Harness 5000 confirmed for 2026

After the inaugural running of the Phoebe Stud Harness 5000 at Ashburton  on December 21, the Terms and Conditions of the 2026 edition have now been confirmed.

The total of 12 $60,000 finals will be held at Ashburton next December.

Qualifying for the series will be from January 1 – November 22, 2026.

HRNZ has made a five-year commitment to Harness 5000.

“It is very much an aspirational series,” says HRNZ’s Head of Racing and Wagering Matthew Peden, “there is $720,000 in stakes on a day which is all about championing horses that have not been bred by top end stallions.”

“As we know a great horse can come from anywhere and at Ashburton we saw some quality pacers and trotters excel.”

The meeting resulted in a more than six per cent increase on turnover on the corresponding meeting at the raceway last year.

On course turnover was also up over 78% with a 21% increase in the number of horses racing.

“It was a very successful meeting,” says Ashburton Trotting Club President Peter Larkin, “the format was good, as was the crowd and the turnover.”

“The committee and staff did a wonderful job too so they should be commended.”

As was the case this year Harness 5000 2026 will have a maximum of 14 starters and all races will be 1700 metre mobiles.

Other key information for owners and breeders include :

All 3YOs must start in at least 10 races and all 4YOs and 5YOs and older must start in at least 12 races during the 2026 qualifying period
All earnings are for 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th and 5th only
All published stakes worth $50,000 or more are excluded
All bonuses are excluded.
All horses that have won a race with a published stake of $100,000 or more are excluded

Stakes :

The $60,000 stakes for The Harness 5000 Series races will be:
1st = $30,000 (50%)
2nd = $9,000 (15%)
3rd = $6,000 (10%)
4th = $3,000 (5%)
5th = $2,550 (4.25%)
6th to 14th = $1050 (1.75%)

To see the Terms and Conditions click here 

The series is open to horses whose stallion’s stud fees were $5000 or under during the year of breeding.

To see the List of Eligible Stallions click here

A full review of Harness 5000 2025 will be conducted by HRNZ, the NZ Standardbred Breeders Association (NZSBA) and the Ashburton Trotting Club in early February.

From Harness Racing New Zealand