FAQ’s

The scheme was designed with two main objectives:-  

• To help promote fillies at NH Sales 
• Encourage Breeders to put their fillies into training  

After the recession, the demand for National Hunt fillies had diminished drastically at all sales and the committee felt that an incentive to stimulate the price of fillies was needed. The quality of the Irish broodmare band was in decline with unproven mares being covered and pedigree pages diluting. This scheme encouraged breeders to take a punt on their filly by putting her in training and going to the covering shed with a product that would provide a saleable commodity at the sales in the future. 

 It is universally acknowledged that this scheme is an outstanding success. It is currently in its tenth year and to date has paid out over € 3.5 million in bonuses. There has been a marked improvement in the number of fillies returned in training and the price for the fillies at all store sales has dramatically increased.  

As indicated earlier, this scheme is a self-help initiative by breeders for breeders! Every time a NH Breeder sends their stock to the sale, they pay a fee towards the scheme that is collected by the sales companies and paid directly. Weatherbys Ireland and HRI make significant financial contributions to the scheme, and in 2023 both Tattersalls and Goffs have committed support of €50,000 over the next three years to the initiative.

The rules are very simple, your filly has to be: 

•     3-Year-Old + (2021+)  
•     Filly must be IRE bred 
•     Unraced at the racetrack (under Rules, she is permitted to have run in a point to point)  
•     The scheme will open on 5th August 2024 for entries and the fee (€300) must be paid to the ITBA before the closing date – 30th September, 2024  
•     If your filly/mare is a homebred and has never been to the store sales, it is a once-off payment of €300 – made payable to the ITBA before the closing date – 30th September 2024         
•  When a filly is entered to the store sales, her vendor pays €100 with her entry fee to make her part qualified for the scheme. When she is sold, the purchaser pays the additional €200 to the sales company to complete her eligibility. This also applies to fillies bought outside the sales ring but processed through the sales company.  
•     For unsold or withdrawn fillies, the remaining €200 has to be paid to the ITBA before the closing date to ensure that this filly is in the scheme.  

The closing date for entries is 30th September each year and the bonuses for those fillies begin on the 1st January of the following year. Fillies entered this September, 2024 the bonuses will start on 1st January, 2025.  

No, once you have paid the €300, your filly is entered for the duration of her career or as long as the scheme is in existence.  

There is a bonus attached to every mares only bumper, maiden hurdle and beginners chase in Ireland. In recent years, we extended the scheme to include one mares only handicap hurdle a month and supported the Connollys REDMILLS EBF series with a bonus for any winning filly/mare. Last year, we have included mares only winners of one bumpers to our bonus race lists. These races are very competitive these days due to the increase in fillies returned in training since the inception of the scheme.  

The ITBA is responsible for the administration of the scheme. The bonuses are paid into the HRI account at the beginning of every month to the owners listed in the race-card on the day the filly wins.  

The maximum number of bonuses you can win is three or €17,500 if the filly is IRE bred or €15,000 for foreign breds that remain in the scheme. In a Carlsberg scenario, if your IRE bred filly wins her mares only bumper, she’ll get a €7,500 bonus without deduction along with her prize money. If she wins her Maiden Hurdle, €5,000 without deduction will be paid with the prize money and finally when she wins her Beginners Chase (after adding a little black type over hurdles) the final €5,000 without deduction will be paid with your prize money into your HRI Account. Simple!!

Application forms will be available to download from the ITBA website www.itba.ie. once the scheme is open for new entries.  Alternatively, you can contact Danielle Deveney in the office on 087 4283844/ ddeveney@itba.ie who will email or post the application form to you directly.  

Closing Date is 30th September, 2024