Cover image courtesy of Ellerslie
The groundswell of positivity continues to surge through racing in New Zealand, with a major revamp of summer racing in New Zealand from 2025 revealed on Monday.
New Zealand Thoroughbred Racing (NZTR), TAB New Zealand and Entain have joined forces to launch the Southern Hemisphere’s richest 3-year-old race - ‘The NZB Kiwi’. Sponsored by New Zealand Bloodstock (NZB), ‘The NZB Kiwi’ will carry prizemoney of NZ$3.5 million in 2025, before increasing to NZ$4.5 million by 2027. An additional NZ$1 million in bonuses will be available each year to the three placegetters of the race, if they have won one of a number of iconic New Zealand and Australian lead-up races. With the bonus component, the winner of The NZB Kiwi could take home as much as NZ$1.8 million in prizemoney.
The NZB Kiwi will be one of the major highlights of the newly established Champions Day that will feature more than NZ$9 million in prizemoney in year one, climbing to NZ$10 million in year two.
Held on the second Saturday in March at Ellerslie Racecourse, Champions Day will also include the G1 Trackside New Zealand Derby and three other iconic Group 1 races.
The NZB Kiwi - a 3-year-old, 1500-metre slot race - will be the richest race ever held in New Zealand and will carry Restricted Listed black-type status.
Fourteen slots will be available to NZB sales graduates, as well as Kiwi horses.
NZB Managing Director Andrew Seabrook said Monday’s announcement is another shot in the arm for the New Zealand industry and comes at a time when the eyes of the racing world are on Karaka.
Andrew Seabrook | Image courtesy of New Zealand News
“When we were initially approached by NZTR to be the sponsor of New Zealand’s first thoroughbred slot race, we didn’t hesitate to give it our full support,” said Seabrook.
“We love the concept and the direction that racing is heading in at the moment. To have such positive news just under a week out before the yearling sales at Karaka adds an extra layer of optimism to our industry.
“We think it’s a fantastic initiative and it’s certainly an exciting time to be racing horses in New Zealand.”
“We think it’s a fantastic initiative (The NZB Kiwi) and it’s certainly an exciting time to be racing horses in New Zealand.” - Andrew Seabrook
New Zealand’s new summer calendar will feature 51 black-type races across a 14-week period. Stakes and bonuses during this 14 week period will increase by NZ$9.1 million in the 2024/25 season, with a further NZ$3.6 million of increases planned in the 2025/26 season, taking the total stakes and bonus increases to NZ$12.7 million over two years.
The summer program also includes the creation of a two-day Karaka Carnival, which will bookend the NZB National Yearling Sales Series.
The first day of the Carnival, the existing TAB Karaka Millions Raceday will be further boosted by the addition of the G1 Railway, alongside the NZ$1 million R. Listed TAB Karaka Millions 2YO and NZ$1.5 million R. Listed TAB Karaka Millions 3YO for Karaka graduates, plus the new, open NZ$1 million Elsdon Park Aotearoa Classic for 4-year-olds.
The NZB Kiwi will be held at Ellerslie Racecourse | Image courtesy of Ellerslie
The G1 Railway will also form part of a new Super Sprint Series, with a NZ$500,000 bonus for horses that perform well across the three New Zealand legs (the Telegraph H., the Railway S., and the BCD Sprint), as well as a number of soon-to-be-named races in Australia later in the autumn carnival. This bonus scheme will sit alongside the Summer Middle Distance Series, which was established earlier in 2023 and will also be worth NZ$500,000 next season.
The second day of the Carnival, immediately following the National Yearling Sales Series, will now feature the G3 Cambridge Stud Almanzor Classic 1200 metres, alongside other innovative races to be announced.
NZTR Chairman Cameron George believes the revamped summer carnival will attract the best horses, and the best jockeys, from New Zealand and Australia, thus igniting a huge growth phase for the industry.
Cameron George | Image courtesy of New Zealand Thoroughbred Racing
“We will all look back on this once-in-a-generation opportunity and reflect on the period of transformation we have embarked on. We have an opportunity to change the game for our industry and its participants by embracing these changes, while sustaining the future of our sport,” George said.
