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By Murray Fish · Posted
It will be interesting to see what this sort of thing is going to look like? -
By Chief Stipe · Posted
Racing hub site revealed - Cambridge News www.cambridgenews.nz Dairy land tagged for mega racing hub Waikato Thoroughbred Racing has secured a conditional deal to buy 150 hectares south of Hamilton, marking the first major step toward relocating and modernising the region’s thoroughbred racing operations. Chief executive Andrew Castles told The News the deal follows a year-long search for prime Waikato land. He said it was a once-in-a-century opportunity to reshape the industry. The “super club,” formed in 2023 through the merger of Waikato Racing, Cambridge Jockey and Waipā Racing clubs, has chosen a dairy farm site bordering the Waikato Expressway to the north and the Te Awa River Ride to the south, with Pencarrow and Duncan roads on either side. “If you asked me where the optimum site would be for a 100 year build to secure the future of thoroughbred racing in the Waikato, I doubt you could find a better site,” said Castles. The club’s due diligence included aerial surveys, environmental assessments and infrastructure analysis – Castles even flew over the property by helicopter. The current landowners will continue dairy operations until contractual dates are met, beginning with the 2027 dairy season. Environmental studies are underway and, led by BCD Group, will cover water supply, wildlife, roading and electricity demand. One of the key drivers behind the move is growing pressure on the Cambridge training centre, where housing intensification and traffic congestion are making daily training more difficult. To fund the new site, the club would sell its existing land in Hamilton, Te Awamutu and Cambridge. The proposed development would replace Te Rapa’s ageing infrastructure. Plans include flexible event spaces, equine rehabilitation and veterinary facilities, and capacity for up to 1500 horses. The scale of the site also allows for future projects such as a national sales centre. “Gone are the days of the grandiose grandstand. It will be a modern, multi‑purpose facility that can double as an event centre,” said Castles. The location near Hamilton Airport is seen as a strategic advantage. It is expected the airport will expand international services over the next decade. “I believe it will be a proper international airport,” Castles said. It would make it ideal for international buyers and horse movement between countries. Board chair Bruce Harvey said the economic benefits outweigh the loss of dairy land, citing job creation, construction activity and regional growth. The shift from bovine to equine agriculture would bring greater employment and economic activity, he said. “It would outweigh the loss of 150 hectares of dairy land.” Engagement is now underway with neighbours, iwi and Waikato District Council, where the land is situated. Politicians, including Racing Minister Winston Peters, have all been in the loop. An open day is planned for next month. The project remains firmly thoroughbred-focused. Castles emphasised the mandate given by members to pursue long-term industry sustainability. Cambridge is already the largest training centre in Australasia, while Matamata ranks among the top five. Together they support thousands of horses. Te Awamutu’s future is still uncertain amid stalled plans for a waste-to-energy plant. Both Castles and Harvey credited the 2023 merger for enabling the project. “We wouldn’t be having this discussion if you had three separate clubs,” said Castles. “We have to acknowledge the foresight that past club members had,” said Harvey. New Zealand Thoroughbred Racing chief executive Matt Ballesty said the project had benefits for the country. “This is a once-in-a-generation opportunity to design a venue that works for today’s participants and future-proofs the industry. “The site offers a future racing and training precinct with a broad range of amenities – not just a racetrack. Multiple club members, local residents and the wider community will benefit from an enhanced, shared asset,” said Ballesty. -
By Chief Stipe · Posted
New racing home eyed - Cambridge News www.cambridgenews.nz The search for a greenfield site to house Waikato’s racing industry appears to have narrowed to land immediately south of Hamilton – and an announcement understood to be only days away. Waikato Thoroughbred Racing chief executive Andrew “Butch” Castles declined to comment citing the sensitivity of ongoing negotiations. “I can’t be clearer — it is very delicate and I am not in a position to comment,” he said. Industry sources suggest agents acting for the club have identified flat land near the Waikato Expressway, capable of accommodating a single, purpose-built hub for racing and training. This move follows a landmark decision at last year’s annual meeting, where members of the newly merged Waikato Thoroughbred Racing – formed from Te Rapa, Cambridge, and Waipā racing clubs – endorsed a grand plan to sell existing assets and secure a “super site” of between 125 and 200 hectares. The preferred site needed to sit in a triangle from Hamilton north, down to Te Awamutu, and across to Cambridge, they decided. It needed good access to water, with the right kind of topography and non-peaty. A new site would eventually replace the racing and training venues in Hamilton, Cambridge and Te Awamutu. If the purchase proceeds, it would trigger a cascade of property sales, beginning with the 34ha site in Te Awamutu where the Waipā club raced from 1915 until the 2020-21 season and where around 100 horses still train. Cambridge with 61ha and Te Rapa with 50ha would have to remain operational until the new hub was completed, thought to be by 2035. The News understands the proposal has high-level government support and would be largely self-funded. Cambridge – which celebrated its centenary in 2019 – is home to the Southern Hemisphere’s largest thoroughbred training centre, with 1300 horses regularly working on its 13 tracks. That includes the country’s first synthetic all-weather horse racing track. The Polytrack surface is made from a mixture of silica, sand, carpet fibres, rubber and wax. Its $13 million cost was partly funded by the Provincial Growth Fund and was opened by racing minister Winston Peters in July 2021. Te Rapa in Hamilton, meanwhile, is Waikato’s premier racecourse and event centre, once spanning more than 150ha during racing’s heydays when thousands of punters flocked to race days. Racing first started on the course in 1924. Urban expansion in both Hamilton and Cambridge has steadily encroached on both venues, making the land increasingly valuable for residential and commercial development. The club is hoping to secure a private plan change to rezone 6ha for medium-density housing. Board chair Bruce Harvey said after last year’s annual meeting a greenfield site would centralise operations and future proof Waikato’s racing industry. Challenges at Cambridge – where new housing has added traffic to roads used by horses – and the need to bring Waikato’s racing fraternity under one roof were key considerations. For Waikato Thoroughbred Racing, the solution lies in creating a modern super hub – a facility that secures the industry’s future, provides world-class infrastructure, and ensures the region remains a powerhouse of New Zealand racing. Trainers would be able to either hire or lease land at the super hub while there would be an opportunity for racing-related ancillary businesses. The main racetrack would be sand-based but there would also be options for synthetic racing and training tracks. While officials remain tight-lipped, industry insiders describe the proposal as “exciting” and potentially transformative. With racing already contributing more than $500 million to the Waikato economy and supporting 3800 full-time jobs, a centralised hub could be the game changer that secures the industry’s future. -
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