UPDATE WITH PRESIDENT NICK HOOPER
THE BREEDING SEASON IS IN FULL swing and we wish all our members the best of luck with their upcoming foalings and subsequent matings. It is an exciting time of year and with the restrictions of COVID-19 that excitement is sure to be amplified now that lockdown measures are slowly easing. For those who are breeding their mare this season, the new announcements on the Vicbred first win bonus have created food for your breeding thoughts. The increased bonuses for 2021 foals (bred this season) are part of a range of reforms and increased benefits for being Vicbred. Our proposed COVID-19 breeding stimulus was unsuccessful, but the increased first win bonuses provide a solid alternative which will hopefully add value to your resulting foal. If your mare is Victorian based - and the resultant foal has a Victorian brand the increase from $7000 to $9000 is a welcome increase. The $12,000 first win bonus for breeding a Victorian mare to an Australasian born stallion physically standing in Victoria creates added incentive for breeders to consider our best colts when picking a consort for their mare. We hope that the potential return on investment will encourage breeders to increase their breedings this season and beyond. We are of the view that this support for our best colts is an important part of the overall industry. If our colts stand at stud and have success that money is more likely to remain in our industry,
given they are likely to be locally owned. Given we have access to the best sires in the world of both gaits, the quality of our best horses is reaching world class. We have seen that in recent times with our pacers in North America and while fewer of our trotters have ventured overseas, the small pool have proven they are close to the best. Acceptance of these facts makes one recognise that our best colts will make viable sires. The increased first win bonuses are only the first announcement of what we hope will be a number of other reforms and improvements that we have been discussing with Harness Racing Victoria. Both parties are committed to reviewing and increasing the first win bonuses in years to come, pending budgets of course. The second announcement was the increase in prizemoney on “Humbletonian Day” at Maryborough, where every race on the program carried $10,000. This meant that all eligible winners took away in the order of $13,000 for their first win. Coupled with that is the announcement of 36 $10,000 Vicbred Platinum Maidens to be held through out 2021 across all ages and both gaits. The breeders’ bonuses for the 2yo and 3yo age races therefore increase to $1000 for the winning breeder of these races. HBV are of the view that increased first win bonuses and significant prizemoney for a maiden win provide all breeders and owners a significant target to aim at for every Vicbred horse. Fast forward a few years where a Vicbred Trackbred October 2020 | 3
