Tuesday, November 12, 2019
With the emergence of a number of younger greyhounds at Tara Raceway, the Mount Gambier Greyhound Racing Club is to include Juvenile events on its racing calendar as from January.
A greyhound is classed as a Juvenile until, and including, the last day of the month corresponding to its whelping in the second year thereafter. In other words, a greyhound whelped on January 1, 2018 would remain a Juvenile until January 31, 2020.
Greyhounds classified as Juveniles are eligible to win two such events. However, the advantage of having an SA-bred greyhound certainly comes into play as far as Juveniles are concerned because they are able to win six races without penalty.
Maidens can be nominated for Juvenile events provided they have competed in an official qualifying trial or race. If a maiden greyhound wins a Juvenile, that counts as its maiden win and it would still be eligible to win a further two Juveniles or six in the case of SA-bred.
The introduction of Juvenile racing in January should prove to be an ideal lead-in to the 2020 Summer Classic, run over 512 metres at Tara Raceway in February for all greyhounds whelped on or after January 1, 2018.