From The Horse’s Mouth

BOBS – The Others Simply Don’t Compare

The Racing NSW Breeder Owner Bonus Scheme (BOBS) rewards owners with twice as much in incentive bonuses as the equivalent scheme in any other State, leaving BOBS streets ahead of the others such as Super VOBIS in Victoria or QTIS in Queensland.

Figures just published in the Australian Racing Board’s 2011 “Fact Book” show we paid out $9,877,753 for BOBS and BOBS Extra during the 2010-11 season. The interstate figures simply don’t compare.

The Victorian counterpart paid $5.58m and Queensland, with the Magic Millions bonuses included, contributed $5.92m.

The huge advantage that NSW owners have with BOBS is that bonuses are available for every race at every meeting, whether it’s in the city or at a country picnic meeting. Only Group and Listed races are not included. In Victoria and Queensland the bonuses are limited to a select number of nominated races.

That BOBS figure of almost $10m includes BOBS bonuses for 2yos and 3yos, BOBS Double-Up (where owners can double the bonus so long as they spend it on another BOBS Eligible yearling), and BOBS Extra for horses 4yo and older winning over 1600 metres and longer.

Given that success it’s hardly surprising that our juvenile races are filled almost completely by BOBS nominated horses.

The yearling sales coming up in 2012 are also dominated by the progeny of sires based in NSW and enlisted as BOBS stallions.

  • 755 of the 892 Magic Millions yearlings in Sessions 1-5 are BOBS Eligible – that’s 85%
  • The Classic Sale has 509 BOBS Eligible yearlings in a catalogue of 572 – that’s 89%
  • Our premier sale, at Easter, has 625 entries and 542 are BOBS Eligible – an impressive 87% when you consider that Inglis apply the most stringent criteria
  • Even the NZ Premier Sale has 131 BOBS Eligible yearlings in a catalogue of 516 – that’s a surprising 25%.

So if you are thinking of buying or leasing a racehorse, make sure it’s by a NSW stallion and BOBS Eligible. If you don’t, your horse might still turn out to be a winner, but you’ll be a loser by missing out on many thousands of bonus dollars.