Westspeed

WESTSPEED

W.A. Thoroughbred Breeder and Owner Incentive

Introduction

Racing and Wagering Western Australia (RWWA), maintains and supports the

Westspeed Incentive Scheme as a means of fostering and promoting local thoroughbred breeding and racing activities.

The Specific Benefits of Westspeed include:

1.      Potential to increase the financial rewards associated with owning and racing a locally bred horse and therefore encourage owners to remain in the industry longer and possibly extend the level of their investments.

2.      Encouragement for local breeders to source quality sires and/or dams in order to develop well bred progeny and improve Western Australian bloodlines.

3.      Provide breeders with the opportunity to access an on-going revenue   stream from the yearlings they’ve previously sold, via their racing performances.

4.      Maintenance and possible growth of local support industries, eg farriers, veterinarians, feed merchants, product suppliers etc.

The W.A. Turf Club introduced the Westspeed Incentive Scheme at the beginning of the 2000/2001 racing season. Since then, bonuses in excess of $18.7 million have been distributed to participants in the scheme, about half of which has been funded from subscription fees with the balance having been contributed by the WATC initially and latterly by RWWA.

In the 2009/10 Racing Season, bonus payments exceeding of $3.08 million were distributed to owners and breeders.

How Does Westspeed Work?

Eligible horses are nominated for Westspeed during their yearling season and earn the full bonus, as detailed in the table below, for wins in the following races conducted in W.A.

  • All TAB covered races for 2 and/or 3 year olds with an advertised stake of less than $100,000.
  • TAB covered All Aged Maiden Events won by a Westspeed nominated 2 or 3 year old.
  • TAB covered events over 1800 metres or more, with an advertised stake of less than $100,000, which are won by a Westspeed nominated 2, 3 or 4 year old.

What are the Bonus Levels?

The following Standard Westspeed Bonus Schedule will apply in 2010/11.

Race Stake                               Total                   Owner          Breeder

$40,000 – $99,999                   $20,000               $15,000          $5,000

$15,750 – $39,999                   $10,000               $  7,500          $2,500

$  7,500 – $15,749                   $  5,000               $  3,750          $1,250

< $ 7,500                            $  2,500               $  1,875          $   625

First Win Initiative

Furthermore, in order to increase bonus winning opportunities for participants, a “First Win Initiative” was introduced on 1/8/09. This enhancement provides for the payment of a bonus amounting to half of the amount detailed in the above table, to the connections of any participating galloper,

  • Recording their first career win as a two or three year old in a TAB covered race with an advertised stake not exceeding $99,999, which is not restricted to their own age group (excluding All Aged Maiden Events).
  • Winning their first career race as a four year old, provided the race in question is a TAB covered event with an advertised stake of less than $100,000.

Westspeed Extra

Under the “Westspeed Extra Initiative” announced in Feb 2011, owners of yearlings eligible for nomination to the scheme in 2010/11 (2009 Foals), have the option of paying a $2200 (inc. $200 GST) Subscription Fee. From the first 2 year old race of 2011/12 onward, gallopers participating at this level will be competing for bonuses as detailed below.

WESTSPEED EXTRA
Advertised Race Stake Breeder’s Bonus Owner’s Bonus Total
$40,000 – $99,999 $5,000 $22,500 $27,500
$15,750 – $39,999 $2,500 $7,500 $10,000
$7,500 – $15,749 $1,250 $3,750 $5,000
< $7,500 $625 $1,875 $2,500

Gallopers nominated at the traditional or standard level ($1100) by their owners will continue to compete for bonuses detailed in the previous paragraph.

Which Yearlings are Eligible for Westspeed?

The following rules must be satisfied for a horse to be eligible to participate in the Westspeed Incentive Scheme.

  • A yearling must be a product of a sire standing in W.A. at the time the dam is served, or,
  • A yearling can be the product of any sire provided the dam,

i/ was owned or part owned by a West Australian breeder at the time the yearling was conceived, or

ii/ carrying that foal, or with that foal at foot,  at the time she was           purchased by a W.A. breeder.

How It’s Grown

Westspeed kicked off on 1st Aug 99 with the intake of the first group of yearlings (1998 foals), which commenced racing for bonuses as two year olds in 2000/01.

It can be seen from the table below that after a strong opening, participation in the scheme faltered for a couple of seasons (which is probably reflective of the prevailing mood within the industry) but since 2003/04 participation rates have soared.

Season Sub’s Rec’d Bonuses Paid
1999/00 $676,500
2000/01 $513,000 $236,500
2001/02 $475,500 $686,500
2002/03 $517,500 $605,000
2003/04 $660,500 $1,032,250
2004/05 $842,000 $1,719,000
2005/06 $1,032,000 $1,798,125
2006/07 $1,160,500 $2,171,875
2007/08 $1,216,000 $3,206,750
2008/09 $1,265,000 $4,220,000
2009/10 $1,301,400 $3,082,500

History of Bonus Levels

The level of support the scheme has enjoyed within the local industry has facilitated a dramatic rise in bonus levels since the 2003/04 Season, as indicated below.

