3398 NEW ZEALAND GAZETTE, No. 144 30 SEPTEMBER 2009

(c) three representatives of the New Zealand Thoroughbred Breeders’ Association who shall be appointed by its Council in August of each year;

(d) a representative of the Bloodstock Agents Federation (NZ) Inc operating in New Zealand who shall be appointed by the New Zealand Thoroughbred Breeders’ Association Council in August of each year.

(2) The appointment of the relevant members shall take place in August of each year, and shall take effect from 1 September of that year to 31 August of the following year, except in the event of the death or resignation of a member of the Graded Stakes Committee or of a vacancy occurring in the membership of the Graded Stakes Committee, in which event the body or bodies which appointed the member who held the now vacant position shall appoint another person to fill that position.

(3) A member of the Graded Stakes Committee may be appointed for a further term as a member.

(4) The Graded Stakes Committee shall meet at such time and place as is determined by the Chairman and is notified to the members in writing at least ten days prior to the date of the meeting, provided that less than ten days’ notice may be given if five or more members of the Graded Stakes Committee agree to such a lesser period of notice.

(5) If:

(a) the Chairman is not present at a meeting of the Graded Stakes Committee, the members present shall elect one of their number to be Chairman of that meeting;

(b) any member is absent without leave of the Graded Stakes Committee for more than two successive meetings of the Graded Stakes Committee then that person’s seat shall be vacated, but in the case of any member who has been granted leave of absence for a period of not less than three months the body or bodies which elected or appointed him may appoint a substitute to act in his stead during his absence.

(6) At a meeting of the Graded Stakes Committee:

(a) the Graded Stakes Committee may regulate the conduct of business at its meetings in such a manner as it thinks fit and shall determine its own procedure;

(b) the presence of five members shall constitute a quorum;

(c) each member shall have one vote and in the case of an equality of votes the Chairman shall also have a casting vote on any question put to the vote at any such meeting.

(7) The functions of the Graded Stakes Committee shall be to:

(a) produce no later than 31 August in each calendar year a list ranking the pre-eminent Races in New Zealand, in five categories of Races, namely Group I, Group II, Group III, Listed Stakes and Listed Jumps, in terms of the quality of horses contesting those Races having regard to:

(i) age, sex and aptitudes;

(ii) the then current version of the International Cataloguing Standards and ensuring that the list meets the specifications of the International Cataloguing Standards in order to enable its inclusion in Part 1 of the International Cataloguing Standards Handbook,

(b) supply the list produced by the Graded Stakes Committee to NZTR who shall be responsible for its publication and circulation.

NZTR shall reimburse the Graded Stakes Committee for the reasonable costs and expenses incurred in carrying out such functions.

(8) (a) Subject to paragraph (c), before downgrading or delisting a Race from its ranking the Graded Stakes Committee shall give written notice to the Club concerned of its intention to do so and no Race shall be downgraded or delisted until there has been two consecutive annual runnings of that Race after the giving of such notice.