Dear Taku,
Harness Racing NZ is releasing the 24/25 calendar at 3pm today, but we wanted you to have an advance copy of the media release and the calendar we'll be sending out at that time.
It's not the usual calendar release - it's the first step in a major set of changes designed to inject fresh life and confidence into Harness Racing. They've been developed after intensive work together with our wagering partner, Entain.
More meetings, more races for low to middle grade horses
The calendar is our biggest asset, and we need to use it in a way that will grow wagering. Together with Entain we've made major changes that will be of significant interest to you. The key points are:
Alexandra Park will have 45 race meetings in 24/25, up 14 from this season, and a total of 422 races (up by 128), mainly on Friday
Cambridge goes from 28 to 41 meetings, with 338 races (up by 88), mainly on Tuesday
Manawatu has an extra 7 meetings taking them to 19 for the season and 142 races (up 50)
Addington will have 65 meetings (up from 58) and 611 races (up from 557)
Timaru goes to 5 meetings (up 1) and 49 races (up 10)
Winton will now have 13 meetings (up 2) and 125 races (up 17)
Invercargill goes to 15 meetings (up 2) and 136 races (up 9)
For all other clubs there is no change from 2023/24.
Friday Night Lights
Our wagering partner's Managing Director Cameron Rodger tells us "we are big believers in the Friday Night Lights brand. With our recent move to Free to Air, and with the investment we are making in our Trackside Broadcast we believe there is an opportunity to create a high quality, highly marketable harness racing product that appears in living rooms consistently each Friday night with Alexandra Park and Addington racing together."
Major new initiatives are Coming
With Entain, we've developed a major new programme of initiatives built around the new calendar. Again, these will be of benefit to clubs and kindred bodies. Watch out for it in mid-May.
We're at a critical juncture in our history, and future. This is the opportunity we've long been waiting for.We need to grab it with both hands.
Phil Holden
Chairman