Frequently Asked Questions
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Together with the Terms and Conditions of Website Use (the Terms) and the Great British Bonus Scheme Rules (the Rules), these FAQs govern your registration with, and participation in, the Great British Bonus Scheme (the GBB).
About
The Great British Bonus Scheme (GBB) incentivises and rewards the breeding, buying and racing of British-bred fillies. Owners, breeders and winning connections of each horse can win a share of up to £20,000 per eligible race.
More than 3,000 races will be eligible for GBB in an average year, of which around 550 are fillies- or mares-only race offering maximum bonuses of £20,000.
The Great British Bonus Scheme is funded by the Horserace Betting Levy Board (HBLB) and registration fee income from owners and breeders.
By offering large bonuses on top of prize money, the Great British Bonus Scheme incentivises investment in British-bred fillies and supports the British racing programme. It also improves the demand for British-bred fillies at the sales and ensures that more fillies are tested as racehorses, thus underpinning selection for breeding on the basis of racing ability.
The Great British Bonus Scheme is an industry initiative, where an element of self-funding is integral. The larger bonuses available to owners and breeders of registered fillies would not be possible without an element of self-help.
GBB is generously funded by the HBLB, but there is a total bonus cap of £3.5 million per annum, so it is currently only affordable to offer the larger bonuses in the (approx.) 550 fillies-and mares-only races at this time. The TBA and the British Horseracing Authority (BHA) have worked hard in recent years to improve the fillies-only race programme to provide greater opportunities for filly foals. While it is appropriate to reward wins by fillies in races open to both sexes, it is important not to take actions that might undermine the fillies-only programme. This is why these races will carry bigger bonuses.
Eligibility
The scheme is open to GB-bred fillies on the Flat and Jumps who qualify under the following categories: 100% GBB: Foals born in GB sired by a stallion standing in GB or 50% GBB: Foals born in GB sired by a stallion standing abroad
You can visit greatbritishbonus.co.uk for further information on eligibility or use the Weatherbys Helpline number listed on the website.
Bonuses
Yes. A registered filly can win multiple bonuses in eligible races, subject to a total cap of £100,000 for 100% GBB fillies and £50,000 for 50% GBB fillies. The other limiting factor is age. On the Flat, a filly can win as a 2YO and a 3YO. Over jumps, a mare can win up to and including the age of eight.
Bonuses are paid in the following proportions:
- 65% to the registered owner at the time of the fillys win*
- 10% to the registered breeder of the foal
- 10% to the registered owner at the time the yearling registration fee was paid
- 7.5% to the trainer*
- 5% to the jockey*
- 2.5% to the stable staff*
*Payable only when all three stages have been registered
Bonuses for owners, trainers, jockeys and stable staff will be paid via Weatherbys, directly into relevant BHA invoice account or Weatherbys bank account. For the payment of bonuses to breeders and yearling registered owners (with General Stud Book), winners will be notified by Weatherbys within 7 days and must claim their bonus by contacting Weatherbys within 180 days of the race win. Winners must make sure registered email addresses are up to date and check junk / spam folders. If a winner has not been contacted by Weatherbys more than 7 days after the race win, winners should contact Weatherbys to claim their bonus.
Weatherbys will pay the current listed racing owner, which is not necessarily the legal owner of the filly. If a legal owner wishes to receive any bonus, this would have to be arranged between the lessor and lessee in a separate agreement.
In the event of a walkover or void race, no GBB bonus will be payable.
Flat fillies
Bonuses can be won by eligible fillies in the following Weight for Age races:
- 2YO All Class 2, 3, 4 and 5 Maiden, Novice and Conditions fillies only and Open races for 2YO and 2YO & above.
- 3YO All Class 2, 3, 4 and 5 Maiden, Novice and Conditions fillies only and Open races for 3YO and 3YO & above.
The split is determined by the type of races being supported by the Great British Bonus Scheme. As it applies only to Maiden, Novice and Conditions races, the existing race programme is the driving force.
At present, it is not possible financially to support a greater number of races. Targeting a smaller, but still substantial, number allows the scheme to offer large bonuses that will attract the attention of potential owners of registered fillies.
No. The reason for this is that funding is necessarily limited, and the BHA and TBA believe there are already adequate incentives in place for Flat fillies to run in these races.
For fillies to qualify for Flat-race bonuses, the following dates must be met:
- Stage 1 Foal registration due by 30 September in the foal year
- Stage 2 Yearling registration due by 31 May in the yearling year
- Stage 3 Owner registration due by 28 February in the 2YO year
Jump fillies and mares
The Great British Bonus scheme is based on the same principles as apply to Flat fillies and has replaced NH MOPS, which offered smaller incentives in fewer races. GBB bonuses are available to qualified NH mares up to and including the age of eight.
Weight for Age and Handicap races, both mares-only and open to both sexes, in the following categories:
- Class 1-5: Standard NH Flat races
- Class 4: Novice Junior Hurdles
- Class 1, 2, 3 & 4: Juvenile, Novice and Maiden Hurdles
- Class 1, 2, 3 & 4: Novice and Beginner Chases
- Class 1 & 2: Hurdles not restricted to Juveniles, Novices and Maidens
- Class 1 & 2: Chases not restricted to Juveniles, Novices and Maidens
Registration Flat
There are three registration stages for a filly to qualify for Flat-race bonuses; as a foal, as a yearling and as a two-year-old.
