Britain’s Point-to-Point Authority (PPA) urges owners and licensed trainers to consider allowing horses to race on in the amateur sport when signing non-racing agreements.
A link to this article will also appear in this week's National Trainers Federation newsletter and is part of a collaboration between the NTF and the PPA to raise awareness of point-to-pointing among licensed yards.
The BHA form ‘NRA1 – Registration of a Non-Racing Agreement’ requires the seller to tick one of two boxes. The first rules horses out of all future racing, the second states ‘with the exception of a point-to-point’. The PPA points out that countless ex-hurdlers and chasers have gained extended careers – often with great success – by switching into point-to-pointing, but it believes some horses are denied the opportunity simply through oversight when signing NRA1. An electronic download of the form is currently being simplified by IT specialists, although a paper equivalent is also available.
Jake Exelby of the PPA says: “More than 2,300 horses were subject to NRAs in 2023, of which about 45 per cent were jumpers. You have to make some extrapolations, but if just an additional ten per cent of those jumpers were allowed to run in point-to-points, another 100 horses would be able to prolong their racing careers.”
Hawkhurst winning with Will Biddick (Neale Blackburn)
Hawkhurst was the subject of a non-racing agreement when, after 16 winless races with Paul Nicholls and then Ben Haslam, he was sold to Oxfordshire trainer Alan Hill. A representative of previous owner J P McManus had ticked the box stating the horse could not run in any race with the exception of point-to-points. Hill says: “He’s won 16 point-to-points and, while there have been one or two times when it would have been nice to run him in a hunters’ chase, he’s given us a lot of fun.
“The important thing is that he’s had a longer career and, while he can be quirky, he loves racing. We spoke to Frank Berry [McManus’s racing manager] after the horse had run in points for a couple of seasons, told him how well it was going and he said ‘That’s great – the boss will be pleased’.”
Hill says he understands why some owners are reluctant to see horses they once owned running under rules, but adds: “For such owners the stipulation that their horses can only run in point-to-points is a good one. Full marks to the person who came up with the idea.”
Alan Hill: full marks (Carl Evans)
Conversely some racehorse owners move their horses into point-to-point yards but retain ownership. Southfield Theatre (pictured above with Lily Bradstock) won more than £150,000 in prizemoney while racing from Paul Nicholls’ stable, but at the age of ten and after a series of underwhelming races he was switched into point-to-pointing by owner Angela Yeoman.
Now in his sixth season in the sport, he has won 18 of 29 point-to-points for trainer Sara Bradstock and became national champion at the age of 14 when landing eight races.
Veterinary surgeon Jo Strong of Lambourn Equine Vets says there are a number of reasons why hurdlers and chasers cease racing under rules. Strong says: “It may be due to injury, or because it is felt they cannot win off their handicap mark, or they might be owned by a syndicate and the people involved feel the horse has done as much as it can [or they want to disperse the syndicate].
“These horses are talented but may need freshening up and point-to-pointing has a number of small or family yards which offer a more bespoke training programme, involving hacking and hunting as well as point-to-pointing.
“There tends to be less pressure, which suits horse prone to ulcers or behaviourally idiosyncratic horses.”
Footnote: Retraining of Racehorses (RoR), in a joint-sponsorship with The Jockey Club, backs a series of veteran horse point-to-points, but does not steer hurdlers and chasers towards point-to-pointing. RoR reasons that one-time handicappers whose owners are happy to let them race on in point-to-points will put their horse into an auction or sell privately. They are happy to give retraining advice when a point-to-pointer is retired from the sport.