The 2019/20 Racing Season has been extended to December 31, 2020 to provide states with the opportunity to conduct feature races which otherwise would have been cancelled as a result of COVID-19. This includes the Blacks A Fake Queensland Championship which will now be run on December 12, 2020.
This change will also impact other aspects of the Queensland Harness Racing industry. To ensure stakeholders are informed of the changes, the following notice is provided.
QBRED – Racing Season 2019/20
The QBRED terms and conditions for the Racing Season 2019/20 have been amended to reflect the extension of the current racing season to 31 December 2020.
The amended QBRED terms and conditions for the Racing Season 2019/2020 can be found via the following link:
To assist you to see the updates RQ has made to the QBRED terms and conditions for the 2019/20 Racing Season, a comparison document is provided:
With a QBRED Horse being eligible to win a QBRED First Win Bonus or a QBRED Second Win Bonus on only one occasion in each racing season, the following will now apply in light of the amended QBRED terms and conditions for the Racing Season 2019/2020:
- A QBRED Horse that is still eligible to win a QBRED First Win Bonus or QBRED Second Win Bonus in the Racing Season 2019/20 will remain eligible to win that bonus until 31 December 2020; and
- A QBRED Horse that has already won a QBRED First Win Bonus in the Racing Season 2019/20 (commencing on 1 September 2019 and now concluding on 31 December 2020) will not be eligible to win a QBRED Second Win Bonus until the beginning of the Racing Season 2020/21, commencing on 1 January 2021 (subject to the QBRED terms and conditions applicable to that racing season).
QBRED – Racing Season 2020/21
We look forward to the continuation of ‘QBRED For Life’ in the Racing Season 2020/21 including the $10,000 QBRED ‘First Win’ Bonus, the $7,500 QBRED ‘Second Win’ Bonus, the $1,000 QBRED Cash Bonuses and the exclusive rich QBRED Race Series including the QBRED Triads.
With the Racing Season 2020/21 now commencing on 1 January 2021, payment deadlines for the QBRED scheme for the upcoming racing season have been deferred with revised dates as follows:
- 3YO or older fees due 1 October 2020;
- 2YO fees due 1 November 2020;
- Foal fees remain unchanged (must be paid within 1 year of foaling date).
With the Racing Season 2020/21 now commencing on 1 January 2021, payment deadlines for the QBRED scheme for the upcoming racing season have been deferred with revised dates as follows:
QBRED Terms and Conditions for the Racing Season 2020/21 and QBRED Nomination Forms will be provided shortly. Alternatively, for those with a Harnessweb account, payment will be available online.
In the last financial year, the QBRED scheme paid out over $2.5m in stakes and bonuses, up 60% on the previous year. We look forward to this trend continuing in the years to come.
Premierships
With RQ’s expectation the Racing Season will return to its traditional timing of September 1 to August 31 in future years, there will be no change to the end date for state-based participant premierships (including club premierships). That is, they will conclude as per normal on August 31, 2020 to align with previous years.
For avoidance of doubt this includes:
- State Driver Premiership
- State Trainer Premiership
- Metropolitan Driver Premiership
- Metropolitan Trainer Premiership
- Concession Driver Premiership
- Redcliffe Driver Premiership
- Redcliffe Trainer Premiership
- Redcliffe Concession Driver Premiership
- Marburg Driver Premiership
- Marburg Trainer Premiership
- Marburg Concession Driver Premiership
QLD Horse Awards
The season extension will result in horses changing age on January 1, as such with the expectation further two and three-year-old features will be conducted through until the end of this season, horse awards will take into account eligible performances from September 1, 2019 through to December 31, 2020.
This will result in the Queensland Harness Racing Industry Awards night being held in early in 2021, as opposed to the usual timing in September or October.
Licensing
In accordance with recent licence renewal communication, QRIC will adopt the same licencing period as per usual, with licences expiring on August 31 needing to be renewed prior to this date.