The British Horseracing Board has approved a new National Hunt (NH) Weight-For-Age (WFA) scale to come into effect from 1st October 1999.
The move follows a detailed investigation into the operation of the current scale prompted by concerns that it gives an undue advantage to precocious young steeplechasers.
Statistical analysis by the Senior NH Handicapper showed that the most wide-reaching changes were required for the chase WFA scale due to the proliferation of young horses competing over two to two-and-a-half miles. The proportion of wins to runs for four- and five-year-olds last season was 26%, compared with an average success rate over fences of just over 13 %.
Five-year-olds had a particularly high strike rate from January to March, suggesting that the current WFA allowance is too generous during this period.
The BHB decided the evidence was clearly sufficient to justify adjusting the scale, but not at this stage discarding it altogether. Since the aim of the WFA scale is to give the average immature horse a measure of equality with more experienced competitors, the Board wished to avoid measures which could have an adverse impact on the majority of horses in order to place constraints on the few.
The new WFA Scale includes adjustments to address irregularities caused by recent developments, such as summer jumping. It also includes modifications to replace the monthly drop by 2lb, introducing instead a twice-monthly 1lb drop as occurs on the Flat.
Below is a summary of the principal adjustments to the NH WFA scale:
Steeplechases
* A reduction in the chasing WFA allowance for 2 miles from December to June and its abolition from July
* A corresponding reduction over 2 _ miles
* A rationalisation of the 3 mile allowance during summer jumping
* The introduction of a twice monthly reduction of 1lb instead of an end of month reduction of 2lbs
Hurdles
* A reduction in the hurdle WFA allowance for 2 miles from December to June and its abolition from July
* A corresponding reduction over 2 _ miles and 3 miles
* A rationalisation of the system during summer jumping
* The introduction of a twice monthly reduction of 1lb instead of an end of month reduction of 2lbs
The Board noted the high success rate of four- and five-year-olds in valuable chases and agreed that further measures might need to be taken in future to address this. This may well lead to a further reduction in the WFA allowance or removing it altogether in chases above a certain specified value. However, the Board decided that such action should be delayed until the effects of the new WFA scale could be assessed over the 1999/2000 season.
The new WFA scale is attached, along with the current version for comparison. A more detailed statistical analysis is available on request.
