Georgie, unfortunately, it has become more about the almighty dollar than anything else at this point for Regional racing. Many classes to get split gates for the regional anyway with the # of guaranteed spots and # of gates available at any given track. No one has a 64 rider gate to handle the entire class and they've come up with a plan to give everyone 2 motos anyway even if you don't qualify to qualify…… So if you are on the list, you are riding / racing. They are taking everyone that sends in their money at this point, send money, you can race. With 43 riders on the list, you might have a split moto 1, and then a last chance consolation race to get into the final 2 motos of full gate. But more than likely, someone won't show up for injury or bike problem, and you'll just have 42 riders racing the full gate or less in +25.
And back to HUDAK's comment, you can only defend a title once, since you can't defend anything unless you win another title. But at Vet Fest, I guess you can defend that title 43 times in a row!!!!