NSW $1m race

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https://www.harness.org.au/media-roo...?news_id=40952

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Is Balraj, the other day's Newcastle Record Breaker still under 70

Simiana might put him 'on ice' and wait for this series

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Yes, the extreme in more ways then one version of what I think the conditions could have a lot of people doing.

People held back their 2yos and 3yos from racing to make sure they hadn’t gone over the prizemoney limit to get into the $50k homegrown series.

This could be that kind of thinking literally on steroids!

[djgood]

bit silly just for the sake of saying a we have million dollar race, may have been more beneficial to participants to put on series for 4 different classes for $250,000 each spread the $$ more evenly , just My opinion

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Can’t say I disagree David. Could have had a race for the trotters then. Don’t people bet odds and evens on them too?

I think promoting a $1.5 million series with finals on one day at Menangle is just as effective a promotion as a single $1million dollar race.

And what are they going to fill the rest of the program at Menangle with?

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Someone even suggested

This race seems like a great way to completely undermine the integrity of the national handicapping system, whilst at the same time reducing field sizes as honest participants sit out races so as to be or remain eligible and take a chance whatever prizemoney they do have will get them into the race thus reducing turnover whilst dishonest participants continue to race in a manner that gets their ratings points down to be eligible in the first place and back down to 70 if they’ve gone over chasing prizemoney thus destroying punter confidence in our product and reducing turnover further.

Of course it’s a winner for NSW as they don’t have minimum bet limits so the punters can’t have a decent bet on harness races anyway and HRNSW is guaranteed a fixed percentage of the total turnover that is mostly generated by the other codes anyway.

[eliteblood]

Field selection policy is

First preference in race field selection is provided to horses with National Rating Points between 60 and 70 based on
dollars won from 1st January 2020. With respect of horses which have had more than five (5) starts within the period
only prizemoney won in the last five (5) starts will be considered.

This should at least partially reduce the incidence of horses being deliberately run dead to keep their NR rating below 70

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Will be an interesting scenario if say the Chariots winner goes to a 74 rating with the win, last five starts count, four runs available to get back down to 70.

Plenty of variations on that theme possible.

I don’t think a partial commitment to integrity of races will serve our industry very well.

[eliteblood]

Will be an interesting scenario if say the Chariots winner goes to a 74 rating with the win, last five starts count, four runs available to get back down to 70.

Plenty of variations on that theme possible.

I don’t think a partial commitment to integrity of races will serve our industry very well.

In the old days, 12 months disqualification for not allowing a horse to run on its merits.

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Today- RAS BL 9 HU QDT

In the old days the handicapping system only went in one direction.

Best imo not to design races that encourage behaviour that has always been difficult to police.