Upon request, an analysis of average ratings of the racing population from August 2010 to present was undertaken.

Based on the research, the following was proposed:

1.         Increase the domestic population by 6 rating points; effective entries 1 March 2018. (The relativity between horses remains the same).

2.         The rating increase will “stretch” the population thereby reducing the “over-crowding” in the lower divisions.

3.         This will only affect domestic ratings.  Domestic and International Ratings are not linked and are done separately.

4.         This adjustment will be effective on 1 March 2018 across the country.

The situation arose due to:

1.            Guidelines limiting upward rating adjustments.

2.            Race conditions restricting upward rating adjustment.

3.            More aggressive rating drops for non-performance.

4.            More cognizant dropping of young horses not making weight- for- age improvement.

5.            “Slippage” in handicap races. i.e. Where there are more downward adjustments than horses remaining the same or going up. Where this happens in large numbers; the ratings will tend to decrease over time. 

These factors are under review.

The proposed increase was accepted by the industry representatives that attended a meeting in Johannesburg on 25 October 2017 and was ratified by the National Board of the NHA.