Racing: Harness Jewels to be NZ's richest meet

A new harness racing series was launched yesterday that will lead to the richest one-day meeting in New Zealand racing.

The series is to be known as the Harness Jewels and will culminate with a nine-race programme at Ashburton in Mid-Canterbury next June with stakes totalling $1.5 million.

Harness Racing New Zealand chairman John Penney, announcing the series, said: "This event will be the largest in terms of total nett stakes for any single raceday in New Zealand.

"Never before has there been nine six-figure races on a single day in New Zealand racing history."

The nine races will be in three categories. Three will be for pacing fillies and mares, three for pacing colts and geldings and three for trotters.

The three pacing fillies and mares races will be known as Diamonds. One race will be for 2-year-olds, a second for 3-year-olds and a third for 4-year-olds.

The three pacing colts and geldings races will be known as Emeralds and be broken into the same age groups.

The three trotting races will also be run in the same three age groups and will be known as Rubies.

The six pacing races will each carry a stake of $200,000 and the three trotting races will be worth $100,000 each.

A key feature of the series is that entry is free. Each final, run over 1609m from a mobile start, will have a maximum of 12 runners and runners will be determined by the highest stake-earners (in New Zealand only) from the beginning of the season through to two weeks before the finals.

The inaugural meeting will be on June 2 at the Ashburton TC's Queen's Birthday weekend meeting but thereafter will rotate between the North and South Islands.

- NZPA