Eligibility and classification

(a) Registration of ownership. All horses shall be registered in current ownership either as standard or non-standard with the United States trotting association and the owner or owners shall upon request of the commission or its authorized representatives, produce a valid registration certificate issued by the United States trotting association. (b) Issuance of eligibility certificate. (1) An eligibility certificate shall be issued only to an active member of the United States trotting association in good standing and shall not be issued to an owner or horse under penalty except as provided in United States trotting association rules and regulations. (2) Eligibility certificates of corporations shall likewise be obtained in accordance with rules of the United States trotting association. (c) Classified races. (1) Classification by racing secretary. The racing secretary, according to his judgment, shall assign horses eligible for classification by gait to not more than the following classes based upon ability as demonstrated by past performances: ffa (free-for-all), jfa (junior-free-for-all), aa, a, b, c, d, and where feasible, into not more than three subclasses designated by number within classes aa, a, b, c, and d. Such assignment shall be made when a horse is first accepted for racing at the track and all such assignments and changes thereof shall be posted in the declaration room. (d) Sale or lease of horse, endorsements. When a horse is sold or leased after an eligibility certificate is issued for the current year, the seller or his authorized agent in writing shall endorse the eligibility certificate to the new owner or lessee who may use it, providing that he immediately sends the registration certificate for transfer or a copy of the lease to the United States trotting association. If the eligibility certificate is not endorsed to him, the new owner or lessee must apply to the United States trotting association for an eligibility certificate. (e) Information where horses are raced at Canadian tracks. Owners of horses who have raced at Canadian tracks not in membership with the United States trotting association shall, prior to declaration, furnish the race secretary either an eligibility certificate issued by the United States trotting association or a Canadian eligibility certificate which has been validated by the United States trotting association. In either instance, the eligibility certificate shall be completely filled out for the current year. (f) Tampering with eligibility certificates. No person shall tamper with eligibility certificates. Any winnings may be forfeited and the offending party may be fined and/or suspended if found in violation of this rule. (g) Corrections on eligibility certificates. Corrections on said certificates may be made only by one of the judges, the commission or a representative of the United States trotting association. Persons making corrections shall sign their initials and date thereon. (h) Eligibility certificates from foreign countries other than Canada. No eligibility certificate will be considered valid on a horse coming from a country other than Canada unless the following information, certified by the United States trotting association or governing body of that country from which the horse comes is furnished: (1) The number of starts during the preceding year, together with the number of firsts, seconds and thirds for each horse, and the total amount of money won during the period. (2) The number of races in which the horse has started during the current year, together with the number of firsts, seconds and thirds for each horse and the money won during this period. (3) A detailed list of the last six starts giving the date, place, track condition, post position or handicap, if it was a handicap race, distance of the race, his position at the finish, the time of the race, the driver's name, and the first three horses in the race. (i) Loss or destruction of eligibility certificate. In the event of loss or destruction of an eligibility certificate, a replacement certificate must be secured from the United States trotting association. (j) Telephonic declarations. No horse shall be declared to race except as hereinafter stated without first having an eligibility certificate placed on file with the race secretary. Telephonic declarations may be sent and accepted in accordance with rule (a) of section 12-574-B34 of these rules, without penalty provided the declarer furnishes adequate program information, but the eligibility certificate must be presented when the horse arrives at the track and before he races. The racing secretary shall check each certificate and certify to the judges as to the eligibility of all the horses. (k) Eligibility. For purposes of eligibility, a racing season or racing years shall be the calendar year. In recording winnings, gross winnings will be used and odd cents will be dropped and disregarded. (l) Date eligibility determined. Horses must be eligible when entries close, but winnings on the closing date of eligibility shall not be considered. (m) Conflicting conditions. In the event there are conflicting published conditions and neither is withdrawn, the more favorable to the nominator shall govern. (n) Standard for overnight events. The race secretary shall prescribe standards to determine whether a horse is qualified to race in overnight events at a meeting. (o) Posting of overnight conditions. Condition books containing at least three (3) days racing program shall be available to horsemen at least twenty-four (24) hours prior to