HRA announces change to racing season

AUSTRALIA is poised to experience its longest and shortest racing seasons.

With a host of major races cancelled or postponed due to the Coronavirus pandemic, Harness Racing Australia has announced the 2019/20 term has been extended to allow several events, such as various state Sires’ schemes, to be conducted.

Instead of the traditional August 31 end date, the season will finish on December 31, creating a 16-month season.

This decision is based around enabling age-restricted events to be run without concerns of backdating the national rating points earned.

For example, the New South Wales Breeders’ Challenge has been moved from May to October, meaning the two-year-old candidates will be three when they contest the series.

Lengthening the season will see two-year-olds remain two and so on for the various age categories.

The date switch also gives trainers who, for example, have runners in two-year-old futurities to freshen them up before they turn three on January 1 and look to contest features such as the Derbys.

It’s not the first time harness racing has experienced a longer than usual season.

The 1988/89 season was 13 months long as harness racing changed from a July 31 to an August 31 finish.

On the back end of the change, the 2021 season will be run over eight months as the industry looks to return to a September 1 to August 31 year in 2021/22.