BHA plans to scrap maidens

THE first half of next year’'s Flat season is to undergo a programming revolution after the BHA announced 90 percent of juvenile maidens from March to July will be scrapped and turned into novice races.

On a trial basis, around 175 two-year-old maidens will become races open to winners in an effort to increase field sizes and provide an incentive to run horses who have already won a race.

The BHA’s move, taken following extensive consultation with trainers, will come to an end when nurseries commence in mid-summer.

Ruth Quinn, the BHA’s director of international racing and racing development, said: “The BHA has been in consultation with trainers on this matter over the course of a few years and several different proposals have been raised during this time, but one thing that was generally consistent was an acknowledgment of the need to act to address this issue.

“We should have a system in place that encourages progression, and as things stand that development programme for two-year-olds in the first half of the season is not working.

“The idea of taking this significant step to convert a proportion of maiden races to novices effectively replicates the approach to the novice hurdle programme, where winners, maidens and unraced horses compete against each other on a regular basis.

“We accept that this is a major change and therefore potentially a brave move.

“However, only by making such a significant change does the BHA feel that it can offer a meaningful improvement to the programme for winning horses, whilst also reducing the number of small-field races at a time when this is such an important issue for the sport.

“The changes we make will be on a trial basis at first and we will monitor the success of the trial before committing to anything in the longer term.”

The BHA will monitor the penalty structure applied to winners in novice races and make amendments as necessary. – racingpost.com