History Of Westspeed Bonus Levels
1st Tier 2nd Tier 3rd Tier 4th Tier
1/08/2000 $9,000 $4,000 $2,000
1/08/2003 $12,000 $5,000 $3,000
1/08/2004 $15,000 $7,500 $3,000
1/08/2005 $15,000 $7,500 $5,000
14/02/2007 $20,000 $8,000 $5,000 $2,000
16/02/2008 $20,000 $10,000 $5,000 $2,500

The Big Winners So Far

Westspeed All Time Top 10 (As at 15/2/2011)
Rank Horse Wins Breeder Owner Total Foaled
1 Hawkeye Mort 8 $40,000 $120,000 $160,000 2005
2 Star Encounter 8 $36,250 $108,750 $145,000 2004
3 For Your Eyes Only 8 $30,000 $100,000 $130,000 2006
4 Revolition 6 $30,000 $90,000 $120,000 2005
5 Dark Target 6 $27,000 $81,000 $108,000 2004
6 Nollamara 6 $26,250 $78,750 $105,000 2005
7 Xaaravid 5 $25,000 $75,000 $100,000 2006
8 Hot Tamale 5 $25,000 $75,000 $100,000 2007
9 Local Legend 6 $24,750 $74,250 $99,000 2001
10 Cohort 6 $23,750 $71,250 $95,000 2004

How Do I Enter?

There are several ways in which a yearling can become a participant in Westspeed.

1/ A breeder nominates their horse for Westspeed on the Magic Millions Premier/Autumn Yearling Sale Nomination Form. If accepted for the sales, this lot then carries the Westspeed logo in the sales catalogue and Magic Millions deduct the breeder’s nomination fee ($550 inc GST) from the proceeds of sale. Purchasers of such yearlings then have the option to pay the Owner’s Subscription Fee ($1100 inc GST) fee direct to RWWA subsequent to the sales. Any yearlings which go through the yearling sales as non Westspeed nominated horses cannot be nominated for the scheme subsequent to the sales.

2/ A breeder/owner may enter a horse privately. In any season, most of the Westspeed eligible yearlings don’t go through a public sale as described above however, and these along with any which went through the public sale as Westspeed nominations, but were not sold, effectively become “private nominations”. Such nominations are effected by completing the nomination form/s attached on this site and forwarding them to RWWA with the appropriate payment, before June 30th of their yearling season.

3/ A yearling can be breeder nominated only. This scenario occurs when a breeder nominates a yearling but the subsequent owner chooses not to make the subscription payment. In this situation if the horse goes on to win a Westspeed race, the breeder will receive the breeder’s portion of the bonus but the portion available to the owner will remain unclaimed.

Note: A horse must be breeder nominated for the owner to have the option of declaring for the Owner’s Bonuses.

4/ If an owner wants to pay the Owner’s Fee on a yearling which has not been breeder nominated, the registered breeder, as per the Australian Stud Book, should be contacted re: their Westspeed intentions. If they do not wish to pay the Breeder’s Fee for that particular horse, they may be willing to provide permission for a third party (usually the owner referred to above) to pay up as the breeder (for the purpose of Westspeed participation only), thus facilitating the acceptance of the owner’s fee. This can only be done on the basis that the Registered Breeder understands that their right to future breeder’s bonuses in respect of the horse in question has been relinquished. If a registered breeder does not wish to nominate a particular horse and is not willing to approve of the aforementioned arrangement, then the owner’s fee cannot be accepted and the horse in question will be omitted from the scheme.

What Happens if A Fully Nominated Horse is Sold or Leased?

Breeder

The entity which breeder nominates a yearling for Westspeed remains    unchanged throughout its career and therefore receives that portion of all       bonuses won throughout its career, regardless of how many times the horse       may change ownership or be the subject of a lease arrangement.

Owner

Sale

In the event of a fully nominated Westspeed galloper being sold, the       rights to Owner’s Bonuses automatically transfer to the new ownership       entity identified on the relevant “Transfer of Ownership Form”             effective from the date of transfer as stipulated on said form,      irrespective of who paid the original Owner’s Nomination Fee.

Lease

If a fully nominated Westspeed galloper is subsequently leased out, the original owner (lessor) retains the right to the owner’s portion of any         bonuses won during the period of the lease, i.e. lessees do not receive   any portion of the Westspeed bonus. It is permissible for the parties             to a specific lease to negotiate an alternative arrangement to this re    Westspeed and include it in the “special clauses” however RWWA will continue to pay the full owner’s bonus to the lessor who should then            deal privately with the lessee to satisfy the conditions of the lease.