Q: What is the Weatherbys ITBA NH Fillies Bonus Scheme?

A: This is a self-help scheme developed by William Flood and the ITBA NH Committee in early 2013. The scheme pays out a €5,000 bonus to the winning owner after every mares’ only maiden in Ireland, once the winner has been nominated to the scheme.

Q: What is the purpose or objectives of the scheme?

A: The scheme was designed with two main objectives:-

•To help promote fillies at National Hunt sales

• To encourage breeders to put their fillies into training

In the early 2010s, as the country began to emerge from recession, the demand for National Hunt fillies had diminished drastically at all sales. The committee felt that an incentive to stimulate the price of fillies was needed. The quality of the Irish broodmare band was in decline with unproven mares being covered and pedigree pages diluted.

This scheme encouraged breeders to take a punt on their filly by putting her in training and going to the covering shed with a product that would provide a saleable commodity at the sales in the future.

Q: Is the scheme a success?

A: It is universally acknowledged that this scheme has been an outstanding success. It is currently in its sixth year and to date has paid out over €1.9 million in bonuses to 380 winning owners. There has been a marked improvement in the number of fillies returned in training and the price for the fillies at all store sales has dramatically increased.

Another very impressive statistic is that since the scheme’s inception 32% of bonuses (€608,000) have been paid to owner-breeders and 95% have been won by Irish-bred mares.

Q: How is the scheme funded?

A: Every time a National Hunt breeder sends their stock to the sale they pay a contribution towards the scheme that is collected by the sales companies and passed on. Weatherbys Ireland and Horse Racing Ireland also make significant financial contributions to the scheme.

Q: What are the terms and conditions? How do I make my filly eligible?

A: Eligible fillies must be:

• Born in 2016 or after.

• Unraced under Rules (they can have run in point-to-points).

• Fee to be paid to the ITBA before the closing date (September 30th, 2020)

• If your filly/mare is a homebred and has never been to the store sales, it is a once-off payment of €200, made payable to the ITBA and received before the closing date.

• When a filly is entered to the store sales, her vendor can pay €50 with her entry fee to make her part-qualified for the scheme. When she is sold, the purchaser can pay the additional €150 to the sales company to complete her eligibility.

• Where a filly goes through unsold or withdrawn, the remaining €150 has to be paid to the ITBA before the closing date to ensure that this filly is in the scheme.

Q: How soon can my filly win a bonus after being added to the scheme?

A: Fillies entered before this year’s September 30th deadline can win bonuses starting from January 1st, 2021.

Q: Do I have to re-register every year?

A: No. Once you have paid the €200, your filly is entered for the duration of her career or as long as the scheme is in existence.

Q: What races are included?

A: There is a bonus attached to every mares-only bumper, maiden hurdle and beginners chase in Ireland. In 2018, we extended the scheme to include one mares-only handicap hurdle a month and supported the Connolly’s Red Mills Irish EBF series by offering a bonus to any winning filly or mare. This year we have included mares-only ‘winners of one’ bumpers to our list of eligible races.

Q: Who is responsible for payment of the bonus?

A: The ITBA administers the scheme. The bonuses are paid into the HRI account of the winning owner, as listed on the racecard on the day of the race.

Q: Is there a limit on the number of bonuses you can win?

A: The maximum number of bonuses you can win is three or €15,000. There have been cases of mares winning a €5,000 bonus (without deduction) after a winning a bumper, a hurdle and a chase.

Q: How do I register for the scheme?

A: The application form (printed on this page) is available to download from the ITBA website (itba.ie) or from the ITBA Breeders App. Alternatively, you can contact me (Regina Byrne) in the office on 045 877543 or email rbyrne@itba.ie and I will email or post the application form to you.

Q: Have you any final advice for NH mare owners?

A: Don’t forget to make your mare eligible before the closing date. There are so many chances to win and the bonus will go a long way to paying the bills!