It’s been three months now since I started at Harness Racing New Zealand and it’s staggering how much territory has been covered since July 1.

I have travelled around the country meeting with clubs and committees, trainers, owners, breeders and community leaders and getting a real sense of what we have to do in the months and years ahead. What’s become very evident is that how crucial volunteers are to the sport and what a terrific job they do from Auckland to Invercargill.

Their commitment helps to sustain the sport, from organizing events to caring for the horses and supporting the community. These individuals often work behind the scenes, dedicating countless hours to ensure everything runs smoothly. Their enthusiasm not only enriches the experience for participants and spectators alike but also fosters a sense of camaraderie and pride within the industry. The hard work and dedication of these volunteers play a crucial role in the continued success and growth of harness racing in New Zealand.

I have also very much enjoyed grass track racing. The concept just doesn’t work back in Australia but here it is a huge success and it’s easy to see why – it’s family friendly, at beautiful venues, and with big wide open fields.

While we will not agree on everything (and I love a debate as much as anyone) everywhere I have been I see a huge amount of passion for the sport – and that is gold. One topic that I am less pleased with though is the increasing and abhorrent social media comments that target harness racing, particularly our young professional participants. I will work with several of our stakeholders to see what can be done to better protect our people and take appropriate action where we can. It cannot be tolerated.

What’s Crossing the CEO’s Desk

The priorities for me right now include rebuilding the New Zealand Ownership ecosystem. Owners are the largest funders of racing in New Zealand and once we regain momentum here this will also assist reduce our exported horses. I am very keen to support the reintroduction of a format whereby horses are able to be claimed out of races and we are working with Southern Harness on a solution.

We are also on a new and very innovative approach focused on attracting the next generation of harness racing participants. We think this unique concept will support emerging trainers, new sires (1st and 2nd year), Owners, Breeders and yearling sales. I am hopeful we will be able to make an announcement within 30 days. This new initiative has the potential to inject an additional $1.8M in stakes over next 3 years. This is an exciting opportunity.

The Future Starts Now – Update

In July we launched the “The Future Starts Now” banner, which sets the growth direction for our sport.

In a short space of time we have some big changes aimed at revitalising our sport – new dates, new races and increased stakes with a consistent a pattern of racing midweek, onto Friday Night Lights and Sunday harness racings, and our partner Entain has introduced changes to the TAB website and the launch of a new betting platform in Betcha. At the recently held AGM in Christchurch we heard from the head of Entain Dean Shannon who was very upbeat about the direction of our sport.

Among the data he shared shows how the changes are tracking:

There are 22,000 harness racing punters every week, up 16% on last year
Every customer bets 1.8 days a week, up from 1.6 last year
Friday Night Lights and Cambridge are both being well supported, with turnover trending the right way.
Sunday thoroughbred racing is having a negligible effect on harness racing turnover, with Sunday’s figures up 13% Year on Year from the start of September.

Just recently Entain’s Managing Director Cameron Rodger sent out his monthly newsletter and were very glowing in their praise of our sport.

Here is an excerpt:

“Welcome to October’s Entain Edition

This month, I want to highlight the impressive growth in harness racing. When we took over in June 2023, the code was in steep wagering decline despite strong fundamentals.

Weekly active numbers and a dedicated fanbase indicated there was potential for significant growth but the main issue was inconsistency. The code had lost its predictable weekly structure and had allowed it to become too hard for certain horses to find competitive fields, making it challenging for fans and casual punters to follow races, form, and horses.

Working with Harness Racing New Zealand (HRNZ), we developed a strategy to restore consistency. We introduced, as examples, a steady and consistent Friday night racing slot (and established Friday Night Lights on Trackside to support this), added Heats and Finals series to create continuity in form, and established Tuesday racing to showcase competitive matchups within similar classes.

Since making these changes, harness racing has outperformed even our highest expectations. Turnover, actives, and gross revenue have all seen double-digit growth. Key metrics, including starter numbers, horse retention rates, and the average betting days per customer, have also improved markedly. Most importantly, this growth is sustainable, showing steady improvement each week. What we have seen out of harness racing in these past few months stands as one of the sharpest turnarounds we’ve seen in any sporting code from a wagering perspective—a true credit to HRNZ under Brad Steele’s leadership, with support from John Mooney, driving this transformation forward.

Alongside, HRNZ has augmented the feature race calendar with two $500,000 slot races for 3-year-old pacers and trotters during New Zealand Cup Week, and we were very pleased to secure He’s From Heaven for our slot in The Velocity.”

That was very pleasing to get that feedback from Entain and is a credit to everyone who works so hard in the sport.

AGM and Conference – Update

Earlier this month saw a fundamental change in the governance of our sport with a new HRNZ Board being installed at the annual conference. I would like to welcome the new Board directors and look forward to a fruitful and productive partnership with them.

The conference was a big success with a lot of consensus and also a lot of robust discussion.

One of the big talking points was the decision to not allow drivers to talk to each other before a race. It was hotly debated and in the end it was a very close vote. But I think it’s the best decision in the interests of the sport. As they say perception is everything and I never thought, no matter what the subject matter, that the pre race chats were a good look for the sport.

To see the new Board members profiles click here

Health and Welfare – Update

Traceability is a critical component in ensuring the sustainability of our sport. Harness Racing New Zealand (HRNZ) is enhancing its focus on tracking the movements of Standardbred horses from birth until they leave the industry. We are committed to maintaining thorough traceability while a horse is active in the racing industry, and to ensuring accurate records of its status upon deregistration or death.

To support this, HRNZ has introduced the Accountable Person Regulation, which you can read about here. The regulation assigns responsibility to the Accountable Person for meeting the physical, health, and behavioural needs of the horse. The Accountable Person will change based on whether the horse is in training, grazing at a licensed participant’s property, or living with its owner. You will need to update this within 5 days of any change of location or when a horse leaves the racing industry (e.g., through death or deregistration). As an Accountable Person, you’ll also be required to confirm the horses in your care every six months.

To make updates – log into your My HRNZ account or app to verify or amend your horse’s details. Every licensed participant and owner must have a My HRNZ account sign up here or contact us at horse@hrnz.co.nz for assistance.

For more details on determining the Accountable Person at any given time, please visit this link.

WHAT’S ON IN NOVEMBER

November is a great time for our sport. We have Aussie superstars here in Larry and Harry (Leap To Fame and Just Believe), the IRT New Zealand Trotting Cup and the Renwick Farms Dominion Trot together on the same day for the first time, and two brand new $500,000 Slot races on Show Day, and that’s just for starters.