German and Italian Blacktype races remain under pressure

On Tuesday, the European Pattern Committee (EPC) announced the revision of the Blacktype races for the coming year. There were no changes to the Group races for Germany, which is certainly pleasing. However, two Listed races have lost their Listed status:

• The Diana Trial in Baden-Baden

• The GP of the Hannoversche Volksbank in Hanover

Even if a certain dynamic in the area of downgrades is always present and is also indispensable for the principle of breeding tests, the listed races in particular are viewed very critically. And even if German horse racing has once again gotten off lightly this year, at least 7 races were declared "Races at risk of downgrade" for the 2024 season. The fact that more races have not lost their status is certainly often thanks to the qualitatively not uninteresting foreign starters.

Historically, a lot has certainly gone wrong in the announcements in recent years. If a horse was successful in Handicap II with maximum GAG, there were hardly any logical starting options in the handicap. These horses often switched directly to German listed or group races or had to start abroad. Often, however, these horses did not yet have the necessary quality at this point to successfully master this step into black type races. As a result, some listed races and some group races have certainly not been of the highest quality on several occasions.

The development in neighboring Italy is also worrying. In 2024, the EPC has already downgraded two group races there and withdrawn the listed status of five listed races. This year, two group races were again downgraded and 9 (!) listed races were withdrawn from the listed status. Especially in view of the many German starters in Italy in the past, we in Germany will also feel the effects and will certainly find fewer mares with Italian black type in the European auction catalogs in the distant future.

As always, the risk races have been defined for 2025. The leader is still Italy, which once again has to fight for its status in 9 races. In Germany, despite everything, 6 races are still defined as "races at risk of downgrade", mainly the sprint races alongside the Derby and Diana. Deutscher Galopp has now also imposed a program to strengthen these races. When you consider that these races have been downgraded almost continuously for years, it seems to me that urgent measures have unfortunately been neglected in recent years.

So it remains exciting and certainly important to keep the Listed and Group races apart from Derby and Diana at the necessary quality level.

JS