Plus 10 Offers Buyer Incentives

Plus 10 Offers Buyer Incentives… 
By Emma Berry 
Over the last few years, several ‘self-help’ incentive schemes have been introduced at bloodstock sales in order to stimulate demand for British and Irish yearlings following the slump in trade caused by recession and over production. Opinion remains divided as to how beneficial each scheme has been, but one factor on which most people in the industry agreed was the need for a single scheme to replace the Racing Post Yearling Bonus Scheme and the British Owners and Breeders Incentive Scheme (BOBIS), which have been running in tandem for the last couple of seasons. 
The former–which was open to any entrant in a yearling sale and required the vendor to make the initial registration payment followed by another from the purchaser–rewarded the owner of the winner of one of its maiden races across Europe with a single £10,000 (or equivalent) bonus. BOBIS was solely for the offspring of British-based mares or stallions, and offered bonuses of up to £10,000 depending on the class of the race, with the prize being split between owner (60%), breeder (30%) and jockey, trainer and stable staff (10%). 
Launched just prior to the start of the British yearling sales this August, the new £5.5 million Plus 10 Scheme builds on BOBIS with its inclusion of the offspring of Irish-domiciled stallions and mares. Funding still comes largely from owners and breeders with additional financial backing provided by the British Horseracing Authority, Horserace Betting Levy Board, Horse Racing Ireland, Goffs, Tattersalls and DBS. Eligible horses will be able to compete for 460 bonus races for 2-year-olds in Britain and Ireland in 2015, with a planned expansion to 550 races for 2- and 3-year-olds in 2016 once the other two schemes have been fully wound up. In common with BOBIS, there’s no limit on the number of bonuses each horse can win and the prizes are paid out on a sliding scale between owner, breeder, trainer, jockey and stable staff. 
Despite widespread calls for a single scheme, it’s fair to say that Plus 10 has not been met with universal approval, and in particular a number of large Irish consignors have not registered their horses in this inaugural year. The three-tier registration process–at foal, yearling and 2-year-old stage, allowing for the fact that a significant number of horses are pinhooked as foals and with the aim of rewarding the owners of winning horses at various stages in their lives–has caused some confusion, while the launch of the scheme so close to the DBS Premier Sales and Silver Sales meant that the logos for eligible horses were unable to be printed in the catalogues. 
At the recent two-day select section of the Tattersalls Ireland September Yearling Sale, horses eligible for Plus 10 races accounted for €2,055,000 of the total aggregate of €7,427,000, but the take-up appears to be higher for the Tattersalls October Sale in Newmarket, with 336 of 472 lots in Book 1 already registered, as well as 531 of 828 Book 2 yearlings and 329 of 590 in Book 3. 
Plus 10 was also given a significant boost at its launch when it was revealed that Darley had registered more than 300 foals for the scheme. Sheikh Mohammed’s bloodstock advisor John Ferguson said at the time, “We believe Plus 10 will positively impact breeders large and small due to the incentive it offers people to invest in British and Irish bloodstock and by rewarding those who opt to race locally. As a mark of our support, Darley has registered 332 foals into the bonus scheme, ensuring our clients have the opportunity to enhance their racing returns.” 
Buyers of yearlings this year should be aware that a Plus 10-eligible horse may have only been signed up for the initial foal stage. Different colored rump stickers at the sales (blue for foal stage and yellow for foal and yearling stage) denote each horse’s level of eligibility, and those yearlings currently only eligible to the first stage can be signed up as yearlings by the new owner up to Dec. 15. For those horses whose breeders have already paid £150 or €187.50 for the initial (foal stage) registration, yearling registration costs £200 or €250, with a final payment of £350 or €437.50 required by Mar. 31, 2015. Further details can be found at www.plus10bonus.com.