U.S., Canadian listed stakes to undergo annual review

The North American International Catalogue Standards Committee (NAICSC)

Friday announced that all listed stakes races in the United States and Canada

will undergo further review of their listed status annually by the Thoroughbred

Owners and Breeders Association's American Graded Stakes Committee (AGSC) and

the Canadian Graded Stakes Committee (CGSC), respectively, beginning in 2012. 

Currently, North American stakes races with a minimum purse value of $75,000

available to all starters that close 72 hours in advance and have no

restrictions receive listed status in catalogues for sales organized by Society

of International Thoroughbred Auctioneers (SITA) members. Restrictions that

prevent a race from receiving listed status include any conditions that tend to

exclude runners of greater quality for considerations other than sex or age.

Listed races are reviewed annually for possible upgrade to Grade 3 status.

Under the new procedures, listed stakes will also be reviewed for possible

downgrade by removal of their listed status. Races that lose their listed status

would still qualify for non-listed black-type in SITA catalogues.

Listed races for 2012 in the United States and Canada will be initially

reviewed at the 2012 meetings of the AGSC and the CGSC. The committees will

apply the same technique and information, including fact-based statistical

analysis, that is used during their annual evaluation of graded stakes races.

Races not deemed to be of listed quality using this process will lose their

listed status beginning in 2013.

In addition, during 2012 the Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders Association has

been charged by the NAICSC with investigating options for further quality

control measures for non-listed black-type races.