ISSUED ON BEHALF OF THE EUROPEAN PATTERN COMMITTEE

At its recent annual meeting held on Thursday 15 January, the European Pattern Committee (EPC) considered a number of changes to Flat Pattern and Listed races in Europe for 2015.

1. Upgrades and Downgrades in 2015

 The Committee approved upgrades for five Pattern races, including the granting of Group 2 status to three fillies’ races, the Dahlia Stakes at Newmarket, the Ridgewood Pearl Stakes at the Curragh and the Baden Racing Stutenpreis at Baden-Baden.  The Baden Meile at Baden-Baden, for three-year-olds and upwards, is also upgraded to Group 2.  The Curragh Stakes in Ireland, held at the racecourse of the same name, is upgraded from Listed to Group 3 and eight new Listed races, including six races for older fillies and mares, have been created for 2015.

The Committee downgraded three Pattern races and nine Listed races following their 2014 renewals.  These included the Ribot at Rome which will be downgraded from Group 2 to Group 3 and two other Italian Group 3 races, the Carlo Chiesa and Mario Incisa, both of which will be run as Listed contests in 2015.  The Svenskt Derby (Listed) at Jagersgro in Sweden will be downgraded from 2016 on account of entries having already closed for the 2015 renewal of this race.

A full list of the races to be upgraded and downgraded in 2015 is below.

 

2. Changes to the Autumn Two-Year-Old Programme

Reflecting the on-going review of the autumn two-year-old programme by the EPC, a number of changes to the date and distance of some key international races in both Britain and France were approved by the Committee.  It was acknowledged that work on the two-year-old programme would be a staggered process with further initiatives possible for 2016 and 2017.

For 2015, the Middle Park Stakes (Group 1) at Newmarket moves to an earlier slot on 26 September, providing a gap in the calendar of a fortnight prior to the running of the Dewhurst Stakes (Group 1).  Newmarket’s Future Champions Day, featuring the Dewhurst, can revert to the weekend of Saturday 10 October 2015.  Another race in Newmarket’s two-year-old programme, the Zetland Stakes, has had its Listed status reinstated.

In France, the Jean Luc Lagadere (Group 1), run at Longchamp on Arc weekend, will change in distance from 1400m to 1600m.  The Criterium International (Group 1) will now  be run over the shorter distance of 1400m (reduced from 1600m), and it will be run on the same day (1 November 2015) as the Criterium de Saint-Cloud (Group 1, 2000m) which is being moved a week earlier.

The EPC also approved changes to the dates of a number of Group 2 and Group 3 two-year-old races in France, the details of which are reproduced below.

 

3. Quality Control / Races at risk of downgrading in 2016

Europe has always set a high standard in terms of quality control of its Pattern races, and with Listed races now having been fully consumed within the European Pattern Ground Rules, this ensures an even stricter level of quality control.

In accordance with these Ground Rules, races that consistently underperform are identified as at risk of being downgraded, after which the host racecourse is put on notice that if the race fails to achieve the required performance rating in 2015, it could be subject to downgrade the following year.

As a consequence of this monitoring, 48 races, comprising 22 Pattern races (seven Group 1s, nine Group 2s and six Group 3s) and 26 Listed races have been identified as being at risk of downgrading in 2016.  A list of Group 1 races at risk of downgrading is below.

 

4.  Italian Racing

The Committee was pleased to note some positive progress in relation to the distribution of prize money to both domestic and overseas connections in Italy.  An update had been provided from the Italian Ministry for Agriculture.  It was noted that:

• All prize money payments owed to overseas connections for Italian Pattern and Listed races run in 2012 and 2013 have now been paid, with the exception of a small number of owners for who it has not been possible to obtain bank account details;

• A commitment has been made for all outstanding payments to be made to domestic owners by the end of 2015.  The Italian Ministry is continuing to monitor the progress of these payments to assess their ability to minimize this delay; and

• Prize money payments for Black Type races run in 2014 have been paid within 90 days of the race in accordance with the European Pattern Ground Rules.

The EPC will continue to keep the situation in Italy under review throughout 2015.

 

5. Weight-for-age scale and middle distance / staying races

A review of the weight-for-age scale had been undertaken by handicappers in Britain and Ireland and their findings were discussed by the International Handicappers in Hong Kong in December.  The subject will be given further consideration by the individual member countries of the EPC at the next EPC meeting in June at which a decision will be made on possible implementation for 2016.

The Committee also agreed to give further consideration throughout 2015 to the programme for middle-distance and staying horses, with particular focus on the responsibility to ensure that races and horses in this category continue to thrive across Europe.

Announcing these changes, Brian Kavanagh, Chairman of the European Pattern Committee, said:

“I would like to thank all the members of the Committee as I believe the outcome of this year’s meeting has delivered significant progress, while recognising that the autumn two-year-old programme, in particular, could be improved further in the years to come.

“It is a challenge balancing the interests and ambitions of individual jurisdictions with those of other member countries, but there is also recognition that a strong European Pattern brings benefits to all.

“In conjunction with the notable changes announced last year to the European three-year-old sprint programme, I am delighted with what we have been able to achieve and implement for 2015.”

