Current through Register Vol. 51, No. 19, September 20, 2024
A.
Definitions. In this regulation, the following terms have the meanings
indicated:
(1) "Advisory Committee" means the
Maryland Standardbred Race Fund Advisory Committee.
(2) "Breeder" means the owner or, if leased,
the lessee of the dam at the time of breeding.
(3) "Conceived" means the impregnation of a
dam, by means of natural or artificial insemination, by a Maryland stallion
whose offspring meet the eligibility requirements for the Sire Stakes Program
in Regulation .53 of this chapter.
(4) "Covered by a Maryland stallion" means to
be bred to a Maryland stallion whose offspring meet the eligibility
requirements for the Sire Stakes Program in Regulation .53 of this
chapter.
(5) "USTA" means the
United States Trotting Association.
B. Eligibility for Participation. For a horse
to be eligible to participate in a race that is a part of the Foaled Stakes
Program, the horse shall:
(1) Be registered
with the Advisory Committee; and
(2) Have had paid in the horse's behalf all
of the applicable registration, sustaining, and declaration fees required under
this regulation.
C.
Eligibility for Registration.
(1) A horse may
be registered with the Advisory Committee if:
(a) The horse was foaled in Maryland, as
shown by a registration certificate from the USTA; and
(b) At least one of the following conditions
is met:
(i) The breeder of the horse has
maintained a place of abode in Maryland for more than 9 months immediately
before registration;
(ii) The
breeder of the horse keeps breeding stock continually in Maryland;
(iii) The horse was conceived during the
previous season by the horse's dam being covered by a Maryland stallion
registered with the Advisory Committee; or
(iv) The horse's dam was sent to Maryland to
foal and, after foaling, was covered by a Maryland stallion during the season
of the horse's birth.
(2) If, at the time of breeding, the dam is
under lease, a lease agreement shall be on file in the office of the
USTA.
(3) The eligibility
requirements in this section are not applicable in regard to registration for
the Sire Stakes Program in Regulation .53 of this chapter.
(4) If a foal is the product of an
embryo/ovum transfer, only a donor mare's first born foal each year, resulting
from such a transfer, is eligible for registration under this
section.
D. Appeal of
Refusal to Register a Horse.
(1) An owner or
breeder may appeal to the Commission from a refusal of the Advisory Committee
to register a horse under this regulation.
(2) The owner or breeder who makes the appeal
has the burden of proving the eligibility of the horse.
(3) The decision of the Commission is
final.
E. Registration.
Except as provided in §F of this regulation, to register a yearling the
Advisory Committee Administrator shall be provided on or before May 15 with a:
(1) Completed form for the registration of
the yearling;
(2) Photocopy of the
yearling's USTA registration certificate or its equivalent; and
(3) $20 registration fee.
F. Late or Incomplete
Registration.
(1) If a yearling was not
registered in accordance with the provisions of §E of this regulation, the
yearling shall be registered with the Advisory Committee Administrator if the
following are received between May 16 and December 31:
(a) A completed registration form;
(b) A photocopy of the yearling's USTA
registration certificate or its equivalent; and
(c) A $500 late fee.
(2) If a photocopy of the USTA registration
certification or its equivalent is not submitted in compliance with any of the
provisions under this regulation, the:
(a)
Yearling shall be ineligible for participation in the Foaled Stakes Program;
and
(b) Registration fee shall be
forfeited.
G.
Sustaining Fees.
(1) Except as provided in
§G(2) of this regulation, the following sustaining fees are required by
the following dates for the maintenance of a horse's eligibility:
(a) First sustaining fee as a 2-year-old,
$120 by March 15;
(b) Second
sustaining fee as a 2-year-old, $120 by May 15; and
(c) Sustaining fee as a 3-year-old, $240 by
February 15.
(2) The
second sustaining fee as a 2-year-old, due May 15, is optional and is required
only to make the horse eligible to participate in the races provided by the
Foaled Stakes Program for 2-year-olds.
(3) Except as provided in this regulation, a
horse shall be disqualified from participation in any future races sponsored by
this Program if there is a failure to make a timely payment of a fee under this
section.
H. Time and
Method of Payment.
(1) To be timely, the
appropriate fee shall be:
(a) Delivered to the
Advisory Committee Administrator by the designated due date; or
(b) Mailed bearing a postmark which is on or
before the due date.
(2)
If the due date for a payment falls on a weekend or a holiday observed in this
State, the payment shall be timely if:
(a)
Delivered to the Advisory Committee Administrator by the next business day;
or
(b) Mailed and bearing a
postmark which is not later than the next business day.
(3) Exceptions may not be made to the
requirements of this section.
I. Declaration Fee. A declaration fee of $150
is required to be made by the post time for the race into which the horse is
declared.
J. The owner of the horse
is responsible for the declaration fee, and, if the owner of the horse is not
the declarer of the horse, the person making the declaration is also
responsible for the declaration fee.
K. Eligibility to Start.
(1) A horse, otherwise eligible to
participate in this program, may not be declared into a race unless the horse
has at least one satisfactory charted performance line at the time set for
declaring in.
