Chief Stipe

I presume you mean sellers? That would be impossible to accurately work out unless you knew the individual circumstances of each breeder and their costs.

The trans-Tasman approach – Is racing missing its Australasian opportunity? With the business of racing in Australia and New Zealand, be it bloodstock, breeding, training or wagering, so readily interlinked, Bren O’Brien asks if the industry is missing a trans-Tasman opportunity by being more closely integrated. By Bren O'Brien ● Racing Industry ● January 29, 2026 https://bitofayarn.com Australian-bred Well Written is New Zealand racing’s brightest star. (Photo: Megan Liefting/Race Images). Comment: As his bloodstock agent Guy Mulcaster sets another benchmark for the sale, champion trainer Chris Waller is using the buyers’ room at Karaka near Auckland to conduct the business of the biggest stable in Australia. Waller, equally at ease on either side of the Tasman, lifts his eyes up from the spreadsheets on the screen in front of him, as Mulcaster jumps to $950,000 for a fetching Justify colt with the Coolmore brand offered by Landsdowne Park Stud. The well-related and well-presented colt will become the 11th and highest-priced new member of the Waller army for the week. With a stable of this size – Waller has had 1308 starters this season already, at an average of 7.2 per day – there isn’t really time to sit back and soak in the ambience of Karaka. Every minute spent is a minute wasted in Australia’s biggest stable, Advertisement Apart from the hassle of clearing customs and immigration, Waller might as well be working in Auckland as anywhere else. https://bitofayarn.com In many ways, Waller is the poster boy for the Australasian approach to racing. He has parlayed his upbringing at Foxton, around 500km south of Karaka, into becoming Australia’s greatest trainer. The path is a well-worn one. At the same sale 98 years ago, South Island-born Phar Lap found his way, via an American owner, across the Tasman and into the hearts of the Australian nation. Other examples are plentiful and notable, including James McDonald, the latest of a long line of champion Australian-based jockeys who are Kiwis. He will likely end up the greatest of all time when it comes to Group 1 wins. A couple of hours after Waller and Mulcaster’s Justify colt goes through, the price is topped by a Sword Of State colt sold to Australia’s other megastable, Ciaron Maher. The colt, by an Australian-bred stallion who raced and stands at Cambridge Stud in New Zealand, secured $1.1 million thanks to a Chinese-based owner. Advertisement Australian buyers spent record amounts of money at Karaka – above $40 million – well over 50 per cent of the aggregate. Another of the big buyers of the week was Kevin Walls, a Kiwi investing on behalf of Queenslanders Ron and Judy Wanless. Local hero David Ellis was again the week’s largest investor buyer, but his Te Akau operation is now firmly Trans-Tasman and many of his purchases will end up racing out of the Cranbourne stables near Melbourne. Bloodstock in Australasia has operated without a trans-Tasman border for a long time.https://bitofayarn.com The suffixes might offer some form of delineation, and the sales companies might want to stamp their graduates as their own, but since the days of Phar Lap, the line between what is an Australian horse and a New Zealand horse is blurred. Well Written is the most exciting horse to come out of New Zealand for some time, some say since Sunline. Unbeaten in five starts, she has a Kiwi trainer but was bred in Australia and is likely heading back there later this year to take on Australasia’s best horses. Queensland trainer Liam Brichley