Effective Jan. 1, 2025, the North American International Cataloguing Standards Committee (NAICSC) will increase the minimum Race Quality Scores (RQS) for non-Listed black-type races in SITA catalogues due to the gradual growth in the ratio of those races to the total number of races run, the organization said via a release by The Jockey Club News Service.
The RQS is a composite number compiled by using speed figures for the first four finishers in each race over three years. Four speed figures are used to compile the RQS and are provided by Bloodstock Research Information Systems (BRIS), Daily Racing Form (Beyer), Equibase and Thoro-Graph.
The non-Listed black-type races are divided into six age/sex categories for the purpose of determining black type using the RQS. They are 2-year-old males, 2-year-old females, 3-year-old males, 3-year-old females, 3/up males, and 3/up females. Each age/sex category has a minimum RQS that must be achieved for a stakes race to be awarded the black type designation.
The current minimum and revised RQS for each age/sex category is listed below:
Age/Sex Min. RQS Revised RQS (2025)
2-year-old males 35.0 36.8
2-year-old females 29.0 30.5
3-year-old males 54.0 56.7
3-year-old females 45.3 47.6
3/up males 63.7 66.9
3/up females 55.8 58.6
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