose say 3 extra runners for the final field which allows for horses who have misfortune during the running such as breaking gear, or caught back on the rails or are sick and cannot perform at their optimum an opportunity to make the final. Otherwise we run the risk of glamour horses that bring people to the racetrack and money to the industry missing out and this only lowers a feature races prestige. I like the idea of 2 heats with 5 automatic qualifiers and 3 specially selected horses making the final.

[Phoenix]

Sounds ok as the fringe glamour horses get a chance to race a few times and it may entice interstaters to travel and chase the opportunity to make the big time races (see Grand Circuit topic).

[Flashing Red]

I wish the Interdom would return to the 3 heat in a week and week backup to the final. Those were the days! It sorted the men from the boys that's for sure. And this rubbish that the horses can't do it nowadays - in America for the little brown jug they race 2 sometimes 3 times on the same day. Awesome!!