(2) A satisfactory
charted performance line is a performance line:
(a) Credited to a horse after the horse
starts from behind a starting gate in a qualifying or purse race within 45 days
of the Foaled Stakes Program race in which the horse is to participate;
and
(b) Which shows that the horse
has completed the race without a break, other than a break caused by
interference or broken equipment, at, or within, the following times according
to the horse's age and gait:
|
Age and Gait
|
Time
|
|
2-year-old pace
|
2:08
|
|
2-year-old trot
|
2:10
|
|
3-year-old pace
|
2:07
|
|
3-year-old trot
|
2:09.
|
(3) A 2-second allowance to the minimum
performance time shall be granted on any trotting event held before May
1.
L. Use of Fees.
(1) All registration fees, sustaining fees,
and penalties, less administrative costs, shall be added to the purse
monies.
(2) All declaration fees
shall be added to the purse for the event for which the fees were
paid.
M. Provision may
be made for the running of the following races at a distance of 1 mile, to be
known as the Foaled Stakes Program races, which shall be open only to those
horses eligible to participate in the Foaled Stakes Program:
(1) 2-year-old filly pace;
(2) 2-year-old colt pace;
(3) 2-year-old filly trot;
(4) 2-year-old colt trot;
(5) 3-year-old filly pace;
(6) 3-year-old colt pace;
(7) 3-year-old filly trot; and
(8) 3-year-old colt trot.
N. The various age, sex, and gait
divisions established under §M of this regulation may, from time to time,
be eliminated by the Commission upon the recommendation of the Advisory
Committee.
O. Each age, sex, and
gait division, depending upon the availability of funds, may not be raced more
than three times per year.
P. The
purse amounts for the races authorized under §M of this regulation shall
be determined by the Advisory Committee and approved by the
Commission.
Q. Breeder Awards.
(1) A 10 percent Breeder Award, based upon
the amount of the purse distributed, shall be divided between the dam and sire
of a horse, if the horse:
(a) Receives purse
monies from a race provided for under §M of this regulation; and
(b) Meets the eligibility requirements set
forth for registration in the Sire Stakes Program under Regulation .53 of this
chapter.
(2) Of the 10
percent awarded under §Q(1) of this regulation:
(a) 8 percent shall be awarded to the dam of
the horse; and
(b) 2 percent shall
be awarded to the sire of the horse, if the sire:
(i) Is still standing at stud in
Maryland;
(ii) Died while standing
at stud in Maryland;
(iii) Retired
while standing at stud in Maryland; or
(iv) Left Maryland for breeding purposes in
the southern hemisphere after the Maryland breeding season and, if still alive,
returns to Maryland for the next breeding season.
(3) The awards, as apportioned
under §Q(2) of this regulation, shall be paid to the:
(a) Individual or entity who was the owner of
record with the USTA of the dam and sire at the time the horse was bred;
or
(b) Lessee of the horse, rather
than the owner, if the:
(i) Dam or the sire,
respectively, was leased at the time the breeding took place; and
(ii) Lease was on record with the USTA at
that time.
R. If more horses are declared to start in an
event than can fit on the starting gate, the licensee holding the event shall
split the event and divide the purse equally, except the declaration fees shall
be allocated based on the number of horses in each division.
S. Gait.
(1) A horse's gait shall be specified and
accompany each sustaining fee.
(2)
A change of the horse's specified gait may be made at the time the horse is
declared into a race.
(3) Any
payments made before a change in the specified gait of a horse shall be
credited to the races for the gait originally specified.
T. Time.
(1) The time for starters to declare into a
Foaled Stakes Program race shall be the same as the time established by the
race track for declaring into an overnight race.
(2) If the race track schedules the time for
drawing into an overnight race more than 5 days before the running of the
races, a Foaled Stakes Program race may not be drawn with these races, but
shall be drawn at a time that is not more than 5 days before the scheduled
running of the race.
U.
Purse Distribution.
(1) The purse in each
race shall be divided in the following manner:
(a) 50 percent, 25 percent, 12 percent, 8
percent, and 5 percent to the first five finishers, respectively, if five or
more horses finish;
(b) 50 percent,
25 percent, 15 percent, and 10 percent to the first four finishers,
respectively, if only four horses finish;
(c) 55 percent, 30 percent, and 15 percent to
the first three finishers, respectively, if only three horses finish;
(d) 65 percent and 35 percent to
the first two finishers, respectively, if only two horses finish; or
(e) 65 percent to the finisher and 35 percent
is retained by the Standardbred Fund for the applicable year of foaling, sex
and gait division if only one horse finishes.
(2) Unless the Commission eliminates the
races for one of the age groups in accordance with §M of this regulation,
the purse monies to be distributed each year on behalf of the Foaled Stakes
Program shall be divided equally between races for 2-year-olds and races for
3-year-olds.
(3) Unless the
Commission eliminates the races for one of the gaits in accordance with §M
of this regulation, the purse monies in each age category shall be divided
equally between races for trotters and races for pacers.
V. With the advice of the Advisory Committee
the Commission may allow all Foaled Stakes Program races to be held at any race
track in Maryland.
