HRA is pleased to announce that, in an effort to improve efficiency, the industry now has the ability to complete Horse Deregistration and Deceased forms online directly in HarnessWeb.
It is a rule of harness racing that all horses must be deregistered once a decision is made to no longer race or breed from them, and in the case of a horse dying, that notification must be made within 7 days or within 24-hours if the horse has raced/trialed/been nominated within the previous 14 days.
The deregistration process does not affect a horses eligibility to compete in Standardbred equestrian events or in any way affect their performance record in the studbook – however, it is vitally important for HRA to be able to accurately manage and track Standardbreds throughout their lives and understand at what stage they are leaving the industry and why.
HRA Equine Health and Welfare Co Ordinator, Kathleen Mullan welcomed the news, ‘HRA are extremely grateful to RISE for their efforts in making this happen. As with all new initiatives it can take some getting used to and HRA recognise that being able to complete the process online is far more efficient for our busy industry and we hope to see more timely and accurate notifications coming in as a result.’
HRA strongly encourage industry participants to ensure they are completing all transfers, be they ownership transfers or horses which have died or retired in a timely and thorough manner. The information gathered allows HRA to track any trends that may need further attention such as injury rates and retirement statistics and accurate horse population data will greatly assist in future planning and dynamic programming of racing.
Australian Harness Racing is recognised as leading the way in many aspects of equine health and welfare. This is another step of continuous improvement in the important areas of horse traceability and good welfare outcomes.
