How Horse Racing Fantasy Draft Works: Picks to Points

First check the contest is accepting entries

Before studying a field, open the weekly Fantasy Draft and read its entry status. RacingReady currently presents the format as a preview, with cash-prize entry closed pending owner confirmation of required legal review and eligible locations. A visible leaderboard or sign-in button does not override that notice. This guide explains the selection process and rules, not an invitation to enter a closed cash-prize contest.

When entry is enabled, eligibility comes first. The planned contest is for eligible members aged 18+ in enabled Australian locations, with free entry and no VIP purchase required. Read and acknowledge the applicable rules honestly. Access to race information, including New Zealand meetings, does not mean residents of every covered racing jurisdiction can enter the cash-prize competition.

Choose the meeting, then the race and runner

Start with the upcoming racing calendar to find the meeting you intend to follow. In the fantasy selection tool, choose the meeting and race, then review the confirmed available runners. Match both the horse number and name. Two races at different venues can share a race number, so checking only “Race 4” is not enough to identify the right event.

Save one runner for the race and check the confirmation. A screenshot, a prediction result or an unsaved selection is not a fantasy entry. You can enter different supported races without consuming your daily prediction-check allowance. Keeping those actions separate helps avoid a common mistake: assuming that generating a tip means the same horse has already been added to your weekly contest.

Recheck before the scheduled start

RacingReady permits changing your saved runner before the selection locks at the scheduled race start. Do not wait for television coverage or assume a delayed jump gives you more editing time. The saved schedule controls the lock, and the original deadline is not extended simply because a meeting runs late. Check your entry while there is still time to correct it.

Late scratchings deserve particular attention. A scratched selection earns zero, and there is no automatic substitute. If you discover a scratching before the lock, choose another available runner and confirm the change. After the deadline, accepting the locked selection is part of the rules. No strategy can guarantee that every runner remains available right up to the start.

Add the points using the official placing

The scoring is 10 for first, 5 for second and 3 for third. Everything outside those placings earns zero. For an illustrative four-race week, suppose your runners finish second, first, fourth and third. The total is 18 points: 5 plus 10 plus zero plus 3. Neither a runner's starting price nor your personal betting result changes those points.

Official dead-heat placings follow the published result under the contest rules. Two horses officially sharing first each receive first-place points. An abandoned race awards zero. These examples show why you should read the scoring table before making choices: this is a placing-based competition, not a system that automatically rewards a longer-priced horse with extra points.

Wait for verification and the weekly review

Race results are verified by a RacingReady administrator against an official source. Members' own won or lost prediction logs do not settle fantasy entries. The week runs from Monday midnight to the next Monday midnight in Australia/Sydney time, and the leaderboard can change while results are awaiting verification. A correction replaces the previous score rather than awarding the same race twice.

Weekly awards require final review and a frozen prize ledger, not just a closed week. The proposed prizes are A$50, A$25 and A$5 for each of third through seventh; tied places share the relevant combined prizes under the rules. See the official rules and eligibility conditions for the complete process. Treat every provisional standing as provisional, even when it looks like an obvious winning position.