HRNZ rolls the dice with $30 million investment

Last week was a pivotal moment for harness racing in New Zealand with a $30 million cash injection announced over three years.
New Chief Executive Brad Steele, in the job less than a week, fronted a presentation at Addington on Friday afternoon alongside HRNZ Chairman Phil Holden. He spoke of an opportunity for the code to springboard itself back to relevance and to increase its market share to ensure when the current wagering agreements end in four years, harness racing isn’t relegated into obscurity.
“To be perfectly honest, we are overfunded as an industry compared to our market share....so if we don't get our market share going, that will definitely be exposed in four years' time,” Steele said.
The announcement was the result of collaborative efforts between HRNZ, the New Zealand Sires Stakes Board, Entain and TAB NZ.
On HRNZ’s part, it has rolled the dice by investing its ‘rainy day fund’ cash reserves, which were depleted significantly during the Covid lockdowns of 2020 and have been built up slowly in the ensuing four years.
“This is a huge opportunity and it is the right time to be investing in the industry,” Steele told RaceForm this week. “It is fair to say we have dipped into the industry reserves and bundled our money in with Entain and the Sires Stakes Board.”
Steele didn’t want to be drawn on specifics but noted the reserves were “well above” $5 million, and this project would ultimately utilise around 75 per cent of those funds.
The Sires Stakes Series is one of harness racing’s oldest and most trust brands and has built up nearly $1 million of its own reserves over the best part of four decades. But that body’s Executive, Martin Pierson, said the Sires Stakes Board had voted to commit those reserves to expanding the Sires Stakes Series over the next three years.
It’s a bold ploy from both entities but one which is a ringing endorsement of Entain and the vision it has for both wagering and racing in New Zealand.
Last week was the first edition of Trackside’s new ‘Friday Night Lights’ with a harness-focussed offering led by Greg O’Connor and Craig Thompson in a studio linking with interviewers Nicole Sims and Marc Cookson at the tracks.
Friday Night Lights began with Cambridge and Addington last week, but most weeks heading forward it will be a combination of Alexandra Park and Addington.
Alexandra Park, the Auckland Trotting Club and the northern harness sector in general are certainly one of the key benefactors from this cash injection. Entain head Dean Shannon has spoken of Auckland being a “critical” part of the new strategy and thus came about ‘The Look North’.
“Auckland is a key population and economic centre but it is under-represented in harness racing and wagering," says Shannon. "We have to revitalise harness racing in the North Island."
Alexandra Park is returning almost exclusively to Friday nights and races will be funded to a very strong level, including monthly $35,000 finals after $16,000 lead-up heats.
The Auckland Cup returns to its traditional place on New Years’ Eve – which the ATC have lobbied strongly for – and the track will also get a new Group One race for trotting fillies and mares in December.
Cambridge has largely been relegated to Tuesday nights and $8,000 racing, except for some dates through January and its hugely popular Race by Grins night in April featuring slot races for pacers and trotters.
ATC President Jamie MacKinnon admitted he and his club know very little about the roll out and expect to learn a whole lot more when there’s a second, north-centric announcement this Friday afternoon in Auckland.
“We are really appreciative of getting our dates back; common sense has prevailed and we are now back where we were before HRNZ relegated us to a ‘tier two’ club a few years ago,” MacKinnon told RaceForm.
“One thing I would like to say is that I hope HRNZ works to bridge the disparity between the New Zealand and Auckland Cups, the Dominion Trot and Rowe Cup and the two Derbys.
“In all cases the Addington versions, which were already bigger, have been given further cash injections.”
Addington’s time-honoured Show Day will change significantly from this year. It will becoming a twilight fixture and will feature two new $500,000 slot races for three-year-olds – one for the pacers and one for the trotters. These will have a $30,000 slot buy-in and a $200,000 top-up from HRNZ and Entain.
Steele said he would prefer the slots to be sold yearly and that will allow more people to participate, including big syndicates.
Trotters are big winners in the new funding schedule with a $1 million boost to key races and more pathway events.
Fillies and Mares will get 150 new races and $900,000 in extra funding under ‘The Silk Road’ initiative, which is designed to keep them in the country and racing to then become broodmares. The breeding credits scheme has been expanded and will now apply to any race won by a filly or mare, not races against their own sex.
Other notable announcements are the New Zealand Cup going to $1 Million, a 20 per cent increase in races and $600,000 inserted to the various Sires Stakes Series, which will include new races.
There was nothing of note for Southland in the announcement and that fact was not lost on its administrators and participants.
“We’re not happy at all,” said Craig Heyrick, President of the Invercargill Harness Racing Club.
His frustration is threefold; the Auckland Cup moving to December 31 clashes with the Invercargill Cup on December 20, Auckland’s new Golden Gait million-dollar raceday is on the same day, and Southland has largely been relegated to Thursday racing.
“We get one shot at being at the forefront of the industry and that’s premier day and now we have to share it,” he added.
“Moving the Auckland Cup means we have to split the open horse pool, and that will also affect the Central Otago Cup in early January.
“And we are told Thursdays are for the betterment of the industry but it’s of no benefit to us. A lot of the clubs are going to struggle to staff those racedays.”
Steele said he was acutely aware of Heyrick’s – and the wider Southland industry’s – feelings and appeasement is at hand.
“There will be some announcements later this week that benefits southern harness.Those new fillies and mares’ races, especially, I would expect to play a big part of that.”