North American Model Thoroughbred Owners' and Breeders' Association

Entering A Racemeet

Joined NAMTOBA? Not sure what the next step is? Read on...

For every member, taking the first few steps in NAMTOBA can be confusing. Once you've decided to join the club and been approved, you'll want to join the NAMTOBA email list. The Groups site allows for easy mass communication between members regarding racemeets, dates and other club-related material. The list is also a good place to find links of interest and get help with Thoroughbred or Pedigree Assignment related questions. You will need a vaild e-mail account and a Yahoo ID (free) to join the Yahoo Groups. Permission to join can be granted through the New Member Secretary, Amanda Geci.

Once you are added to the Yahoo Group, you will also need to download the Member Handbook. It contains all of the information on this website (in a more concise form), as well as point scales and a detailed race-advancement chart for quick reference. It is highly reccommended that all members first refer to the handbook and then to the website before posting questions to the list, in an effort to minimize the flow of email to member inboxes.

Because NAMTOBA realistically races model Thoroughbreds, each member needs a stable or string of horses. Most new members find it beneficial to purchase stock from established members. New members might also be overwhelmed at first, so taking on fewer than 10 (ten) horses is reccommended.

NAMTOBA hosts two annual auctions, one in the fall comparable to the Keenland sale, and one in the late spring or summer. The fall sale generally concentrates on breeding stock and current racing stock, while the spring or summer sale generally concentrates on race-age and youngstock (Two-year-olds, yearlings and weanlings). Both auctions are excellent oppertunities for new members to aquire proven lines from existing members, and for all members to support each others' stables.

Once a member aquires a horse, it must be registered with the club registrar, Jeannine Bergeron. Full requirements for registration are available on the registration rules page, and all rules must be followed or registration will be declined. Format for submission is also outlined on the rules page.

Beginning in 2005, to race in NAMTOBA all horses must have a valid registration number displayed on their entry racecard. Registration numbers are assigned according to birth and date of registration, and are e-mailed to the owner upon approval.

The NAMTOBA Studbook is online, and contains useful information regarding used names and used open years for real mares with foals in NAMTOBA. Members should check the studbook before submitting registrations, as registration is a time-consuming process.

Once a horse is realistically pedigreed and registered with the club, he can begin racing. To enter in a racemeet, a horse will need a racecard. The important components of a racecard are:

• Name, Age, Gender and Color of Horse
• Registration Number
• Pedigree Information. Some owners like to list pedigree as Sire x Dam, Damsire. Others may give another generation. As long as the information is easy to read and on the card, it is a personal preference.
• Previous Record. All starts a horse makes must be noted, good or bad. It is not necessary (and discouraged) to list every single start as "July 1st, 2000. Fast Track. Placed 4th in an allowance in a field of 9. Didnt like the mud." Instead, listing performance in one of the following ways makes it easier for a meet holder (steward) to read the card:
  • G1SW 3x (Grade 1 stakes winner 3 times), G2SW (Grade 2 stakes winner), allowance winner or
  • 38s 5(3)-4(3)-6(2) $1,000,000 2x G1SW (38 starts, 5 wins with 3 in graded company, 4 seconds with 3 in graded company, 6 thirds with 2 in graded, company, two-time Grade 1 stakes winner).
  • Starts made by the horse in an outside organization do not count for pre-race points; the horse will be considered a maiden in NAMTOBA.
• Family Notes. Notes about the sire and dam may help the horse place higher or lower in a race. The pedigree points scale can be found on the How A Racemeet Is Run page. Notes to include can be champions produced by either parent, notable sires or dams related to the racehorse, or other winners from either sire or dam. Keeping pedigree notes to a sentance or two is recommended and encouraged.
  • Notes about great-grand sires or second dams will not help the horse, and only clutter up the racecard, and are thus discouraged.
  • Champions produced by model parents for other racing organizations do not count for pre-race pedigree points in NAMTOBA.
• Training Notes. Trainers may differ on the amount, length or depth of training notes. Here you might wish to note what the horse has done in training, or how you've corrected any less-than-stellar past performances. Training notes may help your horse perform better, and are helpful for writing race notes.
• Running Style. Each horse has a running style (closer, pace stalker, front runner or midpack). Maiden starters will not have a definate running style, so owners may put "not sure of running style" for the first few races. A running style will help the steward provide feedback about where the horse was placed during the race, and why he performed the way he did.
• Track preference. Not all horses like all surfaces of track. A dirt horse may not like a sloppy or cuppy track, while a turf horse may not like a hard or extremely soft turf. Again, this is something that an owner will not know about a maiden horse for his first several starts, but no horse may like all surfaces. Especially during the winter, horses racing in NAMTOBA will encounter many different types of tracks, so the earlier a horse's perferred surface is determined, the better.
• Finally, trainer, owner and breeder information. A steward will want to know who owns the horse when they produce results, and other members will want to know what stock is excelling on the track. Generally, the breeder of a horse is the person who owned the mare when she was bred. If you purchased the horse from another member, that member is most likely the breeder.

