Changes to winter racing in North Island

Harness Racing New Zealand is making a small number of programme adjustments to North Island racing between May and July.

These changes relate to how racing is scheduled across Auckland and Cambridge in the winter months and are designed to make better use of the available horse population.

In summary:

Selected Thursday meetings at Cambridge will not be programmed – Thursday meetings scheduled at Cambridge, from 28 May through to 31 July will not be run.

- The North Island will race only once weekly through this period

- Racing will operate on an alternating Friday model between Auckland and Cambridge

- Some Auckland meetings will be moved to Cambridge to support this pattern

The aim of these adjustments is to:

- better utilise the available horse pool to provide stronger racing product

- support stronger field sizes

- deliver a more consistent racing programme through the winter period
 
These changes have been discussed with the clubs directly involved.

This approach reflects ongoing work to ensure the racing programme continues to support participation and performance across the industry.

The updated May–July racing calendar, incorporating these changes, is available here

The full 2026/27 Racing Calendar (August 2026-July 2027) is now being finalised through the required process with TAB NZ and will be released mid-late May 2026.