Greyhound Racing Victoria is set to introduce a new type of race meeting that will give consideration to each greyhound’s current Aged Prize Money (APM) value.

Aged Prize Money race meetings are aimed at increasing racing opportunities for greyhounds racing in Victoria, which was a common issue raised by participants at the GRV grading consultation sessions (Sept/Oct 2017), conducted at all 13 race clubs by Chief Grader, Andrew Mills.

WHY ARE WE DOING THIS?

Given GRV’s commitment to increasing racing opportunities, the new APM meeting type is aimed at exploring an alternate race selection process, as each current method has the possibility of preventing greyhounds from gaining a regular start in a race, which at times can be confusing.

For example:

1. A Grade 3 greyhound at a track relies on nominations of Grade 4 or better greyhounds being nominated to provide it a chance of racing at that venue.
2. Tier 3 requires the greyhound to be ranked 250+ and not have broken the time standard in up to its last 4 starts (and not raced outside the excluded interstate tracks).
3. Tier 3 and Rank Limit meetings apply different methods of selection, despite catering for similar levels of greyhounds.

WHAT ARE APM MEETINGS AND HOW WILL THEY WORK?

APM is each greyhound’s Aged Prize Money value which is determined by how much prize money a greyhound has won in its racing career, both current and historic amounts. This value allows greyhounds that have won prize money throughout their racing career to be considered against other greyhounds within the racing population of a similar value in a fair and transparent manner.

See table below:

WHAT TRAINERS NEED TO KNOW:

The new APM meeting type is now ready for implementing into the Racing program with several key changes.

1. Greyhounds will rely solely on their APM value to gain selection;
2. There will be NO ‘order of entry rights’ for graded greyhounds applied (ie. last start placed, dropping grade, reserve last start etc.);
3. Only Maidens will have ‘order of entry rights’, as these greyhounds that are yet to race have not won any prize money. Greyhounds with one or two starts only will be also be given preference.
4. Reserves will be allocated in order of their APM value, that is if 2 races are programmed of the same grade and distance, then the two reserves in the higher value race will also be listed as runners in the lower value race;
5. New race grades will be applied to identify the races each greyhound has competed which are as follows:
   • • MAPM – Maiden APM event
     • 7APM – Grade 7 APM event (one win)
     • 6APM – Grade 6 APM event (two wins)
     • APM – Open APM event
     • RWAPM – Restricted Win APM event
6. For APM grade events at Provincial Full Stakes and Provincial Half Stakes meetings – Where a greyhound has an APM value of $2,000+, and its APM value is more than 50% of the lowest selected greyhound (eighth greyhound) within the event, then the highest APM greyhound shall not be drawn. Eg. Dog (1) has an APM value of $10,000, then Dog (8) APM value must be at least $5,000. This rule shall not apply to race types MAPM, 7APM, 6APM and RWAPM or any meetings conducted that award Metropolitan Full Stakes.
7. APM Meetings will be non-penalty for winning greyhounds that are Grade 5 or higher when conducted at Provincial Half Stakes level.

APM meetings will be programmed from May 2018 around Victoria on a trial basis to monitor the participation rates, suitability, popularity, and possible impacts to improve racing opportunities for every racing greyhound.