Waipukurau Jockey Club to race at Hastings

New Year's Day races at the Hawke's Bay racecourse in Hastings.

Waipukurau Jockey Club will transfer its racing to the Hastings racecourse for the coming season and will have a stand-alone meeting there on Sunday, November 8.

Along with the Wairoa Racing Club and the Poverty Bay Turf Club in Gisborne, Waipukurau was among several New Zealand gallops venues that were not granted a license to race for the 2020/21 racing season.

Waipukurau Jockey Club president Graeme Smith said his committee, while disappointed to have lost the license to race at Waipukurau, was still keen to give members a race meeting and so decided to race at Hastings for one year.

Smith said the Waipukurau Jockey Club made three submissions to New Zealand Thoroughbred Racing and has not given up hope of racing returning to the Waipukurau track in the future but that more time and information is needed, in a constantly changing environment, before the club can confirm its future plans.

"The committee is disappointed we cannot race at Waipukurau as we have no debt, have money in the bank, an irrigated track and a building plan going forward approved by New Zealand Thoroughbred Racing," Smith said.

"The Waipukurau Jockey Club is well supported by our members, owners, trainers and the community and we hope this continues.

"However, going forward into the new season it will be Hastings for our club and we will make it a good day's racing, with the Waipukurau Cup being the main race."

Hawke's Bay Racing chief executive Darin Balcombe said he was delighted the Waipukurau club had made the decision to race at Hastings on November 8 and is looking forward to making it a special annual race day for the club and its members.

Waipukurau Jockey Club has been racing on its home track for more than 160 years.

In recent times the club has staged two meetings a year, a Christmas meeting in early December and the Waipukurau Cup meeting in March. Members pay an annual subscription of $35.