Harness weekend delivers record betting figures

Harness racing turnovers topped $3.5m for three meetings in this country over the weekend, a big increase on previous years.

The Akaroa Trotting Club’s meeting at Motukarara moved from Saturday in 2024 to Sunday and the impact on turnover was telling.

Overall turnover was $1.34m, up 67 per cent, with nearly 6000 more punters placing a bet this year, compared to 2024. It attracted the second highest number of unique punters at any Motukarara meeting and beaten only by the Banks Peninsula Trotting Club meeting there in December 2023.

The weekend got off to a roaring start.

Friday’s Premier night at Addington, featuring the Harness Million races as well as three Group races, saw turnover at nearly $1.6m, up nearly three per cent on last year while Auckland’s meeting was up a whopping 43 per cent to over $600,000.

In a first for an October meeting at Alexandra Park unique punters cracked the 10,000 mark.

“The results show that the adjustments to our Group and feature race calendar are delivering. The flow of key races through spring is creating a stronger narrative and giving punters more reasons to stay engaged week after week,” says HRNZ’s Head of Racing and Wagering Matthew Peden.

“For Friday Night Lights to turn over a combined $2.2M is a great result.”

This Friday both venues will be back in action.

At Addington the winners of the Group 2 Canterbury Classic and the Group 3 Canterbury Park Trotting Cup will both automatically qualify for the IRT New Zealand Trotting Cup and the Renwick Farms Dominion Trot, to be held at Addington Raceway on Tuesday, November 11.

From Harness Racing New Zealand