For fillies to qualify for Flat-race bonuses, the following dates must be met:
- Stage 1 Foal registration due by 30 September in the foal year
- Stage 2 Yearling registration due by 31 May in the yearling year
- Stage 3 Owner registration due by 28 February in the 2YO year
Registration Jump
Fillies born between 2016 and 2018 and registered for NH MOPS have been marked as fully qualified that is, all stages marked as paid. Foal and yearling stages for all foals between 2016 and 2018 will have the breeder marked as the payee in GBB.
To qualify for Jumps-race bonuses, fillies born in 2019 and beyond the following dates must be met:
- Stage 1 Foal registration due by 30 September in the foal year
- Stage 2 Yearling registration due by 31 May in the yearling year
- Stage 3 Owner registration due by 31 August in the 3YO year
Registration General
All registrations can be made on the websitegreatbritishbonus.co.uk or via the Weatherbys Stud Bookphone line.
Stage 1 (foal registrations) will be available when the registrationperiod opens (from 1st July).
Stage 2 and 3 registrations are available at any time after 1st Julyup until each stage closes. You can register for all three stagesat one time no discount is offered for this.
The following fees are required to be fully paid by the dates specified above:
- Foal registration £250 for TBA members, £450 for non-TBA members*
- Yearling registration £250
- Owner registration £450
*Registrant must own at least 50% of the filly to qualify for the TBA discount.Discount codes will be given to full TBA members towards the end of Juneeach year. A new discount code will be provided each year. Misuse of discountcodes could result in the filly being removed from the scheme. TBA discountapplies to stage 1 only.
Both registrations and bonus winnings are outside the scope of VAT.
If further detail is required, please contact the scheme via email [email protected].
Yes. A filly can be registered for both the Flat and Jumps elements Great British Bonus FAQs of the Great British Bonus. However, registration for one does not qualify the filly for the other; two separate foal, yearling and ownership registrations have to be paid. The second fee for both foal and yearling nominations will be discounted by £50. However, the above closing dates will still apply, except that the Jumps ownership registration must be made before the filly first races in any race under the Rules of Racing (Flat and Jumps). A filly that has raced under the Rules of Racing cannot be registered for Jumps Stage 3, but can still win prizes for the registrants at the first two stages. If a filly is registered for one code, she may not switch her registration to the other after the foal registration deadline has passed.
When a registration stage has closed, it is not possible to pay the registration fee retrospectively. However, if the horse does win a GBB race, you will receive the proportion of the bonus owed to the registration stage that you have paid.
No. Refunds will not be offered for any reason.
Yes. The breeder may pay for the yearling registration earlier than the closing date.
Immediate alterations can be made to registrations only if the relevant deadline has not yet passed. Please contact the scheme or Weatherbys Helpdesk for assistance. Once a deadline has passed, you have 28 days to appeal about your registration and ask for a change to be made. No alterations can be made after these 28 days have passed.
You can visit greatbritishbonus.co.uk to check the eligibility. Click on the Register a horse button and enter the fillys name (or the dams name in the case of unnamed fillies) and the year of foaling.
No. It is not possible to enter any filly after 28 February in its two-year-old year. To enter or not is a decision that the owner of the breeze up filly must make at the 2YO closing date. If a filly is sold with a paid-up owners registration, the person selling her can expect to see an uplift in her value in the sale ring, and he/she will benefit from appropriate bonuses if he/she is the Yearling registrant.
Yes. If the filly has been bought with a foal registration fully paid, but the yearling registration not paid, then the person that is the registered owner at that point, and completes and pays for the yearling stage registration, will be eligible for appropriate bonuses.
Yes. Advanced registrations are accepted online.
Late entry will only be accepted if one or more of the following conditional precedents apply:
- Access to the GBB website and the Weatherbys Helpline is not available. Should this apply, registrants must show evidence of genuine attempts to register/ call via appropriately dated emails or calls to either the TBA or Weatherbys Helpline prior to the registration deadline.
- The GBB website does not accept registration and/or payment. There must be evidence that attempts to register on the website have been made and emails or calls to TBA and Helpline prior to the deadline.
- Note that in the unlikely situation that that he GBB website does not accept registration and/or payment, you can call the Weatherbys Helpline to register and pay over the phone which must be done prior to the deadline expiring. There must be evidence that attempts to register on the website and emails or calls to TBA and Weatherbys Helpline have been made, prior to the deadline.
- Delayed foal registration to the General Stud Book and therefore the foal does not appear as eligible on GBB website. This will only apply if the delay is demonstrably outside the control of the breeder or registrant. Weatherbys should be allowed fair time to process registrations so please note that blood samples should be received by Weatherbys at least 21 days before the deadline. Covering certificates should be submitted to Weatherbys at least 7 days before deadline.
Applications for late entry must be made via email to the scheme manager with full details of the breeder/registrant, together with a short explanation of the circumstances that apply and any evidence requested.
No applications for late registration will be considered 28 days after the original closure date.
Any successful GBB registration appeal will take effect as from the registration deadline date and can only be processed by the same owner both at the time of registration and the appeal date. Registration is not transferable if between those dates ownership has changed.
Change of ownership
Yes. Should a filly change hands, the owners share of any Great British Bonus scheme win will be paid out to the registered racing owner and other connections at the time of a qualified fillys win. The share of bonuses for the foal and yearling registration stages are not affected by this and are payable to the registered General Stud Book owner at the time the registration stage is paid.