“We have an opportunity to change the game for our industry and its participants by embracing these changes, while sustaining the future of our sport.” - Cameron George
“We’ll be highlighting our athletes, both horse and human, while creating a true spectacle to showcase their elite skills, on our top tracks, consistently throughout the summer period.”
Another boon for Auckland Thoroughbred Racing
Monday’s announcement was (further) music to the ears of Auckland Thoroughbred Racing (ATR) CEO Paul Wilcox, who is readying himself for Saturday’s Karaka Millions program.
The Auckland-based Ellerslie Racecourse, which is governed by ATR, will host the lucrative raceday, less than a fortnight after its first meeting in close to two years.
Ellerslie has undergone the biggest redevelopment in its history, with more than NZ$50 million invested to future-proof the venue.
The racecourse has a new track, a StrathAyr surface. The StrathAyr layers consist of sand, gravel and a specific matrix mix, which sits below the turf, making it ideal for fast drainage and longevity.
Ellerslie Racecourse has a new track, a StrathAyr surface | Image courtesy of Ellerslie
Paul Wilcox, chief executive officer at Auckland Thoroughbred Racing, told The Thoroughbred Report the mood within New Zealand racing is the best it has been in a long time.
“With the partnership with Entain and what they’re doing, it’s really given a lot of people in the industry, and I’m talking more about the breeders and the owners, a real shot in the arm. It signifies a new turning of the page in New Zealand racing, which is long overdue,” Wilcox said.
“The new Champions Day, where we have got four Group 1s and the new slot race and some other Group races, and get to 2026 and it’s going to be a raceday worth close to NZ$10 million, that’s starting to be on par with some of the big meetings in Sydney and Melbourne. Not that we have to copy what they do, but if we can get on equal footing where it makes some of those Aussie trainers think about putting some of their horses on a plane to Ellerslie, rather than a float to Sydney or Melbourne - it’s probably quicker door to door and you don’t have to deal with traffic, if they can come here and get some decent prizemoney, which they couldn’t do before, it turns the spotlight on us.
“I think these initiatives will benefit Australian owners as much as it will our own industry.
“I think these initiatives will benefit Australian owners as much as it will our own industry.” - Paul Wilcox
“One of our biggest markets for selling the New Zealand breed is Australia, this gives them the opportunity to turn around and target these races.”
The ‘sold out’ has gone up for the Karaka Millions meeting, which, without being dramatic, is one of the biggest and most anticipated thoroughbred meetings in New Zealand’s history.
“It’s been a couple of years in the making and we’re excited about what’s to unfold on Saturday,” said Wilcox.
Paul Wilcox | Image courtesy of Trish Dunell
“We had our first raceday Sunday-week ago and it came through with flying colours. We spoke to the jockeys that competed and the trainers that had runners and everything was positive, so we’re delighted with how it went.
“The shackles are off. We’ve been restricted with crowd sizes, prior to the new track, because of COVID and what our government did, so this has been a long four years.”
“The shackles are off. We’ve been restricted with crowd sizes, prior to the new track, because of COVID and what our government did, so this has been a long four years.” - Paul Wilcox
Wilcox is bracing for some decent rain during the week, and he admitted that in years gone by, that forecast would have given him nightmares, but that’s no longer the case.
“If we had the old track here I’d be freaking out about the weather. We look as though we will get a bit of rain on Wednesday and Thursday, but that’s something that doesn’t frighten us anymore. We know the track can handle any amount of water and we’re looking forward to it.
“If we had the old track here (at Ellerslie) I’d be freaking out about the weather. We look as though we will get a bit of rain on Wednesday and Thursday, but that’s something that doesn’t frighten us anymore.” - Paul Wilcox
“Natural irrigation from the gods is the best type of irrigation, so we’re welcoming any rain, it will be perfect for us.
“It’s coming at the right time; it doesn’t matter how good your track drains, if it falls on on raceday, it ruins it for the crowd.”
