jockey Warren Kennedy shows off the TAB Racing Club colours The past 16 months of our strategic partnership have been full of exciting new opportunities, not only for New Zealand racing and sports, but for our customers.
But the official launch of the TAB Racing Club (TRC) tomorrow opens so many doors – not only for the general public with an interest in racing, but for trainers up and down New Zealand, as well as the sustainability of the racing industry.
I have extolled the virtues of the TRC in these pages before, but the launch of the club’s portal tomorrow – where any TAB customer can opt-in to becoming a member of the club – will bring the club to life, especially with potential runners just about to hit the track.
The team went shopping at Karaka 2024 in January, buying 12 thoroughbred yearlings, before purchasing four pacers at the NZ Bloodstock standardbred yearling sales a month later. We’ve also added two other thoroughbreds to the mix, and Bella Ragazza “soft-launched” the club a couple of months ago, recording two thirds in her last two starts.
We’ve been keeping a close eye on our TRC yearlings, as they’ve progressed through their preparations, and some are now starting to emerge at spring juvenile trials.
Some have been through the naming process – Adoration, a Savabeel-Romantic Time colt, for example, is off to his second trial next month with the Te Akau team – and we’ve been teasing the club through social media with some other naming competitions, which has been building the engagement ahead of its official launch.
As with all racehorses, each one of our club’s equine representatives will advance along the racing journey at its own speed, but we’re likely to see a number of runners at the races over the coming months, which will lead to plenty of ownership experiences on offer for those TAB customers who opt in to the club.
The TRC will provide opportunities for our customers who love racing to experience the joys of ownership without spending a cent. These will include:
• access to exclusive behind-the-scenes stable content from leading trainers
• runner updates and footage
• ballots for raceday prizes including bonus prizes and event tickets
• ownership experiences including raceday owner ticketing and hospitality
• specialty events such as stable tours and trackwork mornings
• access to TRC competitions, including the opportunity to name our horses
Information on how to opt into the TRC will be available through tab.co.nz and the TAB App from midday tomorrow (Friday). If you’re a racing fan, it’s a no-brainer to get involved, so I would encourage you to come on the ride with us by joining up tomorrow afternoon.
Like any Kiwi racing owner, we’re hopeful that one or more of our two-year-olds stepping out might feature at major Ellerslie meetings like the TAB Karaka Millions in January, or maybe even at The NZB Kiwi as three-year-olds in March 2026.
With that in mind, how good was it to see the return of racing to Ellerslie last Saturday? Our customers responded in kind, with turnover reaching $2.6m for the meeting making it the top-performing non-black type NZ thoroughbred meeting in the past 12 months.
The track at the Big E played beautifully on Saturday, with winners coming from a variety of positions in the running, and with some top-class thoroughbreds making their mark at Headquarters, this excitement is sure to continue through to the Arrowfield Stud Plate at Hastings this weekend.
Before Hastings on Saturday, all Entain eyes will be on Moonee Valley tomorrow night where I Wish I Win lines up in the Gr. 1 Manikato Stakes for his final start before The Everest on 19 October. He was excellent fresh-up in the Moir Stakes, and everything appears to be going well for tomorrow night’s 1200m feature. Three weeks out, things are building nicely for Wish’s 2024 Everest ascent.
You’ll see more about Wish and several other topics of interest in this month’s Entain Edition, which is going out later today. If you’d like to receive the monthly e-newsletter in future, get in touch with the team at [email protected].
