Owing to the changes to the two-year-old racing calendar this year, Tattersalls announced on Wednesday it is introducing an additional version of its £25,000 October Book 1 Bonus Scheme for maiden and novice races.
The current Book 1 Bonus Scheme rewards owners with a £25,000 windfall if their eligible October Book 1 horse wins a Class 2, 3 or 4 maiden or novice race as a two-year-old up until the end of the turf Flat season in Britain on November 7.
Under the BHA’s new programme for this year, all two-year-old maidens and novices have been reclassified as Class 5 races for the time being. This means under the existing Book 1 Bonus Scheme, there are currently no opportunities to win a £25,000 Book 1 Bonus.
To ensure owners do not lose out during this period, all existing juveniles entered in the Book 1 Bonus Scheme will automatically be qualified in the new one.
The new terms and conditions mean all Class 5 open maiden and novice race will be classified as qualifying races while auction, median auction maidens and novice races will not be included in the scheme.
Tattersalls’ additional scheme will finish as soon as the BHA announces the resumption of qualifying races as defined in the existing scheme or after 30 bonus payments have been made under the additional scheme.
The terms and conditions of the original scheme will continue to apply in Ireland and Northern Ireland where all two-year-old open maiden races are qualifying races.
Tattersalls Chairman Edmond Mahony said: “The £25,000 October Book 1 Bonus Scheme is enormously popular and as soon as we became aware of the changes to this year’s two-year-old programme we were determined to act in the best possible interests of owners and to ensure as little disruption as possible.
“At this stage it is unclear how many Class 5 Open Maiden and Novice races will be staged between now and the end of August, which is why we felt we had to introduce a cap of 30 bonus payments in that period, but the additional £25,000 October Book 1 Bonus Scheme will be monitored very closely and we are looking forward to rewarding owners of October Book 1 Bonus winners as handsomely as ever in the coming weeks and months.”
