Racing: Auckland Cup week gets another fillip

Auckland's attempts to create a cup week to rival Christchurch has received another boost from the Auckland Trotting Club.

Auckland's three racing codes surprised fans when they moved their biggest races from their traditional Christmas holiday dates to March this year in an effort to build a Cup week that would attract corporate money as well as holidaying punters.

The first attempt at Auckland Cup week was successful but a touch short on glamour horses, hindered in part by iffy weather and only an average harness racing programme to compliment Ellerslie's two big days.

But the ATC will rectify that this season by moving two of its biggest races to their March 9 date as well as significantly boosting stakes.

The Auckland Cup itself will increase from $300,000 to $400,000 and will be joined by the Great Northern Pacing Derby and Great Northern Oaks, both of which will be boosted to $150,000.

Those two classics were formerly held in December and traditionally attract the best fields of the season for their age groups.

By adding those two races to Cup night, as well as the Cardigan Bay Stakes and Delightful Lady Stakes, the March 9 programme is clearly the strongest night of harness racing in New Zealand for the season, stronger even than New Zealand Cup day.

Sandwiched between two enormous days of racing at Ellerslie and the Auckland greyhound cup the meeting significantly boosts the depth of the new Cup week.

While the ATC always intended to bolster their new Cup date their move also signals further change in the way the harness racing season is being viewed.

With the hugely lucrative Harness Jewels series, with big-money races for 2, 3 and 4-year-olds pacers and trotters, starting next June many trainers are going to be reluctant to peak their horses too early in the season.

"With the Harness Jewels series and the Australasian Breeders Crown coming so late in the season for such big money we had to change," said ATC vice-president Rod Croon.

"They are now major events on the harness racing calendar so we want to position our biggest age group events at a time when they best suit the trainers and owners of the best horses.

"It means it may be later in the season before we see the best young horses but when we do they will be racing for bigger money and that has to be great for the whole industry.

"And also it gives us an amazing Auckland Cup meeting in March," said Croon

Some of the money for the stake increases has come through the change to gaming tax laws, for which the ATC and every other racing club in the country is paying homage to Minister for Racing Winston Peters.

But the ATC has been able to increase top-end stakes more than its biggest rival, the Met, who race at Addington, because they could afford to top-up their lower grades stakes less.

"We were already paying the best stakes in the country to the lower grade horses so we wanted to bolster the better races and give the industry a serious shop window," said Croon.

The stake increases do not stop at the Cup meeting, with the Messenger Pacer in May also increasing to $150,000 the same night as the Rowe Cup, which will now be the country's richest trot at $150,000.

"We realise the trotting breed is getting stronger so the Trotting Derby goes up to $75,000 as does the National Trot."

The one downside to the massive March meeting could be perceived to be the lack of a big-name race to anchor the December meeting, which culminates in the December 31 day meeting. "We are very aware of that so have made a real effort to still make December a big harness racing month at Alexandra Park."

That includes the Franklin Club moving its $50,000 cup to December 31, a date it will share with the $155,000 Sales Series 3-year-old pace, the $110,000 Sires Stakes Fillies Championship and the $75,000 National Trot.

"In our opinion that makes the December 31 date every bit as strong as last season."

The changes give the ATC three blockbuster premier meetings throughout the season but Croon is quick to assure patrons the club's recent windfall will not be heading solely into owners' pockets.

"We are committed to renovating our busiest viewing areas, the first floor of both grandstands. Planning is well under way for that and it will take our entertainment potential to a new level."