took a Kiwi-bred juvenile to the Karaka Million 2YO, Dream Roca, and emerged victorious. Australian trainer Cindy Alderson has been searching for her first Group 1 winners for many years and went to Ellerslie last Saturday to get it, thanks to Jigsaw. $1.1 million Sword of State colt helps Karaka Book 1 to record heights As the impact of Entain’s investment in NZ racing has become clear, so too have the opportunities for Australians to look across the Tasman. There were seven Australian-trained horses running on Saturday, something that is likely to become the norm. Australian betting on NZ racing on Saturday soared 25 per cent as a result.https://bitofayarn.com Advertisement The flow of benefits is not one-way. At the Ellerslie races on Saturday, Entain executives spoke of how the benefits of technology developed and products honed in the Australian market are now helping the New Zealand industry through TAB NZ and Betcha. It was apparent from the Trackside broadcasts that the picture quality and streaming were noticeably better than what we see here in Australia. A unified national racing broadcaster has built out such a strong offering that you could argue the Kiwis get a better Saturday afternoon experience of Aussie racing than their channel-hopping cousins across the ditch. In the wagering context, monopoly has its advantages and disadvantages, but Entain CEO Andrew Vouris sees a clear opportunity in New Zealand to continue its growth. Like Waller, Vouris skips between the two countries with ease. In his mind, they appear to be the same business, albeit in different contexts. Both can benefit from each other’s presence. Relatively new New Zealand Thoroughbred Racing CEO Matt Ballesty is an Aussie, who has a global background in casinos and gaming. He recognises the challenges he faces in helping transform an industry are certainly not local. Addressing issues with tracks, venues, horse quality, ownership and technology are items on the checklist of any CEO of PRAs in Australia. Stakeholder engagement is no different in Auckland or Wellington than it is in Adelaide, Perth, Brisbane, Sydney or Melbourne.https://bitofayarn.com He regularly compares notes with his old Sky City Entertainment colleague, Aaron Morrison, now CEO at Racing Victoria. There are clear reasons why the trans-Tasman industries operate separately, with regulation being the major one. Also, given that Australia cannot operate with a collective mindset on the future of its thoroughbred industry, it can hardly be expected to suddenly build a bridge to New Zealand.https://bitofayarn.com Karaka Millions 3YO destiny is written for Marsh’s star filly But there are so many ways in which the business of racing in Australia and New Zealand, be it bloodstock, breeding, training or wagering, is so readily interlinked. From a customer perspective, they are essentially the same product, albeit with nuanced differences, and a punter at Randwick or Ellerslie is no different, excepting an emphasis on certain vowels and differing access to bookmakers. It raises an interesting question. Leaving aside legal and regulatory considerations, if you had to start the commercial aspects of Australian and New Zealand racing from scratch, would you keep them separate or fully integrate them? Other sporting codes have benefited greatly from an integrated trans-Tasman approach. Is it an opportunity that the thoroughbred racing industry is missing out on? Disclosure: Bren O’Brien was in New Zealand courtesy of flights and accommodation paid for by Entain Australia and New Zealand. As an independent publication, The Straight gave no undertakings to Entain as to nature of its editorial coverage.

