Under the Australian Harness Racing Rules (AHRR), connections must update a horse’s status within 24 hours whenever its location or person in charge changes, including during spelling. Trainers must keep every horse’s status accurate at all times. Penalties apply for failing to maintain current statuses, including retirement or death notifications.
Harness Racing Australia (HRA) will shortly run automated updates for horses deemed inactive in HRA databases. These horses will be marked Retired or Deceased where connections have failed to respond or keep records current.
Inactive means the horse has not received a status update and has not raced, trialled, bred, or been transferred within the relevant timeframe. Timeframes vary by age, gender, and proposed status but every horse must be updated at LEAST every 6 months. This process targets horses no longer active in the industry where connections have not formally notified HRA.
If your horse may be classed as inactive but is not Retired or Deceased, you must process a Status Update on HarnessWeb before 30 August 2024.
Do this now for any horse on an extended spell, in training, intended to return to racing, or any broodmare not foaled in recent years but intended for breeding this season. Select the correct status, including Spelling, Racing, In Training, or Retired from Racing for breeding stock. Failure to update may result in the horse being automatically retired from racing and breeding. Reinstatement is possible, but the AHRR requires veterinary clearances and paperwork. Avoid this burden by updating the status now.
HarnessWeb’s horse status feature launched on 28 January 2021 and the enhanced traceability rules were introduced in 2023, these are not new processes, and all participants should be familiar with them. HarnessWeb lets participants complete horse status updates online in a few clicks, or you may contact your state controlling body for assistance.
Connections must keep Standardbred details current. Traceability is essential to the sport’s social licence, risk management, and protection of the industry’s most important asset: the horses.