With these guidelines, a sample racecard might look something like this:

An optional addition is a jockey. Jockeys make be fictional or real, and are not mandatory and are not taken into effect for pre-race points.

Another option owners take in personalizing their cards is adding information about the horse's previous one or two starts, so that a steward can gage whether the horse was off (comments like "didn't like the track") or whether the horse was outclassed (comments like "couldn't keep up with the field") in providing feedback.

After completing a racecard, the next step is to find an appropriate race for the horse. The current racing schedule is available at the Yahoo Groups Files section, as well as from any member via e-mail.

If we use Bobthehorse from above, we note that he is already a Grade 1 winner. Since Bob has successfully competed at a Grade 1 level before, he can be entered in a Grade 1 event again, or he can be placed in a Grade 2 or Grade 3 stakes. Bob's owner will want to take into consideration what distance Bob likes best (sprints, miles or distances) and whether Bob likes turf races or dirt races the best. Bob's owner will also have to make sure there are at least 2 weeks (more are reccommended) between his last start and his next intended start.

However, most new members will not be able to purchase a Grade 1 winner right away. Most new members will start with maidens (unraced horses) that they've bred themselves, or with allowance or lower-level stakes horses they've purchased from established members. Starting fall of 2004 all new members will be enrolled in a year long Mentoring program. The New Member Secretary will assign each new member to be mentored by a senior NAMTOBA member. This senior member will help the new member to become familiar with club rules and processes and answer any questions. In addition, the senior member will have experienced horses available for lease so that the new member may become accustomed racing in the club before buying/creating their own stock.

If a member starts with a maiden (unraced) horse, that hors will need to be placed in a maiden or allowance race. In horse racing, a horse many not race in any stakes event (graded or ungraded) until he breaks his maiden by winning either a maiden or allowance (maiden prefered). Once a horse breaks his maiden, he may advance to non-graded (NG) and Grade 3 (G3) events. With a win or high place in either a NG or G3, he may advance to Grade 2 (G2) or Grade 1 (G1) events. A detailed breakdown of advancement rules is in the member handbook, and stewards reserve the right to remove a horse who has not met the proper prequalifications.

When deciding where to place a horse for his first race, an owner must decide where the horse will be located. Currently, NAMTOBA offers racing in both the Northern and Southern Hemispheres. NAMTOBA members host tracks in the United Kingdom, Ireland, Europe, Australia, New Zealand, Argentina and Brazil, as well as in the United States. In the United States, the club offers the Model Sires Series to model-bred horses in Non-Graded Stakes and allowances. All of the different programs are outlined below.

North American Racing

NAMTOBA primarily follows the North American Graded Stakes calender, with major races like the Triple Crown, Triple Tiara and the Breeder's Cup races each fall. Races are run from January to December every weekend, and owners may choose from a variety of distances (sprints, miles and classic distances) and surfaces (dirt, turf or grass, and steeplechasing). All general meets are located in the United States.

European Racing

European racing usually begins later than North American racing, starting in March or April and running until two or three weeks prior to the Breeder's Cup. Many members keep broodmares and/or stallions abroad to breed racers in Europe, or import stock to or from Europe. All European races take place on the turf or grass. Any horses wishing to race in Europe and the United States in the same season must have a two week (14 day) quarantine between the last start in one region and the first start in the next. European horses commonly ship to the Breeder's Cup races, so it is important to plan for that 2 week period.

Southern Hemisphere Racing

Beginning Fall of 2004, NAMTOBA will also offer Southeren Hemisphere racing. These races take place in Australia, New Zealand, or South America. Many established members have broodmare bands and/or stallions in these regions, as only horses foaled in the Southern Hemisphere may race there. The birthday for Southern foals is August 1st, and so any Southern-foaled horses wishing to be imported to the Northern Hemisphere to race must wait at least 6 six months between starts, and may not race as two year olds. Horses born in the Northern Hemisphere may not race in the Southern Hemisphere.

Steeplechasing

Steeplechasing and hurdle races are mostly offered in the US, with a few races in Europe. Horses may not begin racing over jumps until at least the age of three, and must follow the appropriate advancement rules, which can be found in detailed form in the member handbook.

After an owner chooses a horse, writes a racecard and finds an appropriate race, all that is left is to send off the entry. All entries are submitted via e-mail to the steward in charge of the meet, and must be submitted before Saturday morning. Some stewards may extend deadlines, but it is common courtesy to have your entries in as early as possible. Please paste your entries into the body of an e-mail, as different operating systems will not always read attachments. If a steward or member is encountering e-mail difficulties, it is the duty of that person to make a post to the list about the problem, so that the steward or entrant is aware and can make changes.

After entries have been submitted, owners wait patiently for results. Information on how NAMTOBA meets are run can be found on the How A Racemeet Is Run page.