Interested in nominating a litter for the IGCA Futurity Stake? Click below to request a nomination form.
Rules & Regulations of the Futurity Stake
Introduction
The purpose of the Futurity Stake is to reward the breeder who is making a dedicated effort to breed IGs that exemplify the Italian Greyhound Standard in health, temperament, and conformation. For this reason, the Stakes are weighted in favor of the breeder, who is the one who chooses the sire, nominates the bitch before whelping, and often even pays the entry fees for the individual puppies as well.
However, recognition must also be given to the sire of the litter for his genetic contribution, and to the role of the owners of the individual Italian Greyhound in developing it to its greatest inherited potential. The quality of the individual animal will be the result of the combined efforts of these three. The division of the Stakes is designed to reflect this.
Description
The Futurity Stake shall be held in conjunction with each IGCA National Specialty, or on another day that show weekend, selected by the Board of Directors. Should the IGCA Specialty not be held within the time limits applying to the Futurity Rules, the Board of Directors shall decide the disposition of the monies accrued toward the Futurity Stake.
The Futurity Stake is open only to breeders who are active members, in good standing, of the Italian Greyhound Club of America. The Futurity Stake is entered by nomination of the litter. The get from this litter are eligible to compete in the first annual Futurity Stake held on or after the date they reach six months of age, and only in this stake.
Procedure for Nominating Litters
Step One
The nomination must be made on an official Futurity entry form which can be obtained by contacting the Futurity Chairman OR downloaded from the IGCA’s web site. The Futurity Chairman will supply the official Nomination Form to the breeder if the form is requested to be sent by US Postal Service. It is recommended that a breeder request a form as soon as the breeding takes place to allow time to mail form to the Futurity Chairman if they do not wish to download the form from the Internet. E-mail submissions will not be allowed. The breeder shall be supplied with a confirmation of the receipt of nomination of the litter.
Step Two
The Futurity Chairman shall mail a form to the breeder who will supply the Futurity Chairman with information of the Whelping date, number and sex division of the litter nominated. This form must be returned via U.S. Postal service within one month of the whelping date. There is no fee needed to accompany this form. However, a late fee of $20.00 will be accessed to any forms not received within the specified time. Late fees are determined by the post marked date on the envelope, which must be dated no later than midnight the day prior to the notification requirements.
Step Three
The Futurity Chairman will send out individual Puppy Nomination forms for each puppy in the nominated litter. The ownership of the individual puppy does not affect its eligibility for the Futurity stake. This means that puppies sold or placed remain eligible. All nominations should be made before the puppy reaches four months of age, on an official Puppy Nomination form. Late fees will apply to any puppies nominated after four months of age but before five months of age. Puppies over five months of age will no longer be eligible to be individually nominated for the Futurity stake.
If the breeder wishes to nominate all puppies in the litter, it must be done individually with appropriate Puppy Nomination forms and fees accompanying each puppy.
If neither the AKC litter number, nor the individual registration number has been received by the breeder at the time each puppy nomination is made, this information must be forwarded to the Futurity Chairman immediately upon receipt. If ownership changes after individual puppy nomination is made, the Futurity Chairman must be provided with correct information regarding: (a) name of puppy, (b) registration number, (c) color, (d) sex, and (e) new owner’s name and address.
If this information has not been received by the Futurity Chairman at least one month prior to the date of the Futurity, the dog in question shall be disqualified. The same rule shall apply to the change of the dog’s name if such occurs at the time of registration
The bitch whose litter is nominated must be owned (or leased) in whole or in part by an IGCA member. Thus, if a bitch is co-owned or leased by two people, at least one must be an IGCA member. This requirement does not apply to the owners of the puppies from the nominated litter. To receive monetary awards from this Futurity Stake, the owner of the sire of a nominated litter must also be an IGCA member.
Nomination Deadlines
The nomination of the bitch’s litter should be made after she is bred, but before the whelping date. Late fees will apply to any bitch that whelps prior to nomination and must be done before the pups reach one month of age. No nomination will be accepted if puppies are over one month of age. The nomination of each individual puppy should be made after it is whelped, but before it is four months old. Late fees will apply to puppies older than four months but not over five months. Individual Puppy nominations will not be accepted after five months of age.
