Harness Racing Victoria has announced a new preferential barrier draw (PBD) variation, effective from 1 April, which is designed to encourage more even, competitive racing.
Following industry feedback, the HRV Racing Office will introduce a revised approach in selected races, where horses are drawn in rating-based groups, with each group drawn randomly.
- Example: NR 41–45 PBD / NR - NR (41–43) / NR (44–45)
- In this example, horses rated 41–43 are drawn randomly as a group, followed by horses rated 44–45. This approach helps balance competitiveness within a race while maintaining the integrity of a random barrier draw.
HRV remains committed to innovating its racing product and working collaboratively with industry stakeholders. The update builds on preferential barrier draw capabilities already applied in South Australian programs and has been implemented and tested within RISE (Racing Information Sports Enterprise).