So a strong sale.

When Karaka shrank, the market sharpened: a deeper look at the metrics Written by Renee Geelen Australian buyers didn’t just turn up at Karaka in 2026 - they shaped it. With fewer horses on offer and the same competitive pressure, prices lifted across the board, particularly at the lower end, as scarcity did what it always does. Cover image courtesy of New Zealand Bloodstock Data from New Zealand Bloodstock website as at 28 January 2026 Karaka’s shift in 2026 wasn’t subtle: the catalogue was cut by 240 yearlings, the sale was compressed from five days to three, and the market responded exactly the way markets do when supply tightens. Book 1’s median lifted to NZ$140,000 (up from NZ$110,000) - but the real story was Book 2, where the median surged to NZ$60,000 from NZ$26,750. Tightening comes with a trade-off; with fewer horses offered, headline gross growth is always going to be capped, and total turnover now reflects volume discipline rather than demand fatigue. So it was particularly notable that gross increased across both books. A smaller sale, a tougher fight Across both books, 848 yearlings were catalogued in 2026 compared to 1008 in 2025. After four straight years sitting around the 1100 mark, the shape of the sale materially changed. Fewer lots meant more competition per horse, and a clearer lift in the floor, reflected in the averages, medians, and clearance rates. The biggest change came in book 2, moving from 448 lots in 2025 to 281 in 2026, a removal of 146 horses from that sector of the market and a reduction from two days to one. Book 1 tightened by 94 horses from 661 catalogued in 2025 over three days to 567 catalogued in 2026 over two days of selling. year catalogued offered sold clearance gross average median 2026 567 520 422 81% $ 79,022,500 $ 187,257 $ 140,000 2025 661 588 457 78% $ 75,332,500 $ 164,841 $ 110,000 2024 682 607 473 78% $ 79,585,500 $ 168,257 $ 120,000 2023 644 582 461 79% $ 70,063,000 $ 151,980 $ 130,000 2022 636 558 430 77% $ 63,127,500 $ 146,808 $ 100,000 Table: Book 1 of Overall 5-year metrics NZB National Yearling Sale year catalogued offered sold clearance gross average median 2026 281 248 188 76% $ 12,247,000 $ 65,144 $ 60,000 2025 427 355 270 76% $ 9,759,000 $ 36,144 $ 26,750 2024 443 378 265 70% $ 11,444,000 $ 43,185 $ 32,500 2023 435 376 267 71% $ 11,516,000 $ 43,131 $ 32,000 2022 466 385 247 64% $ 10,036,000 $ 40,632 $ 30,000 Table: Book 2 of Overall 5-year metrics NZB National Yearling Sale Where the lift really occurred Breaking Book 1 into quartiles shows where the tightening actually did its work. Rather than the gains being isolated to the very top of the market, every price band moved higher in 2026 - a sign that improved quality wasn’t confined to elite lots, but spread through the catalogue. Looking back across the past five years helps put that shift into context. While 2023 delivered a relatively strong median, it did so with a softer top quartile and a heavier reliance on the middle of the market. In contrast, 2026 shows broader strength, with each quartile lifting year-on-year, despite fewer horses changing hands. In 2026, every quartile average lifted by at least 12% on 2025. Rather than inflation driven by a handful of top-end outliers, the data points to a deeper, more competitive market across the whole of Book 1. year book 1 sold https://bitofayarn.com book 1 median b1 q1 average b1 q2 average b1 q3 average b1 q4 average 2026 422 $140,000 $396,699 $182,736 $110,943 $64,500 2025 457 $110,000 $347,958 $149,915 $92,161 $52,648 2024 473 $120,000 $341,829 $160,164 $98,934 $59,333 2023 461 $130,000 $292,797 $156,992 $97,500 $50,936 2022 430 $100,000 $316,116 $135,670 $80,938 $44,491 Table: NZB National Yearling Sale Book 1 Quartile analysishttps://bitofayarn.com Measured by median, 2026 stands as the strongest Book 1 result of the past five years, with NZ$140,000 marking a clear step up from the NZ$110,000 recorded in 2025. Importantly, that lift came without an expansion in catalogue size - reinforcing that the market moved because buyers were prepared to pay more per horse, not because more horses were offered.https://bitofayarn.com The most pronounced gains came at the lower end. The bottom 25% of Book 1 horses averaged NZ$64,500, up from the previous peak of NZ$59,333 in 2024. Over the past four years, the cheapest quartile has lifted 31%, outpacing gains in the top end and confirming that the tighter catalogue materially reset the market floor. By reducing numbers at Karaka and diverting marginal stock into the Summer Sale and National Online Sale, New Zealand Bloodstock has effectively protected the integrity of Book 1. The result was greater consistency through the lower and middle bands, and a Book 2 market that responded even more sharply.https://bitofayarn.com Australian money set the tone New Zealand Bloodstock tracks buyer origin in two ways. Publicly reported results record the location of the purchasing entity, while internal data captures the end-user - the party funding the purchase. In most cases the two align, but where