NZTR find another 500k for stakes next season.

[curious]

NZTR Unveils $500,000 Group 1 Bonus to Drive Elite 4YO Participation

New Zealand Thoroughbred Racing

20 January 2026

New Zealand Thoroughbred Racing (NZTR) has confirmed a lucrative new $500,000 Group 1 4YO Bonus that will be available to the first horse that wins a New Zealand-based Group 1 race in its four-year-old season, that runs in the 2026 $4 million NZB Kiwi (1500m).

The initiative, designed to strengthen the domestic pathway from elite three-year-old racing into top-level four-year-old performance, will apply to the entire 2026 NZB Kiwi field, with the first eligible NZB Kiwi runner to win a New Zealand Group 1 as a four-year-old triggering the $500,000 Bonus. 

NZTR General Manager - Racing, Mitch Lamb, commented on the new initiative.

“The NZB Kiwi has quickly become one of the headline acts for our best three-year-old sprinter/milers, and now we’re putting a very real incentive on keeping those standout horses here and targeting our best races as four-year-olds,” Lamb said.

“If we want our premier weight-for-age races in New Zealand to have the highest-quality fields and drive optimal wagering outcomes - both domestically and abroad, one piece of the puzzle is incentivising our best young gallopers to stay on home soil for longer.”

To be eligible for the $500,000 Group 1 4YO Bonus, a horse must be NZB Kiwi eligible as a three-year-old and be a nominated slot horse that starts in the 2026 NZB Kiwi. The Bonus will then be triggered by the first eligible 2026 NZB Kiwi runner to win any New Zealand-based Group 1 race during its four-year-old season.

The $500,000 Bonus will be shared between the key connections at the time it is won, with 50% paid to the current NZB Kiwi Slot Holder (or lessee) for the 2026 year and 50% paid to the horse’s registered ownership group at the time of the four-year-old Group 1 win. Where the horse is owned outright by the current Slot Holder, that Slot Holder will receive 100% of the Bonus as both Slot Holder and Owner. NZTR will also allocate a 10% share of the Bonus to the Trainer responsible for preparing the horse at the time of the Group 1 win in its four-year-old season.

Lamb said the rationale is straightforward: keep the best of New Zealand’s elite three-year-old performers racing on home soil at four, increase the strength of local Group 1 contests, and create a more compelling wagering product. 

“We want The NZB Kiwi to be more than a single raceday moment, we want it to be a genuine launching pad,” Lamb said.

“By making the entire NZB Kiwi field eligible, we’re sending a clear signal that we want these horses to progress to Group 1 level at four, and in turn, reward the teams who commit to that plan in New Zealand.”

How the $500,000 Group 1 4YO Bonus works 

To be eligible, the horse must: 

• be NZB Kiwi eligible and a three-year-old 
• be a nominated slot horse that runs in the 2026 NZB Kiwi 
• then, in its four-year-old season (2026-27), become the first 2026 NZB Kiwi runner to win any New Zealand-based Group 1 race 

$500,000 Group 1 4YO Bonus Split

The Bonus will be split: 

• 50% to the current NZB Kiwi Slot Holder or lessee (for the 2026 year), and 
• 50% to the registered owner group at the time of the horse’s Group 1 win in its four-year-old season (2026-27)
• If the horse is owned outright by a current Slot Holder, that Slot Holder will retain 100% of the Bonus (as both Slot Holder and Owner) 
• A 10% share of the Bonus will be allocated to the Trainer at the time of the horse’s first Group 1 win in its four-year-old season (2026-27)

Full Bonus terms and conditions will be released shortly.

[hesi]

The overall aim of these bonuses (this is yet another one), is to retain quality horses in NZ, so the quality of the fields rises and betting turnover increases.

I'm not sure this will have any impact on this objective.

Quality NZ 4-year-old horses tend to stay in NZ for all or some of the first G1's, namely the Hawkes Bay carnival, then the best ones are off to Aus for the Victorian Spring racing.

Any Aus horses that compete in the Kiwi, how likely are they to come back for HB, when the Victorian Spring racing is the attraction.  The $500K bonus is not large enough to change this.

The 2 best 3 year olds from last season never competed as 4 year olds in NZ because they got purchased for big money by Aus.  This bonus nor any other bonus would have changed that

 

[curious]

Do you think they might have been better to make the Kiwi for 3&4yos and bump the stake by 500k, so $5m in 2027?

Maybe make all or some G1s bonus races for it.

Edited 1 hour ago by curious

[hesi]

I don't know

Entain have funded several of these bonus schemes and races, and from what I can see, it is not improving the overall quality of horses racing in NZ.

The best horses either get picked off by cash rich Aus owners, or are very quickly sent across the Tasman to race, once the Spring racing kicks in.  The 3 HB G1 races are usually used as a steppingstone.

 

[Bid]

My issue is why restrict it to only those who run in the Kiwi. Too bad if you have a horse who is not quite ready at 3yo but is going to be a good 4yo. Or a staying type targeting the Derby who will then be targeting the Spring Classic.

When Well Written wins the 1400 the first day of spring carnival the whole idea is written off, bonus paid out so no more incentive for other to stick around. 

How about have a $500k bonus for 4yos paid out at the completion of their 4yo season, divided by those who have won a Group 1 at 4yo.  Maybe by the last few of the G1s for the season if no 4yos have won one it becomes a good incentive to stay here and run with potential 500k bonus. 

Or a points series for 4yo's and winner takes all at the end of the season. 

Or a 4yo race winner takes all. 

 

🤔

 

[curious]

I'd say why not put the 500k towards fixing a track or raising minimum industry stakes. Even if this worked,  keeping 2 or 3 good 4yos racing in the country, ain't going to improve wagering revenue by a single $1.

Edited 1 hour ago by curious

[hesi]

You would have to say that the fields for KM evening are very good.