A drop-back system will be put in place at the end of October as Harness Racing New Zealand tries to keep the racing population on the track.
A meeting of HRNZ's handicapping sub-committee on Wednesday has resulted in two major changes for trainers of pacers and trotters, while the age-group concessions have also been tweaked.
The committee approved the changes which will be confirmed at HRNZ's annual conference later this month.
Horses with 10 winless starts in a row will be able to drop back one grade from October 29. For example, Special Bella - rated as a 2-win horse for her race at Oamaru tomorrow - could start in a 1-win race if the new rules were in place, as she has not won for 20 starts.
Roxburgh trainer Geoff Knight feels the drop-back system will go some way towards retaining some of the racing stock, although he was hoping for fewer starts before a horse could go down in grade.
''I would have liked to see a few less starts than 10 because 10 starts is a long time to have a horse in work to get a drop back. But having said that, any drop back is positive so I'm supportive of it.
''We've been banging on to the handicapping people for a long time that with the breeding numbers down, we need to keep the pool of horses that are racing here - even if it's the poorer ones, there's got to be a place for them.''
Knight believes it is vital to give horses their best chance to find their place on the hierarchy.
''We've all got owners for who [racing] is their hobby. They like their horse and they want to have it in work, but if we keep telling them there's no place for it, and it can't be competitive, they're just going to flag that horse and they might not get another one.
''Last year, we had a horse win two races on a Tuesday [low-grade meeting] and our owners were celebrating, and I was thinking of how I was going to tell them their horse was on their mark now.''
Canny placement by trainers has seen the likes of Beaudiene Bad Babe and Border Control pick up multiple wins for minimal penalty, but the proposed change to age-grade concessions means a win in a race worth $15,000 or more will incur a handicapping penalty for both 2yr-olds and 3yr-olds.
This season, every second win for a 3yr-old is penalty-free, while any 2yr-old wins in non-group races or races worth under $25,000 are not carried over for handicapping purposes to a horse's 3yr-old year.
''That's a positive move. It will move the better ones through the ranks quicker,'' Knight said.
''You're always going to get the exception and this system won't be flawless ... but if we can lessen the likelihood of that happening, our owners are going to be happier and we're going to be happier.
