Racing Victoria (RV) has today published the new claims for apprentice jockeys competing in Victoria as part of the revamped three-tier claiming system that takes effect for the 2023-24 racing season.
As previously communicated by RV, when calculating an apprentice’s riding claim, Victorian racetracks will now be categorised as either ‘Metropolitan’, ‘Provincial’ or ‘Other’ thus replacing Victoria’s previous system of dividing race meetings into ‘Metropolitan’, ‘TAB’ and ‘Non-TAB’.
The changes are designed to better align the Victorian model with other racing jurisdictions in Australia. They also aim to better support the progression and development of Victorian apprentices through the three tiers of racing.
As part of the change, RV announced that there would be a retrospective calculation of current apprentice claims following the completion of the 2022-23 racing season on Monday.
Accordingly, the updated list of apprentices’ claims at the commencement of the raceday on 4 August 2023 are as follows:
Following is the breakdown of Victorian racetracks into their new categories for the purposes of calculating apprentice claims:
Metropolitan Category
All racetracks at Flemington, Caulfield, The Valley and Ladbrokes Park (Sandown) will be designated as Metropolitan venues.
Wins at any Provincial track hosting a Metropolitan race meeting or Group and Listed Race wins will also be classified as Metropolitan wins. This remains unchanged from present.
Provincial Category
The new Provincial category will comprise the following racetracks: Bendigo, Cranbourne, Geelong, Mornington, Sale, Sportsbet-Ballarat Turf, Sportsbet-Pakenham Turf and Warrnambool.
Wins at these eight racetracks, excluding those classified as Metropolitan meetings, will be used to calculate an apprentice jockey’s Provincial claim.
Other Category
The new Other category will comprise the following racetracks: Ararat, Avoca, bet365 Bairnsdale, bet365 Benalla, Burrumbeet, bet365 Camperdown, Casterton, bet365 Colac, Coleraine, Donald, Dunkeld, bet365 Echuca, bet365 Edenhope, Great Western, Gunbower, bet365 Hamilton, Hanging Rock, Horsham, Kerang, bet365 Park Kilmore, bet365 Park Kyneton, Manangatang, bet365 Mildura, Moe, bet365 Mortlake, Murtoa, Nhill, Penshurst, Seymour, Sportsbet-Ballarat Synthetic, Sportsbet-Pakenham Synthetic, St Arnaud, bet365 Stawell, Stony Creek, Swan Hill, TAB Park Werribee, Tatura, bet365 Terang, Towong, Traralgon, Sportsbet-Wangaratta, Warracknabeal, bet365 Park Wodonga, Wycheproof, bet365 Yarra Valley.
Wins at these 45 racetracks, whether they are conducted as TAB or non-TAB meetings, will be used to calculate an apprentice jockey’s Other claim.