Latham, NY --- The Harness Horse Breeders of New York State has received numerous calls concerning the new Excelsior conditions. We will try to clarify the changes for everyone.
If you race in the NYSS #53, or #54, Excelsior “A” or County Fair levels you may go up and down at will. There are no restrictions on what level you race at, you may pick and choose at random. This is the same as last year.
Excelsior “B” was created to allow horses to find a level of competition to learn and mature at while earning money. To achieve this, the rules for Excelsior “B” are you may start higher up in NYSS or Excelsior “A” and drop down to “B” if that is the level you need to compete at.
If you race at the Excelsior “B” level you can stay there all season. If your horse improves you can move up to NYSS or Excelsior “A” with the only stipulation being that when you go up you cannot return to the “B” level.
Your other option is to race between County Fair and Excelsior “B” with no restriction.
Excelsior “B” level horses do not receive points and there is no final.
The NYSS points program (www.nysspoints.com) shows points, earnings and starts in one column for Excelsior “A” and earnings and starts with no points for Excelsior “B” in the second column, listed by track.
If anyone needs more information, please call the Harness Horse Breeders office at 518.785.5858.