Trotting Chat

One thing I note in particular is his reluctance to trial horses on the synthetic at Cambridge, a view I presume that is shared by other trainers in the area, or is it? This was one of the main reasons put forward for putting in this synthetic track. Good on him for supporting Hastings and Riccarton.  I guess he doesn't subscribe to the conspiracy, led mainly by the shit stirrer Wightman, with no evidence, that they are trying to centralise racing in the Auck/Waikato area

A new format’s been finalised for the TAB Show Day Punter of the Year Challenge at Addington Raceway. The Friday (November 14) meeting is always a massive part of Cup week and includes the two $500,000 slot races, the Majestic Horse Floats THE ASCENT and the Hill, Lee and Scott THE VELOCITY. This year’s Challenge will see one major change from previous editions – all transactions will be done on-line whereas last year teams were given a betting voucher and then had to bet on the tote. Each syndicate can have up to four members per team. They will be based on the stables rooftop. Each participant/ syndicate must have an on-line TAB account with an opening balance of $600 at the start of the challenge. There will cash prizes of $5000 as well as plenty of giveaways during the day and a buffet lunch will be provided. All beverages will be available to purchase at the cashless bar (eftpos/debit/credit only). Entries close at 4pm Thursday, November 13. For more information click here     Or contact rachel.deegan@addington.co.nz View the full article

Ashburton Raceway has had a major makeover ahead of its huge finish to the year. An entirely new surface has been laid, with around 600 tonnes of material being replaced. The work was overseen by Harness Racing New Zealand’s Track Facilities Manager John Denton. “We had a slight delay to doing the work because of bad weather earlier in the month but the whole process went smoothly,” says Denton, “we are confident that the track will provide an excellent racing surface.” View track video here The Ashburton Trotting Club will host three major meetings in coming weeks,  starting with Labour Day,  Monday October 27. The day will feature two Group 2s in the Mid Canterbury Trotting Owners Ladies’ Sprint for 4YO and older pacing mares and the NZB Airfreight Ashburton Flying Stakes. November sees the running of the second ever “Emerging Talent” meeting on the Thursday of IRT New Zealand Trotting Cup week. Targeted to horses in the maiden to one-win grade it will feature 13 races. Among them will be an Invitational Drivers race for 4YO Mares over 1700 metres. Already dual New Zealand Cup-winning driver Cam Hart has indicated he’s keen to take part and may be joined by other international drivers here for the World Driving Championship that concludes on Cup day. Invitations for the race will be issued closer to the time. Then on December 21 Ashburton will host the Harness 5000. The eagerly-anticipated series, featuring 12 $60,000 finals, is for trotters and pacers whose sire stood for an advertised retail service fee of $5,000 or less in the breeding season of conception and to be eligible horses must compete in at least five race day starts between July 3 – December 9,2025.   Every week the Harness 5000 tracker is updated. It shows how any horses have become eligible for the series. The “168” on the tracker signifies correlation to the maximum number of horses that can compete on the day, based on 12 races of 14 horse fields. Right now the figure is well past that at 212, an increase of 17 in the past week. It is anticipated that around 350 horses will be in the mix come December, though this figure could fluctuate. So far the biggest categories are for the 5YO and older Entires and Geldings. There are currently 47 pacers and 46 trotters. To see the Harness 5000 Leaderboard click here   View the full article

Harness racing turnovers topped $3.5m for three meetings in this country over the weekend, a big increase on previous years. The Akaroa Trotting Club’s meeting at Motukarara moved from Saturday in 2024 to Sunday and the impact on turnover was telling. Overall turnover was $1.34m, up 67 per cent, with nearly 6000 more punters placing a bet this year, compared to 2024. It attracted the second highest number of unique punters at any Motukarara meeting and beaten only by the Banks Peninsula Trotting Club meeting there in December 2023. The weekend got off to a roaring start.   Friday’s Premier night at Addington, featuring the Harness Million races as well as three Group races, saw turnover at nearly $1.6m, up nearly three per cent on last year while Auckland’s meeting was up a whopping 43 per cent to over $600,000. In a first for an October meeting at Alexandra Park unique punters cracked the 10,000 mark. “The results show that the adjustments to our Group and feature race calendar are delivering. The flow of key races through spring is creating a stronger narrative and giving punters more reasons to stay engaged week after week,” says HRNZ’s Head of Racing and Wagering Matthew Peden. “For Friday Night Lights to turn over a combined $2.2M is a great result.” This Friday both venues will be back in action. At Addington the winners of the Group 2 Canterbury Classic and the Group 3 Canterbury Park Trotting Cup will both automatically qualify for the IRT New Zealand Trotting Cup and the Renwick Farms Dominion Trot, to be held at Addington Raceway on Tuesday, November 11.   View the full article

In an exclusive interview, Michael is in Sydney to chat with the man who made The Everest, Peter V’landys. They discuss the richest turf race in the world, the NRL, the man himself, and PVL’s future in his various roles. Guerin Report – S2 Ep. 7 Ft. Peter V’landys View the full article