Amaretto Delight a big chance for Taylor Street Syndicate

A new ownership group is bringing fresh energy to Cambridge Raceway, as the Taylor Street Syndicate begins to make its mark on the track.

The Taylor Street Syndicate, established by Cambridge Raceway, was created with the goal of offering everyday people the opportunity to experience the thrill of harness racing ownership. Launched through the popular Taylor Street Club and extended to their friends, the syndicate now boasts around 40 enthusiastic members.

Currently, the group owns three horses, and tonight, one of them takes to the track. Amaretto Delight lines up in race 4, the Gregory Equine Mobile Pace (6:44p.m.)

The 3-year-old daughter of Bettors Delight is trained locally by Nicky Chilcott and is the first of the syndicate’s horses to make it to the races.

The filly made her debut last week at Cambridge Raceway, where she ran a strong second after trailing the leader and darting up the passing lane in the home straight.

Syndicate manager Peter McDermott says that moment was a milestone for the group.

“We were really pleased. It’s early days, but it’s nice to see her showing a bit of promise. It’s actually taken us quite a while to get our first horse to the races, so our members were pretty excited to see her go around.”

While she may not have turned heads early in her education, trainer Nicky Chilcott is encouraged by the filly’s recent development.

“She’s probably a typical Bettor’s Delight – she really hadn’t shown me a lot,” Chilcott explains. “But she has improved a huge amount since her last preparation. I was delighted with her first-up run. You wouldn’t get too carried away with it because it was a very sedate pace and 1-2-3 the fence is where they finished. Look, she can only do what she did, and she seems to have come through the run well. She’s probably not going to get the same favours tonight, but we just hope she races honestly and runs home well again.”

Peter McDermott is hopeful of a good turnout from syndicate members trackside tonight.

“They do turn up, not in great numbers,but I’d say after last week, there will be a few more on course with the hopes that she’ll go one better.”

Looking ahead, the Taylor Street Syndicate will be open to new members from January 1st, with anyone interested in harness racing encouraged to get involved. It’s a grassroots initiative helping to grow ownership and build excitement from the ground up — one race at a time.

For complete race entries, click here.

From Harness Racing New Zealand