Sec. 09.10.02.53-1. Sire Stakes Program for 4 and 5 Year Olds

A. Definitions.

(1) In this regulation, the following terms have the same meanings as provided in Regulation .53 of this chapter.

(2) Terms Defined.

(a) "Advisory Committee";

(b) "Breeder";

(c) "Owner"; and

(d) "USTA".

B. Eligibility for Participation. For a horse to be eligible to participate in a race that is a part of the Sires Stakes Program for 4 and 5-Year-Olds, the horse shall:

(1) Have been nominated as a yearling to the Sire Stakes Program; and

(2) Be registered with the Advisory Committee Administrator by February 15 as a 4-year-old or a 5- year- old to race that year.

C. Sustaining Fees.

(1) Except as provided in §C(2) of this regulation, the following sustaining fees are required by the following dates for the maintenance of a horse's eligibility:

(a) A sustaining fee as a 4-year-old, $120 and a completed sustaining form by February 15 of that year; or

(b) A sustaining fee as a 5-year-old, $120 and a completed sustaining form by February 15 of that year.

(2) If the March 15 2-year-old payment and the February 15 3-year-old payment were made, no sustaining fee is due.

(3) Except as provided under §C(2) of this regulation, a horse shall be disqualified from participation in any races during the current year sponsored by this Program if there is a failure to make a timely payment of a fee under this section.

D. Time and Method of Payment.

(1) To be timely, the appropriate fee shall be:

(a) Delivered to the Advisory Committee Administrator by the designated due date; or

(b) Mailed bearing a postmark which is on or before the due date.

(2) If the due date for a payment falls on a weekend or a holiday observed in this State, the payment shall be timely if:

(a) Delivered to the Advisory Committee Administrator by the next business day; or

(b) Mailed bearing a postmark which is not later than the next business day.

(3) Exceptions may not be made to the requirements of this section.

E. Declaration Fee.

(1) A declaration fee, as prescribed in this regulation, is required to be made by the post time for the race into which the horse is declared.

(2) The declaration fee is $100.

F. The owner of the horse is responsible for the declaration fee, and, if the owner of the horse is not the declarer of the horse, the person making the declaration is also responsible for the declaration fee.

G. Eligibility to Start.

(1) A horse, otherwise eligible to participate in this program, may not be declared in to start unless the horse has at least one satisfactory charted performance line at the time set for declaring in.

(2) A satisfactory charted performance line is a performance line:

(a) Credited to a horse after the horse starts from behind a starting gate in a qualifying or purse race within 45 days of the Sires Stakes Program for 4 and 5 Year-Olds race in which the horse is to participate; and

(b) Which shows that the horse has completed the race without a break, other than a break caused by interference or broken equipment, at, or within, the following times according to the horse's age and gait:

(i) For events conducted on a 5/8 mile track:

Age and Gait	Time
4 and 5-year-old pace	2:06
4 and5-year-old trot	2:08

(ii) For events conducted on a 1/2 mile track:

Age and Gait	Time
4 and 5-year-old pace	2:07
4 and5-year-old trot	2:09

H. Use of Fees.

(1) All sustaining fees, less administrative costs, shall be added to the purse monies for this program.

(2) All declaration fees shall be added to the purse of the event for which the fees were paid.

I. Types of Races.

(1) Provisions may be made for the running of the following races at a distance of 1 mile, to be known as the Sires Stakes Program for 4 and 5-Year-Olds, which shall be open only to those horses eligible to participate in the Sires Stakes Program for 4 and 5-Year-Olds:

(a) 4- and 5-year-old pace for colts and fillies; and

(b) 4- and 5-year-old trot for colts and fillies.

(2) Upon the recommendation of the Advisory Committee, the races provided for in §I(1)(a) and (b) of this regulation may be separated into races for colts only and fillies only.

J. If more horses are declared to start in an event than can fit on the starting gate, the licensee holding the event shall split the event and divide the purse equally, except the declaration fees shall be allocated based on the number of horses in each division.

K. The various age, sex, and gait divisions established under §I of this regulation may, from time to time, be eliminated by the Commission upon the recommendation of the Advisory Committee.

L. Each age, sex, and gait division, depending upon the availability of funds, may not be raced more than three times per year.

M. The purse amounts and the number of times per year each race is offered for the races authorized under §I of this regulation shall be determined by the Advisory Committee and approved by the Commission.

N. Breeder Awards.

(1) 10 percent Breeder Award, based upon the amount of the purse distributed, shall be divided between the dam and sire of a horse, if the horse:

(a) Receives purse monies from a race provided for under §I of this regulation; and

(b) Meets the applicable eligibility requirements set forth for registration in the Foaled Stakes Program under Regulation .43 of this chapter, or in the Sire Stakes Program under Regulation .53 of this chapter.

(2) Of the 10 percent awarded under §N(1) of this regulation:

(a) 8 percent shall be awarded to the dam of the horse; and

(b) 2 percent shall be awarded to the sire of the horse.

(3) The awards, as apportioned under §N(2) of this regulation, shall be paid to the:

(a) Individual or entity who was the owner of record with the USTA of the dam and sire at the time the horse was bred; or

(b) Lessee of the horse, rather than the owner, if the:

(i) Dam or the sire, respectively, was leased at the time the breeding took place; and

(ii) Lease was on record with the USTA at that time.

O. Post positions for all races shall be determined by lot.

P. Gait.

(1) A horse's gait shall be specified and accompany each sustaining fee.

(2) A change of a horse's specified gait may be made at the time the horse is declared into a race.

(3) Any payments made before a change in the specified gait of a horse shall be credited to the races for the gait originally specified.

Q. Time.

(1) The time for starters to declare into a Sires Stakes Program for 4 and 5-Year-Olds race shall be the same as the time established by the race track for declaring into an overnight race.

(2) If the race track schedules the time for drawing into an overnight race more than 5 days before the running of the races, a Sires Stakes Program for 4 and 5-Year-Olds race may not be drawn with these races, but shall be drawn at a time that is not more than 5 days before the scheduled running of the race.

R. Purse Distribution.

(1) The purse in each race shall be divided in the following manner:

(a) 50 percent, 25 percent, 12 percent, 8 percent, and 5 percent to the first five finishers, respectively, if five or more horses finish;

(b) 50 percent, 25 percent, 15 percent, and 10 percent to the first four finishers, respectively, if only four horses finish;

(c) 55 percent, 30 percent, and 15 percent to the first three finishers, respectively, if only three horses finish;

(d) 65 percent and 35 percent to the first two finishers, respectively, if only two horses finish; or

(e) 65 percent to the finisher and 35 percent remains with the gait, if only one horse finishes.

(2) Unless the Commission eliminates the races for one of the gaits in accordance with §K of this regulation, the purse monies shall be divided equally between races for trotters and races for pacers.

S. With the advice of the Advisory Committee, the Commission may allow the entire Sires Stakes Program for 4 and 5-Year-Olds races to be held at any race track in Maryland.