Futurity is an event held in conjunction with the national specialty. It is similar to a puppy sweepstakes except the nomination process is open only to breeders and co-breeders all of which must be members in good standing with the American Bullmastiff Association (ABA). The owner and or co-owner must also be members in good standing with the ABA. Handling is open only to the breeder and/or co-breeder, owner and/or co-owner and their immediate family members. A professional handler may handle a dog that they own, co-own and are the breeder or co-breeder of record provided they are also an ABA member in good standing.

The purpose of the Futurity event is to encourage and reward bullmastiff breeders. By carefully planning one’s breeding program, a breeder is given the opportunity to show, in competition, the quality of animal he or she produces and to be financially rewarded for his or her efforts.

Futurity guidelines are as follows:

1. NOMINATION:
   
   
   1. Litters whelped on or after March 1, 2004 and on or before February 28,2005 are eligible for nomination. THE FIRST NOMINATION MUST BE POSTMARKED PRIOR TO THE LITTER BEING WHELPED. To nominate a litter, the Litter Nomination Form must be completed in full, signed by the breeder and/or co-breeder and sent to the Futurity Chair by postal mail. Include a check or money order, payable to the ABA, for $50.

      NOTE: ABA national specialty dates are subject to change. In the event that a litter is eligible for two national futurity entries, the breeder of the litter must select which entry they would like to nominate the litter for. The litter will only be eligible for one futurity entry at a national specialty.
       

   2. For individual puppy nominations, the Individual Puppy Nomination Form must be completed in full and mailed to the Futurity Chair. If the AKC Litter Registration Number or the AKC Registration Number is not available, there must be documentation as to why and when it will be submitted. The Registration Number must be received by the Futurity Chair immediately upon receipt, but no later than thirty (30) days prior to the puppy’s 6 month birthday. A check or money order for $15 for each individual puppy must be included. This form must be postmarked prior to 12 weeks of age and the decision to continue an individual puppy’s nomination is the breeder and/or co-breeder of record.

       

   3. Prior to 6 months, the Six-Month Puppy Nomination Form must be completed in full and mailed to the Futurity Chair. A nomination received without an AKC Registration Number will not be accepted. A check or money order for $10 for each individual puppy must be included. This form must be postmarked prior to 6 months of age.

      Note: The futurity guidelines and forms will be included in two newsletters per year. Additional copies are available from the Futurity Chair, at each National Specialty and on the ABA website. The Futurity Chair will accept faxed copies of the nomination form with prior notice at his/her discretion. Check or money order for faxed entry(ies) must be postmarked the next day otherwise the entry(ies) will be considered null and void.

      The responsibility of meeting all deadlines is (are) the breeder or co-breeder of record and not the owner or the Futurity Chair. No reminders of any kind will be sent.
      

      
      
2. PROCESSING: Upon receipt of a nomination form, the Futurity Chair will review the form for completeness. If any issues arise, the futurity chair will notify the breeder or co-breeder of record immediately. The Futurity Chair will send the nominating breeder or co-breeder an acknowledgement of the nomination. The Futurity Chair will copy the check and forms for his/her records and forward the check to the Treasurer within 30 days. Breeders and co-breeders of record are encouraged to keep and maintain copies of the nomination form(s), checks and acknowledgements for their personal records.

   
   
   

3. EXHIBITION: Exhibition Divided by sex and by age. The classes are as follows:

   6-9 months
   9-12 months
   12-15 months
   15-18 months

   The winner of these classes will then compete for Best Bitch in Futurity and Best Dog in Futurity.

   
   

4. WINNINGS: The Futurity funds will be split as follows:

   Forty-five percent (45%) will be divided among the 8 first place winners in each age group.

   Twenty percent (20%) will be given to both the Best Bitch in Futurity and Best Dog in Futurity.

   Fifteen percent (15%) will be retained by the ABA to cover reasonable Futurity expenses including those incurred from superintendent and/or administrative fees. Given the unusual occasion that the 15% holdback from the accumulated annual Futurity funds is not adequate to cover "reasonable expenses" directly associated with the Futurity, the Board may approve an additional amount to be withheld. The additional amount would be withdrawn from the accumulated annual funds before the winnings allocations.

   If there is no entry in a class, then those funds shall be allocated pro rata amongst the remaining classes and to Best Bitch in Futurity and Best Dog in Futurity. These funds will not be allocated to the ABA holdback.

   All winnings go to the breeder and/or co-breeder of record.

   The Futurity Chair will remain indifferent and impartial to any differences over winnings between breeder and/or co-breeder and the owner.

   
   

5. FEES: The breeder and/or co-breeder are solely responsible for the payment of any nominating fees. All fees paid are non-refundable regardless of the circumstances. Nomination fees are not transferable from one litter to another, nor from one bullmastiff to another. If the dam of the litter nominated is not pregnant or the fees are postmarked after the due date, the entry will be considered null and void.

   
   

6. ENTERING FUTURITY: The Futurity class is considered a second entry in addition to a regular class for the national specialty. Under the “additional class” section of the entry form, enter “Futurity” along with the proper age category. A dog may not be shown in a non-regular class without entry in a regular class. The entry fee for Futurity is paid from futurity funds so no fee is required from the breeder/owner to the superintendent. Therefore, no entry fee for Futurity is required.

   The Futurity Chair will be responsible for providing an accurate listing of dogs entered for each class and will provide the superintendent a listing of eligible puppies to verify accuracy prior to the publication of the national specialty catalog. The superintendent will be directed to provide the registrant the information regarding the entrant in eligibility. If the entrant protests the discrepancy, the entrant shall immediately notify the Futurity Chair and the appropriate committee will assemble to review the protest.

    

7. JUDGES: Judges are to be nominated and elected by the ABA membership. The qualifications are: must have owned bullmastiffs for at least ten (10) years, have bred four (4) bullmastiff litters and bred ten (10) bullmastiff champions.

   Judges expenses will be considered voluntary. Requests for reimbursement will be at the discretion of the ABA Board of Directors.

Please send any nominations and nominating fees to the Futurity Chair.

Denise Borton
2875 North 6th Street
Kalamazoo, MI 49009
Home Phone: 616-375-0059
E-mail: twinpine@MEI.net