taking declarations on races contained therein. Conditions for overnight events must be posted at least eighteen (18) hours before entries close. Substituted conditioned races may be used only when regularly scheduled races fail to fill. (p) Types of races to be offered. In presenting a program of racing, the race secretary shall use exclusively the following types of races: (1) Stakes and futurities. (2) Early closing and late closing events. (3) Conditioned races. (4) Classified races. (5) Claiming races. (6) Preferred races limited to the fastest horses at the meeting. These may be free-for-all races, junior free-for-all or invitationals. Horses to be used in such races shall be posted in the race secretary's office and listed with the presiding judge. Horses so listed shall not be eligible for conditioned overnight races unless the conditions specifically include horses on the preferred list. Twelve (12) such races may be conducted during a six (6) day period of racing at tracks distributing more than $100,000 in overnight purses during such period and not more than ten (10) such races shall be conducted at other tracks during a six (6) day period of racing, provided that at least two (2) of these races are for three-year-olds, four-year-olds, or combined three and four-year-olds. At tracks which race less than five (5) days per week, not more than ten (10) such races may be conducted during a six (6) day period. Purses offered for such races shall be at least fifteen (15) percent (%) higher than the highest purse offered for a condition race programmed the same racing week. No two-year-old or three-year-old will be eligible to be placed on the preferred or invitational list to race against older horses until it has won seven (7) races unless requested by the owner or authorized agent. The owner or authorized agent may withdraw such request at his discretion. (q) Limitation on conditions. Conditions shall not be written in such a way that any horse is deprived of an opportunity to race in normal preference cycle. Where the word "preferred" is used in a condition it shall not supersede date preference. Not more than three (3) "also eligible" conditions shall be used in writing the conditions of any overnight event. (r) Preference. Preference shall be given in all overnight events according to a horse's last previous purse race during the current year. The preference date on a horse that has drawn to race and been scratched is the date of the race from which he was scratched. When a horse is racing for the first time in the current year, the date of the first declaration shall be considered its last race date, and preference applied accordingly. (s) Dashes and heats. Any dash or any heat shall be considered as a separate race for the purposes of conditioned racing. (t) Named races. Named races are not permitted except for preferred races for the fastest horses at a meeting as set forth in rule (p) (6) of this section, and invitational two or three-year-old races with a purse at least fifteen (15) percent (%) higher than the highest purse offered for a conditioned race programmed the same racing week. (u) Selection or drawing of horses. For all overnight events, starters and "also eligibles" shall be drawn by lot from those properly declared in, except that a race secretary must establish a preference system for races as provided for in rule (e) of section 12-574-B34. However, where necessary to fill a card, not more than one (1) race per day may be divided into not more than two (2) divisions after preference has been applied and the divisions may be selected by the race secretary. (v) Posting requirements. Names of all horses shall be posted by gait with the following information: (1) Lifetime winnings. (2) Season's winnings. (3) Winnings at the meeting. (4) Wins during the season. (5) Age, gait and sex. (6) Previous year's earnings. (7) Date of last win. There shall be a separate posting of two, three and four-year-olds. (w) Rejection of declaration. (1) The race secretary may reject the declaration on any horse whose eligibility certificate was not in his possession on the date the condition book is published. (2) The race secretary may reject the declaration on any horse whose past performance indicates that he would be below the competitive level of other horses declared, provided the rejection does not result in a race being cancelled. Before doing so, and before post positions for the race have been drawn, the owner or trainer of such horse or horses shall be duly advised of the action about to be taken. (x) Substitute and divided races. Substitute races may be provided for each day's program and shall be so designated. A substitute race or a race divided into two (2) divisions shall be used if regularly scheduled races fail to fill. The practice of carrying races to the next day's program should be avoided. (y) Opportunities to race. A fair and reasonable racing opportunity shall be afforded both trotters and pacers in reasonable proportion from those available and qualified to race. Not more than fifty (50) percent (%) of any week's racing program shall be claiming races. (z) Qualifying races. A horse winning a qualifying race shall not be deprived by reason of such performance of his right to start in an event limited to maidens. (aa) Horses prohibited from racing. No employee or officer engaged in the active management of an association or a member of his immediate family shall race, or permit, or cause to be raced, any horse in which he has any interest, either direct or indirect, at any meeting conducted by that association.