Mares allowance in N.H. races up to 7Ibs from October Horse Racing Ireland (HRI) today announced that the allowance received by mares in all National Hunt races, including Black Type events, will be increased by two pounds, moving from 5lb to 7lb with effect from Tuesday 4th October 2011. The decision to move to a 7lb mares allowance for National Hunt racing was approved by the HRI Programmes Committee after consultation with the National Hunt Handicappers, the HRI National Hunt Pattern Committee and the Stewards of the INHS Committee. It followed an analysis of the ratings files and the performance of mares in all race types for 2010, which revealed that mares significantly underperformed in Weight-For-Age (WFA) steeplechases, hurdle races and bumpers when compared to the flat, as shown below: WFA Races in 2010 Flat All N.H. Chases Hurdles Bumpers % of Runs by Mares 44.9% 26.6% 17.2% 31.9% 39.1% % of Wins by Mares 45.1% 19.3% 12.6% 20.3% 29.3% Announcing this change, HRI’s Director of Racing Jason Morris commented:- “Horse Racing Ireland is committed to encouraging the greater participation and retention of National Hunt mares for racing and then breeding in Ireland, and the move to increase the mares allowance by 2lb should further this objective. As a result of the significant enhancements made to the mares National Hunt Pattern race programme in recent times, the quality and quantity of mares at the higher end has continued to improve each year. However, looking at the overall picture, the statistical analysis shows that whereas fillies and mares win their fair share of races on the Flat, they struggle to be as competitive for National Hunt racing. Hence it was evident that an increase in the allowance received by mares, up from 5lb to 7lb, is now necessary to even out the difference in performance of mares relative to colts and geldings.”
