Sudden death rocks harness racing in the north

 One of the most widely respected and enthusiastic supporters of harness racing in New Zealand, Kerry Hoggard died late yesterday in Auckland.

One of the largest owners in the industry in New Zealand, Kerry raced all his stock under the Rosslands Stud banner with a lot of success from the showplace training facility he established at Clevedon.

Gareth Dixon and latterly John and Joshua Dickie trained his horses from the Clevedon property with a lot of success.

Kerry became heavily involved in the administration side of harness racing, bringing his business acumen to the table in an industry which badly needed it.

He joined the Board of the Auckland Trotting Club in 2003 and became the president in 2012.

Kerry served on the board of Harness Racing New Zealand, but stepped down just recently 

Kerry was the driving force behind the hugely successful Nufarm.

Kerry Hoggard ended a near 50-year relationship with Nufarm this year, having helped it grow from a small local fertiliser firm to a listed entity with hundreds of millions of dollars in annual sales.

Mr Hoggard, who started with the company in 1957 before eventually becoming chief executive in 1987, and later chairman until 2009, resigned as a Nufarm director in February this year.

But it was off that beaten track and on to the horse track where Mr Hoggard was busiest, despite his stepping down as chairman of the Racing Integrity Unit in early 2013.

Mr Hoggard maintains a role as chairman of Alexandra Park, the home of Auckland Trotting Club, which in February unveiled an ambitious $200 million property development for the carpark adjacent to the ASB Showgrounds.

Alexandra Park is celebrating its 125th year of harness racing but sees the move as an opportunity to ensure a long-term future for the club.

The proposed development will comprise of high-end retail space over four buildings with 231 apartments above, ranging in price from $550,000 to $1.6 million.

It will cost more than $205 million, with the club’s borrowing expected to reach up to $186 million.

Members of the club voted in the plan’s favour at a special meeting, which Mr Hoggard described as the most significant in the club’s history.

The Blues Super Rugby franchise also committed to leasing a $4 million high-performance training facility at Alexandra Park the racing club will build and own..

“The board is unanimous it can deliver,” Mr Hoggard was reported as saying.

“There is no second prize in this exercise."

Kerry Hoggard is survived by his wife Marilyn and son Andrew.

Harnesslink Media