These include increases in prizemoney for Classes 3, 4, 5 and Maiden races, a revamp of the prizemoney distribution structure and the introduction of an incentive scheme called ‘REWARD’ to benefit owners and trainers.

But the biggest surprise is the discontinuation of the S$1 million Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer Sprint (1,200m), which was introduced in 2001 to supplement the S$3 million Singapore Airlines International Cup (SAIC) over 2,000m, inaugurated a year earlier.

Also discontinued is the S$1 million Singapore Classic (2,000m), a lead-up to the SAIC. With the cancellation of the Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer Sprint and the Singapore Classic, Singapore is left with only one race open to international entries.

Also taken off the list of featue races from 2004 are the Star Prince Challenge and the Silver Plate.

Increases in Prizemoney

The prizemoney for Classes 3, 4, 5 and Maiden races will be increased by $3,000 per race from 1 January 2004. The prizemoney for Class 1 and 2 races will remain unchanged. The revised prizemoney:

The increase in prizemoney will benefit the majority of owners and their trainers as more than 80% of the horses racing in Singapore are in Class 3 and below. The breakdown of the Singapore-based horse population is:

Revamp of Prizemoney Distribution Structure and Introduction of New "REWARD"

SNTC has completed an exercise which involved revamping the prizemoney distribution structure, rationalising the number of feature races and introducing a new incentive scheme for owners and trainers of Singapore-based horses.

SNTC will in future stage 23 feature races each year.

In particular, the Singapore Airlines International Cup (SAIC), an International Group 1 event and part of the World Series Racing Championship, will be held on Sunday, 16 May 2004. Four feature races namely, the Singapore Classic, the Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer Sprint, the Star Prince Challenge and the Silver Plate will be discontinued.

With effect from 1 January 2004, 10% of the prizemoney from all races, except the SAIC, will be deducted and paid as incentives to owners and trainers of Singapore-based horses whenever they race and qualify. The net prizemoney will be distributed as follows:

REWARD

From 1 January 2004, the Club will introduce an incentive scheme for owners and trainers called ‘REWARD’ to replace the existing Starters’ Incentive Scheme. Incentives will be paid to owners and trainers of Singapore-based horses, which finish in a race and qualify for REWARD as shown below.

Under the REWARD scheme, incentive will be paid to an Owner in the form of a "credit rebate" of $500 per horse, when his horse qualifies. The "credit rebate" earned by the owner will be deducted by his trainer from his monthly training bill and the owner will only be billed for the balance. As an example, an owner whose training fee is $2,400 per horse per month will pay only $1,900, if his horse qualifies for a "credit rebate" of $500 during the month. This represents about 21% reduction of basic training fee. Should the horse race twice in a month and qualifies both times, the horse’s training fee for that month will be reduced by about 42%.

Trainers will use the "credit rebates" deducted from their owners’ bills to pay amounts owing to the Club. This will help trainers with their cash flow.

Trainers will continue to receive the present $500 per horse per run if their horses qualify in accordance with the able above.

An illustration of the new prizemoney distribution and incentives paid before and after introduction of the new scheme is shown at bottom.