Fees
The Bitch Nomination must be accompanied by a fee of $30, made payable to the IGCA with “FUTURITY NOMINATION’ in the memo line.
BITCH NOMINATION LATE FEES: Any litter which is nominated after they are born but before they are one month of age will have an additional $25 late fee added to the $30 nomination fee.
INDIVIDUAL PUPPY NOMINATIONS: The nomination of the puppy, or puppies, must be accompanied by a fee of $10 for each puppy by the time they are four months old.
INDIVIDUAL PUPPY NOMINATIONS LATE FEES: A late fee of $25 will apply to each puppy that is nominated after four months of age but before five months of age. This fee is in addition to the $10 regular nomination fee. No puppy from a nominated litter is eligible to be individually nominated after five months of age.
All fees are non-refundable.
Health Certificates
All litter nominations must also include photocopies of health information for both sire and dam. Acceptable information includes either:
- A U.C. Davis or Optigen PRA DNA test AND a Canine Eye Registry Foundation (CERF)/Orthopedic Foundation for Animals (OFA) eye exam certificate. The eye exam and DNA test must be done prior to the first breeding date for the litter. Animals five years of age or younger must have had the eye exam within one year prior to the first breeding date. For Futurity nominations six years of age to nine years of age, they must have had the eye exam within two years prior to the first breeding date. For nominations 10 years or older, a copy of the CERF/OFA certificate indicating that the exam took place after the animal turned 10 years of age will be acceptable. The IGCA realizes that occasionally breedings are done after a CERF/OFA has expired. In that case, when submitting the nomination form, include a copy of the most recent CERF/OFA. Obtain another CERF/OFA exam and submit a copy of that CERF/OFA certificate before the puppies are two months old. If the CERF/OFA certificate is not received by the Futurity Chair by the time the puppies are two months old, the nomination will be ineligible. No fees will be refunded; OR
- A Canine Health Information Center (CHIC) certificate. More information about CHIC can be found on the CHIC website www.caninehealthinfo.org OR
- A copy of an abnormal CERF/OFA eye exam. All dogs with abnormal eye exams must have results of said exam listed in the IGCA Health Pedigree Database. One of the above must be submitted for both sire and dam; however, the certification need not be the same for sire and dam. For example, a CERF/OFA certificate for the dam and a CHIC certificate for the sire is acceptable. OR
- A litter produced with frozen semen from a deceased sire may be eligible as long as the sire had either a CHIC number or at least one OFA or CERF eye exam at age 10 or older. For semen frozen from 2015 forward, proof of a DNA PRA test on the sire will also be required; OR
- Clear By Parentage: If all four grandparents of the nominated litter have been DNA tested and none are carriers. A copy of the DNA tests must be submitted.
Eligibility
The Italian Greyhound must be entered in one of the regular classes at the IGCA National Specialty Show. When completing the entry form, the fact that the dog is to be shown in the Futurity must be indicated as an extra class in the appropriate space provided on the entry form. The entry fee for the Futurity class is an additional fee.
Lapsing of Dues
Any member who, having nominated a litter, fails to remain an active member in good standing with the IGCA, by lapsing of dues or by suspension or expulsion, and has not been reinstated 30 days prior to the Futurity, shall lose all rights in the Futurity. Dogs nominated by the lapsed or suspended individual but transferred to the ownership of another individual prior to said lapse of dues, suspension, or expulsion may be shown as eligible. Monetary awards will be made in such instances only to the owner of the individual dog and/or owner of the sire pursuant to Futurity prize rules.
Death
If a member shall nominate a litter and subsequently die before the Futurity, the nomination shall be valid and the puppies will be considered as eligible for nomination, entry and judging, provided all subsequent fees are paid to date.
Handlers
No professional handlers will be allowed to exhibit a dog/bitch in the Futurity unless said handler is the breeder of record AND owner of said dog/bitch.
