Fillies & Mares Breeders Credit Scheme (FMBCS)
The Fillies and Mares Breeding Credit Scheme is paused from 1 September 2026.
Wins up to and including 31 August 2026 earn credit in the normal way. From 1 September, while the scheme is on hold, a win no longer earns a new credit.
The scheme has not been terminated. It is on hold. HRNZ and the NZSBA are working through the best strategies for fillies and mares racing and their transition to the breeding barn, and the pause gives that work the room to be done properly. The scheme came into effect in 2024 and has paid out $1,966,650 in two years, so there is a substantial body of experience to review before deciding what comes next.
What has changed in the terms. Credits earned before 1 September 2026 remain claimable in full, on the same terms, but there is now a hard closing date. Every credit must be claimed by 28 February 2028. The existing expiry rule still applies, being five breeding seasons from the end of the racing season in which the mare last earned a credit, and the earlier of the two dates governs. After 28 February 2028 any unclaimed credit lapses, with no payment or compensation. In practice the window for spending a credit is the 2026/27 and 2027/28 breeding seasons.
How the scheme works
Every time a filly or mare wins a race in New Zealand, $750 plus GST accrues against her. It is earned on all winning races, not just fillies and mares races, up to a cap of $6,000, being eight wins. It is a breeding credit rather than a cash payment. It can be drawn down against the direct costs of breeding her: the service fee, semen, working fees, and veterinary breeding packages and costs. Transport and grazing are not covered.
The credit attaches to the mare, not to the owner. Sell her or lease her within New Zealand and it travels with her, unless a racing-only lease says otherwise. Export her, or lose her, and it lapses. She must be located and served in New Zealand for a claim to be made, and a credit can only be used on the mare who earned it. Credits held by different mares cannot be pooled.
A claim can only be made once she has finished racing. Until then the credit sits on her account and accumulates.
If the service fee is higher than the credit you pay the difference and claim the credit portion. If it is lower, you claim what you spent and the balance stays on her account, and a credit can be split across several breeding seasons.
Making a claim
Claims go through My HRNZ under My Horses, then Fillies and Mares Breeding Credit. You will need the stud invoice naming the mare and the stallion, proof that you paid it, and confirmation of a 42 day positive test. Where frozen semen is used, the claim can be made once a live foal is produced, or on payment of the service fee if that comes first. Payment is made on the 20th of the month following. For a multi-owned mare only one claim per service is lodged, and the payment is split by registered share.
If a horse is disqualified from the race that earned the credit, the credit transfers to the horse promoted into that placing. Dead heats earn a full credit each. And the CEO of HRNZ can exercise discretion where special circumstances or hardship can be established, so a situation that does not fit the rules is worth raising rather than writing off.
What to do now
Check what your mare is holding. Log in to My HRNZ, or get in touch and we will look it up for you. If she has a balance, the decision worth making this spring is which mating you intend to spend it on. The claim window closes at the end of February 2028, and that realistically means the 2026/27 or 2027/28 seasons.
The full terms and conditions and an owner FAQ covering the pause in detail are linked below. If your circumstances are not covered there, or the paperwork does not quite line up, contact Cameron Kirkwood at HRNZ on [email protected] or Brad Reid at NZSBA on [email protected] before you submit. There is usually a workable answer.