The 2-year-old races scheduled for the first eight days of racing in Britain after an intended resumption on June 1 will be given priority to be divided.
With the expectation of a high number of entries for those 14 races in the short run-up to Royal Ascot, the BHA has introduced a number of measures to cope with the level of demand. At fixtures where stabling capacity allows, it is possible that races may divide more than once, provided that the number of races at each meeting does not exceed 10.
Elimination from 2-year-old-races for unraced horses is normally done by ballot but, with the proximity of Royal Ascot in mind, the BHA will ask trainers to prioritise a certain number of horses, which will be determined by the individual trainer's record in juvenile contests.
A statement released by the BHA on Friday evening read, “To help ensure that 2-year-old races at Royal Ascot feature the best horses, this will be amended for the first eight days of racing only. Trainers will be asked to identify specific horses that they would like to see given priority against elimination from any division of the currently programmed 2-year-old races. The number of horses that can be selected by any trainer will be based on their previous record with 2-year-olds in Open Maiden or Novice races as well as the number of runners that they have had in Royal Ascot 2-year-old races in the last three years.
“Trainers that qualify for the priority system will be contacted over the weekend to be informed of the number of nominations open to them. This is clearly an unprecedented step, but is intended to help ensure the fields at Royal Ascot are made up of the best horses where possible. Trainers will be emailed on Saturday, May 16 to confirm the number of horses that they can prioritise and will have until May 25 to make their submissions.”
Elimination from the 2-year-old races at Royal Ascot will be based on previous finishing positions, with priority given in the following order:
- Horses that have won a race
- Horses that have finished second in a race
- Horses that have finished third in a race
- Horses that have finished fourth in a race
- Unraced horses
- Horses that have run but have not been placed in the first four
The BHA update also advised that a greater number of restricted 2-year-old races will be added to the three currently scheduled, with the intention being that approximately a third of all juvenile races staged during the season will be either an auction or median auction race.
Furthermore, it stated that the G3 Brigadier Gerard S. will now be run at Haydock Park on Sunday, June 7, rather than at Newmarket on Friday, June 5, as previously scheduled.
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