Classes
Senior Dogs/Bitches: Puppies whelped between June 1 and September 30
Intermediate Dogs/Bitches: Puppies whelped between October 1 and January 31
Junior Dogs/Bitches: Puppies whelped between February 1 and May 31
Futurity will be from April 1 to October 31 following the May 31 cutoff.
Monetary Awards
- Nomination Fees:
35% shall be deducted from the total nomination fee purse to be used for Futurity expenses. This will be known as the Futurity General Expense Fund. This Fund shall be used to cover all expenses incurred by the Futurity Stake, i.e., judges, printing, mailing, etc. Since the administrative and judging expense will vary from year to year, an excess in any given year shall be carried over for use in future years. The remaining 65% will be awarded as follows:
60% Best in Futurity
50% Breeder of Record
30% Owner of Record
20% Stud Owner of Record
40% Best of Opposite Sex to Best in Futurity
50% Breeder of Record
30% Owner of Record
20% Stud Owner of Record - Entry Fees:
35% shall be deducted from the total entry fee purse to be used for Futurity expenses, and will be held in the Futurity General Expense fund. The remaining 65% will be awarded as follows:
1 Entry —————————————40% — First
2 Entries—————————— 40%–1st, 30%–2nd
3 Entries ——————40%–1st, 30%–2nd, 20%–3rd
4 Entries —— 40%–1st, 30%–2nd, 20%–3rd, 10%–4th
(If less than four competitors, the balance will be divided equally among other placements.)
Fees from each class will be divided among placements in that class. All placements will be divided such:
60% to Breeder of Record, 40% to Owner of Record. - Ribbons shall be awarded through fourth place in each class. Rosettes shall be given to the Best in Futurity and Best of Opposite in Futurity. The cost for each to be covered from the General Expense Fund. Trophies may be given but the Futurity Stake Funds will not be utilized for this purpose. Trophy solicitations for the Futurity Stake shall be the responsibility of the Trophy Chairman for each IGCA Specialty.
- Monetary awards which are provided for, but cannot be given, whatever the reason, shall be applied to the total Futurity Stake for the following year.
Selection of Judges
It shall be the prerogative of the owners of the nominated dams to nominate the Futurity Stake judge. The owner of each nominated dam may nominate one person for Futurity Stake Judge. The Futurity Stake Judge must be a current member in good standing with the Italian Greyhound Club of America. The bitch owner should contact any person they wish to nominate to make sure they wish to judge prior to nominating them. The owners of the nominated dams will have one month to submit their nomination.
Step One:
Upon notification by the Futurity Chairman, at a time to be six months, more or less, prior to the Futurity Stake, the owner of each nominated dam may nominate one person for the Futurity Stake judge.
Step Two:
Each eligible breeder shall receive, one month, more or less, from the deadline for nominations; receive a ballot listing all persons nominated as set forth above. Each eligible breeder shall receive one ballot. Each eligible breeder shall vote for five candidates listed in order of preference, i.e., first, second, third, etc.
Step Three:
The candidate receiving the highest total number of points (a vote of first choice receiving 5 points, second receiving 4 points, etc.) in the votes cast shall then be declared the Futurity Stake judge for that particular year. In the event the number of dogs entered requires a second judge, the candidate receiving the second highest total number of points shall judge the bitch classes only. When the ballots for selection for a judge are tallied and a tie for first place has resulted, the futurity Chairman shall determine who will be the judge for that particular Futurity.
Any person(s) elected to judge a Futurity Stake, who has nominated a litter(s) for that same Futurity Stake, or who has an immediate member of his/her family with a nominated litter(s) , automatically voids the competition of that litter(s) in that same Futurity Stake. Any monies paid by the person(s) to the Futurity Stake are refundable due to the conflict of interest.
Any futurity nominated puppy who, by virtue of its placement in the futurity, could result in a monetary prize to the judge would be ineligible for competition at that Futurity. A refund of all nomination fees for that ineligible dam and puppies will be made due to the conflict of interest. Nominators must apply to the IGCA Futurity Chairman for this refund prior to the close of entries.
