Ellerslie promise memorable first race meeting back

Horse racing at Ellerslie is making a surprise return two months ahead of schedule. And the bosses of New Zealand racing’s most famous track say they will be doing their best to provide Aucklanders starved of thoroughbred action some of the famous Ellerslie hospitality.

Thoroughbred racing returns in New Zealand for the first time since the Covid-19 lockdown at Pukekohe on Saturday but the code has been stunned by how many horses are available to race, with huge numbers at recent trials and jumpouts.

That has seen them programme two extra meetings, with Wanganui to now race on Thursday week and

Ellerslie on July 11, with the meeting that was to have been held at Pukekohe that day moved to July 15.

It will be the first time Ellerslie, who hold trials today, have staged a race meeting since the Auckland Cup fixture on March 7. The glamour track weren’t expected to hold their first meeting until September 12 but have stepped in to provide more northern racing options next month.

The meeting could be the only one at Ellerslie in a six-month period, and while it will hardly be a party to match the twilight fixtures or carnivals of summer, racing manager Craig Baker says the Auckland Racing Club will be welcoming fans back.

“We will definitely have hospitality available, with areas like Silks Restaurant doing mid-year Christmas like deals,” says Baker. “And depending on demand, we might even have other hospitality areas open, as well as the bars of course, so it will be a chance for Aucklanders to come back to thoroughbred racing.”

The return of thoroughbred racing gaining momentum is a huge positive for the industry.