Author: NZHarnessNews

By Michael Guerin John Dunn thinks his team have the ideal horse for a new series of mares races set for the second half of the season in Canterbury. Dunn suggests there will be a series of six mares races, usually run at two week intervals, in the region starting late August. “We have been told there will be six races, three of them worth $60,000 and going through until mid November,” says Dunn. “I think it is a great idea because it is important to give these good mares…

by Michael Guerin New Zealand’s two equine racing codes are set to join forces to plan for the future of the industry. The thoroughbred and harness racing codes were once considered staunch rivals because while there is plenty of cross over between owners, punters and even trainers in the two codes, they uses to compete for turnover. Those days are all but gone, with harness more or less a non factor on thoroughbred racing’s biggest days while both codes benefit from a stronger overall turnover at the TAB. At the…

by Jordyn Bublitz In-form trotting mare Boss Jo added another strong performance to her record at Cambridge Raceway last night, taking out the Gavelhouse.com Silk Rd Northern Trotting Mares Ht. 1 Mobile Trot. The six-year-old daughter of Sebastian K has now won two of her last four starts and continues to build on her consistent vein of form.  Monika Ranger guided the mare to victory, settling patiently 5-back the pegs and moving forward as horses came off the fence in the final lap. Rounding the home bend the pair found their way…

by Frank Marrion, courtesy Harness Express The recent burst of form from Lottie’s Moment has been a reminder as to the tragic passing of Katie Cox last year. Cox bred the four-year-old daughter of Majestic Son and raced her briefly in the spring of 2023, when she was placed in all three two-year-old races behind the likes of Wilma’s Boy and Princess Sadie. Lottie’s Moment has won three of her eight races this time in for John Morrison, but her last three starts have been particularly good. She won a…

With a strong team of NZ Junior Drivers heading to Brisbane to contest the Australasian Young Drivers next week we put together a lift-out with profiles, stories and the racing schedule. You can view it here

New Zealand Thoroughbred Racing (NZTR) and Harness Racing New Zealand (HRNZ), supported by TAB NZ have today announced the launch of Project Stamina, a landmark collaboration to develop a unified Master Plan for the future of New Zealand’s racing infrastructure. This joint initiative marks a strategic shift from reactive maintenance to long-term, future-focused investment across both Thoroughbred and Harness racing codes. “We have reached a critical point that calls for bold decision making. Project Stamina is about making the necessary decisions to ensure our infrastructure supports a thriving future for horse racing…

by Michael Guerin Ray Green may be way past a normal retirement age but he is still looking for his next good horse. “That doesn’t stop,” says Green, who just three seasons ago completed a New Zealand Cup double with Copy That. The 79-year-old still trains at Pukekohe, these days with Nathan Delany, and while they may not have a pin-up horse the stable is still a regular Friday night force. Their 23 training wins for the season, which in harness racing runs the calendar year, puts them second behind…

by Michael Guerin Cran Dalgety may be taking one of the best horses at the meeting in Franco Sinatra to Addington tonight but that won’t be the highlight of his harness racing weekend. Because tomorrow sees the return to the stable he runs with wife Chrissie and son Carter of arguably New Zealand’s best pacer Republican Party. The now mutiple Group 1 winner of the Auckland and Invercargill Cups as well as the Messenger and Roy Purdon Memorial, Republican Party has spent the last month on the water walker and…

by Michael Guerin The Auckland Trotting Club could finally dig itself out of a $120million financial hole with the potential sale of its training track to be voted on by members on July 23. But while the ATC board have to ask their members for permission to sell the Franklin Park training track in Pukekohe, in reality they either vote in favour of the sale or risk losing harness racing in the region all together. The ATC has been under enormous financial strain since the building of apartments with commercial…