agents are involved, the internal data provides a clearer picture of where the capital is actually coming from. New Zealand Bloodstock provided this internal buyer-location data to The Thoroughbred Report. Using that internal measure, Australian buyers accounted for 48% of total gross sales across both books in 2026, up from 43% in 2025. funding buyer 2026 lots 2026 gross 2025 lots 2025 gross Australia 242 48% 438 43% New Zealand 283 34% 227 41% Hong Kong 49 9% 44 10% China 24 4% 16 0% South Africa 9 2% 5 1% Singapore 9 1% 8 1% Table: NZB internal data by % of gross spend A broader buying bench In 2026, 218 individual buying groups competed for 422 Book 1 yearlings, purchasing an average of 1.94 horses per buyer. That compares with 217 buying groups in 2025, who purchased an average of 2.11 horses from 457 horses sold.https://bitofayarn.com David Ellis has been the leading buyer at Karaka for more than two decades and his influence on the sale remains significant. Over the past five years, however, his purchasing profile has evolved alongside the expansion of Te Akau’s Australian operations. In 2026, Ellis purchased 17 Book 1 yearlings for NZ$4.26 million, down from 31 yearlings and NZ$8.07 million in 2022.https://bitofayarn.com David Ellis | Image courtesy of Trish Dunell In practical terms, a similar number of buyers were ending up with fewer horses, increasing competitive pressure and reducing the ability of any one buyer to dominate the catalogue. year https://bitofayarn.com lots sold median buyers lots per buyers number of buyers who bought one lot per cent buyers one lot top buyer by volume lots bought top buyer gross 2026 567 422 $140,000 218 2 139 64% David Ellis CNZM (BAFNZ) 17 $4,260,000 2025 661 457 $110,000 217 2 130 60% Mr DC Ellis CNZM (BAFNZ) 26 $4,497,500 2024 682 473 $120,000 253 2 159 63% Mr DC Ellis CNZM (BAFNZ) 25 $5,700,000 2023 644 461 $130,000 229 2 138 60% Mr DC Ellis CNZM (BAFNZ) 26 $6,035,000 2022 636 430 $100,000 212 2 133 63% Mr DC Ellis 31 $8,070,000 Table: Buyer behavoiur at NZB Contracted catalogue but similar vendor figures Despite the reduction in sale size, the number of vendors represented in Book 1 has stayed fairly static across the past five years. In 2026, the 567 yearlings catalogued were spread across 42 vendors, who presented an average of 13.5 yearlings each. The peak number of vendors was in 2023 when 48 different vendors showcased horses in book 1. Cambridge Stud | Image courtesy of Cambridge Stud Cambridge Stud was the leading vendors by lots sold in 2026, beating Waikato Stud into second from the top slot they’d held the previous four years.https://bitofayarn.com Cambridge Stud sold 50 yearlings in 2026. year lots sold median vendors avg yearlings catalogued per vendor biggest vendor lots sold gross 2026 567 422 140,000 42 14 Cambridge Stud 50 $10,640,000 2025 661 457 110,000 44 15 Waikato Stud Ltd 47 $6,010,000 2024 682 473 120,000 46 15 Waikato Stud Ltd 59 $8,730,000 2023 644 461 130,000 48 13 Waikato Stud Ltd 53 $7,792,500 2022 636 430 100,000 44 15 Waikato Stud Ltd 39 $7,860,000 Table: Vendor data over the last five years Stallion mix in Book 1 Across the past five years, the percentage of yearlings by New Zealand based stallions has stayed static at 72% of the catalogue, with Australian-based stallions making up the remainder of the yearlings presented.https://bitofayarn.com year lots nz based aus based international nz % 2026 567 406 159 2 72% 2025 661 465 195 1 70% 2024 682 509 171 2 75% 2023 644 452 192 0 70% 2022 636 458 178 0 72% Table: Sire location in NZB Book 1

It's not about who is winning $1k it is who is betting more than $1k in cash. We realise that your successes with the TAB was gambling your railway sleeper cash sales but the laws have changed. So @Brodie adapt or give up.

It is not about restricting the @Brodie 's it is about distributing the revenue to where you get the most sustainable return. As a Railway Sleeper salesman you know @Brodie that is basic economics/business.

Well I give the new track one positive. The old track would have been a deep bog. But please fix that home bend!!

An apt description of one particular Canterbury resident!

It also raises the question is the Ignore policy by administrators the correct one? I quite like the response.

Does Mr Repole remind you of a number of disaffected NZ social media commentators?

Some nice looking yearlings went through today based on type and movement.

That's not spin!!!! The clearance rate at time of print was the same. If they had said "the clearance rate is the same as the last 4 years but we predict by the end of tomorrow that it will be well up on the last 5 years" - then that's spin!!!!!!!

Even after adjusting the data Book One is up on last year. The aggregate is up $3m (4%) on 12% less horses. How's that for "spin"?

@hesi they reported facts not spin. The clearance rate improves over the course of the sale. It was at the end of Day One 77%. It is now 81%. You've been hanging around the Anti-Racing Mob too long.

Significant improvement on clearance rate @hesi - no spin required.