With two-year-old racing on a real roll, the 2025 season for the juveniles will kick off early in February. Harness Racing New Zealand has just released its draft schedule for the 2YOs for the first half of the year. “Given the enormous uptake we saw in the Entain 2YO Bonus in 2024, we feel it is imperative that we provide both owners and trainers some clarity as to where racing opportunities lie, particularly early in the 2025 season,” says HRNZ’s Head of Racing and Wagering Matthew Peden. The 2YO pacers…
Category: Meeting Previews
Carter Dalgety wins first Junior Drivers’ Premiership
By Dave Di Somma, Harness News Desk After a scarcely believable year Carter Dalgety has clinched his first Junior Drivers Premiership. The talented 21-year-old had his 66th success this year when Evangalist cleared out to a three length win in the Irving Family Mobile Pace at Reefton yesterday. With closest challenger Sam Thornley on 64 wins, and not driving at the last meeting of the season at Alexandra Park tonight that means Dalgety cannot be overtaken. “It’s a huge thrill,” says Dalgety, “as a kid you want to become…
Premium Player goes three from three
You know what they say about trotters in form and Premium Player continued his brilliant run with a West Coast hat-trick at Reefton yesterday. And those who had backed the Father Patrick four-year-old at Westport on Boxing Day and December 28 were rewarded when he won again, paying $7, with an emphatic victory in a strangely run Dawsons Hotel Reefton Trotters Cup. The Gavin Smith-trained trotter won by three lengths for driver John Dunn. Premium Player settled three back the fence, before being sent forward to take the lead. He…
The Box Seat – Dec 31
Check out this week’s The Box Seat with Matt Cross and Greg O’Connor
Merlin the one to beat in tonight’s Auckland Cup
By Michael Guerin In an Auckland Cup littered with question marks punters need to decide which doubt that can put up with the most. The second $250,000 Trillian Trust Auckland Cup on 2024 will be run at Alexandra Park tonight, the Cup moving back to the New Year’s Eve date after being held on May 24. The only thing certain about this Cup it the date move is a win, May was too late and too cold to be holding Group 1 open class pacing races, but after that this…
Ray Green gets new training partner from January 1, 2025
The New Year will usher in a few changes in the training and driving ranks, including a new training partnership of Ray Green and Nathan Delany. Just 24, Delany has gone from being stable junior at Lincoln Farms to joining 79-year-old Ray Green at the helm. Green is in the top echelon of this country’s trainers with 510 winners, including dual New Zealand Cup winner Copy That. To read more of their story click here After a very successful 2024 season that’s included 23 wins, Hayden Cullen will be joined…
The thrills keep coming for Sam Ottley
By Dave Di Somma, Harness News Desk The highlights just keep coming for Sam Ottley. 2024 has finished with a roar for the history-making driver. She has had 14 wins in six days either side of Christmas and along the way became the first New Zealand woman to drive 100 winners in a 12 month season. And it gets even better – yesterday she won in front of a huge crowd at Motukarara with Justa Terra, a Terror To Love four-year-old trained by her mother Denise. “The last few days…
What a 2024 it’s been for Greg Sugars
By Michael Guerin In a harness racing season full of surprises what Greg Sugars has achieved might just be the greatest. The harness season ends tomorrow night with the $250,000 Trillian Trust Auckland Cup meeting, with Sugars trying to win the Cup for the second time in seven months with Better Eclipse. He originally came to New Zealand to drive champion trotter Just Believe, trained by his wife Jess, in the $600,000 TAB Trot in April. They won. Sugars decided to stick around for the Alexandra Park carnival in…
Clonakilty looking to upset Pete’s party in Reefton Cup
By Mike Love Piccadilly Pete ($2.25FF) is in a great run of form going into today’s Rosco Contractors Reefton Pacers Cup over 2500m. After winning the Westport cup and backing up on day two of that meeting with another empathic victory there is no reason to doubt he will be hard to beat once again. One horse that may spoil the party is a newcomer to the circuit in Clonakilty. The Brent and Tim White trained runner has opened a close second favourite at $2.90FF although co-trainer Tim White suggests…
Selections | Reefton
Selections for Reefton today Head to www.tab.co.nz to place your bet! Reefton Trottech Form Analyst Race 111.52am 2 Waterloo Station6 Signal Hill10 Call Dudley1 Wypout Race 212.17pm 3 Franco Elvis2 Ambleside Drive1 Racingmissgracie5 Ideal Conqueror Race 312.42pm 1 She’s A Major Act9 Moonlite10 Tasi Ahnau8 Tuppence Race 41.12pm 5 Interrorgator2 Stunna4 Yogi’s Colada3 Rutherford Race 51.44pm 7 Solemn Son2 Popnrock4 Kerrally5 Opawa Peak Race 62.16pm 8 Style Council4 Blue Rock Dancer7 Ultimate Counsel9 Michael Eyre Race 72.52pm 1 The Next Best Thing3 Stanley’s Rule4 Don Juan2…