 

Notes to editors:

Changes to the European Pattern for 2015

1. For more information contact Brian Kavanagh: [email protected] or +353 (0) 45455 640.

2. 2YO Programme

Britain

Race	Racecourse	Conditions	Distance	From	To
Middle Park (Group 1)	Newmarket	2yo c&f	6f	16 Oct	26 Sept
Dewhurst (Group 1)	Newmarket	2yo c&f	7f	16 Oct	10 Oct*
Fillies’ Mile (Group 1)	Newmarket	2yo f	8f	16 Oct	10 Oct*
Cornwallis (Group 3)	Newmarket	2yo	5f	16 Oct	10 Oct*
Challenge (Group 2)	Newmarket	3yo+	7f	16 Oct	10 Oct*
Darley (Group 3)	Newmarket	3yo+	9f	16 Oct	10 Oct*
Zetland (Listed) – Reinstatement	Newmarket	2yo	10f	22 Oct	10 Oct*

* Confirmation subject to ongoing discussions between British Horseracing Authority and Newmarket Racecourse

France

Race	Racecourse	Conditions	Distance	From	To
Prix d’Arenberg (Group 3)	Chantilly	2yo	1100m	9 Sept	2 Sept
Prix des Chênes (Group 3)	Longchamp	2yo c&g	1600m	20 Sept	13 Sept
Prix Eclipse  (Group 3)	Chantilly	2yo	1200m	10 Oct	21 Sept
Prix de Condé (Group 3)	Chantilly	2yo	1800m	19 Oct	5 Oct
Critérium de M-Laffitte (Group 2)	M-Laffitte	2yo	1200m	4 Nov	16 Oct
Critérium International (Group 1)	Saint-Cloud	2yo c&f	1600m*	26 Oct	1 Nov
Critérium de St-Cloud (Group 1)	Saint-Cloud	2yo c&f	2000m	8 Nov	1 Nov

*also see change of distance

 

Race	Racecourse	Conditions	2015 Date	2014 Distance	2015 Distance
Jean Luc Lagardere (Group 1)	Longchamp	2yo c&f	4 Oct	1400m	1600m
Prix Thomas Bryon (Group 3)	Saint-Cloud	2yo	8 Oct	1600m	1400m
Prix Thomas Bryon (Group 3)	Saint-Cloud	2yo c&f	1 Nov	1600m	1400m

 

3. Upgrades/Downgrades

Upgraded from Group 3 to Group 2 

Date	Race	Racecourse	Conditions	Distance
03/05/15	Dahlia Stakes	Newmarket	4yo+ f	9f
23/05/15	Lanwades Stud Stakes(Registered as Ridgewood Pearl)	Curragh	4yo+ f	8f
04/06/15	Badener Meile(Change of date from 29/05/14)	Baden-Baden	3yo+	1600m
05/09/15	Baden Racing Stutenpreis	Baden-Baden	3yo+ f	2400m*

* Change of distance from 2,200m

 

Upgraded from Listed to Group 3

Date	Race	Racecourse	Conditions	Distance
23/08/15	Curragh Stakes	Curragh	2yo	5f

 

New Listed Races

Date	Race	Racecourse	Conditions	Distance
14/05/15	As yet unnamed	York	3yo	5f
10/10/15	Zetland	Newmarket	2yo	10f
01/04/15	As yet unnamed	Saint-Cloud	4yo+ f	2100m
04/05/15	As yet unnamed	Chantilly	4yo+ f	1600m
27/06/15	As yet unnamed	Deauville (AWT)	4yo+ f	1900m
01/04/15	As yet unnamed	Saint-Cloud	4yo+ f	2000m
14/04/15	As yet unnamed	Cork	4yo+ f	12f
18/10/15	As yet unnamed	Naas	3yo+ f	12f

 

Downgraded from Group 2 to Group 3

Date	Race	Racecourse	Conditions	Distance
25/10/15	Ribot	Rome	3yo+	1600m

(Change of date from 02/11/14)

 

Downgraded from Listed

Race	Racecourse	Conditions	Distance
Braveheart (Handicap)	Hamilton	4yo+	12f
Kolner Zweijahrigen Trophy	Cologne	2yo	1400m
Kronimus-Rennen	Baden-Baden	2yo	1400m
Preis der Besitzerveringung	Hannover	3yo+ f	1400m
Alberto Giubilo	Rome	2yo c&g	1100m
Baggio	Milan	3yo f	2000m
Emirates Airline	Rome	4yo+	1400m
Margareta Wettermarks	Jageersro	3-5yo f	1700m

 

Downgraded from Listed (in 2016)

Race	Racecourse	Conditions	Distance
Svenskt Derby	Jageersro	3yo	2400m

 

4. Date and/or venue changes in 2016 (Group 1 & 2 races only)

Italy

Roma (Group 1) – Rome, 3yo+, 2000m

Change of date from 2 November to 8 November

Carlo Vittadini (Group 2) – Milan, 3yo+, 1600m

Change of date from 25 May to 31 May

Oaks d’Italia (Group 2) – Milan, 3yo fillies, 2200m

Change of date from 25 May to 31 May

 

5. Group 1 Races at risk of potential downgrade in 2016

France

26/10/14 Longchamp – Royal Oak

08/11/14 Saint-Cloud – Criterium de Saint-Cloud

Ireland

25/05/14 Curragh – Tattersalls Gold Cup

Italy

11/05/14 Capannelle – Presidente Della Repubblica

08/06/14 San Siro – Milano

19/10/14 San Siro – Jockey lub

02/11/14 Capannelle – Roma