Harness Racing in New Zealand

Harness racing is one of New Zealand’s most enduring sporting traditions, a code where specially bred horses pull a driver in a lightweight two-wheeled cart at close to 60km/h. It draws big crowds to tracks like Addington and Alexandra Park, supports a nationwide breeding and training industry, and produces the single richest race of any kind run in the country. This guide explains what the sport is, how its showpiece events work, the records worth knowing, and how betting on harness racing fits into the New Zealand landscape.

What is harness racing?

Harness racing is contested by standardbreds — a horse breed developed specifically for pulling a cart rather than carrying a jockey. Instead of galloping, the horses use one of two regulated gaits:

• Pacing: the legs on the same side move forward together. Pacers are generally faster and make up the majority of races.
• Trotting: diagonal legs move together (front-left with rear-right, and so on). Trotting is the harder gait to hold at speed.

The driver sits behind the horse in a sulky, the light two-wheeled cart that gives the sport its distinctive look. A horse that breaks into a gallop can be disqualified or forced to lose ground, so keeping the correct gait under pressure is a core skill. Harness racing sits alongside thoroughbred flat racing and greyhound racing as one of New Zealand’s three racing codes, and is governed by Harness Racing New Zealand.

The New Zealand Cup: the sport’s showpiece

The New Zealand Cup — officially the New Zealand Trotting Cup, and despite the name a race for pacers — is the country’s most prestigious harness event. It is run each November over 3200 metres (two miles) from a standing start at Addington Raceway in Christchurch, hosted by the New Zealand Metropolitan Trotting Club.

History and prestige

The Cup was first run in 1904, when Monte Carlo took the inaugural title. Over more than a century it has grown into the flagship of the Southern Hemisphere harness calendar. Cardigan Bay, widely regarded as New Zealand’s greatest ever standardbred and the first horse in the sport to win a million dollars in prize money, claimed the Cup in 1963. Only three horses have won it three times: Indianapolis (1934–1936), False Step (1958–1960) and Terror To Love (2011–2013). Winning it remains a career-defining achievement for horse, driver, trainer and breeder alike.

Cup Week at Addington

The Cup anchors New Zealand Cup Week, a multi-day carnival at Addington that pairs top-class racing with a festival atmosphere. Cup Day itself falls on the second Tuesday of November and is a public holiday in Canterbury, drawing tens of thousands of spectators. The week also stages other Group 1 features, including the Dominion Trot for trotters and the New Zealand Free For All, making it the busiest and most-watched stretch of the harness season.

Prize money and the rise of slot races

The financial side of New Zealand harness racing has changed sharply in recent years. In 2016, Lazarus won a Cup worth $750,000; the modern New Zealand Cup carries a purse of NZ$1 million, placing it among the richest harness races in the world. A key driver of that growth has been the introduction of slot races — events where owners or syndicates buy a starting slot in advance, pooling the money into very large purses.

As part of a wider funding boost to the code reported by the New Zealand Herald, Harness Racing New Zealand lifted the Cup to $1 million and backed new headline events. Chief among them is ‘The Race’ at Cambridge Raceway, a $1 million slot race on the Night of Champions meeting, won in 2024 by Merlin. Additional slot races for three-year-old pacers and trotters, plus a boosted Dominion Trot, have further raised the amount of money on offer during the spring carnival.

Recent New Zealand Cup winners

The past few runnings have been dominated by a handful of high-class pacers, with Swayzee winning back-to-back editions in 2023 and 2024 before Kingman took the 2025 title. The table below lists the most recent winners and their winning times.

New Zealand harness racing records

New Zealand pacers and trotters have set some of the fastest times recorded anywhere. Among the most frequently cited national marks:

• Fastest mile: Border Control, 1:50.6 at Ashburton Raceway on 1 June 2013.
• Fastest 1600m (pacing): Young Al, 1:59.6 at Ascot Park Raceway on 15 January 1975.
• Fastest 2000m (mobile start): Merlin, 2:35.1 at Cambridge Raceway on 12 April 2024.
• Fastest 2700m (mobile start): Majestic Cruiser, 3:13.1 at Alexandra Park on 29 April 2022.
• Fastest 3200m (standing start): Lazarus, 3:53.1 at Addington Raceway on 8 November 2016 — set while winning the New Zealand Cup.

Lazarus, trained and driven by Mark Purdon, remains one of the most celebrated horses in the sport’s history and his Cup-winning time still stands as the benchmark over the classic two-mile trip.

Other major harness races

The New Zealand Cup headlines the calendar, but several other events matter to owners, breeders and punters:

• Auckland Cup: the North Island’s premier pacing race, run at Alexandra Park.
• Dominion Trot: the country’s championship race for trotters, staged during Cup Week at Addington.
• New Zealand Free For All: an elite weight-for-age pace held later in the Addington carnival, often bringing together the Cup’s leading runners.
• Rowe Cup: the top trotting championship in the North Island, run at Alexandra Park.

These races, along with regional cups and the three-year-old classics, give emerging horses stepping stones toward the biggest stages. Not every champion completes the set: hugely popular pacers such as Monkey King and Smoken Up built outstanding records without ever winning the New Zealand Cup itself.

Betting on harness racing in New Zealand

In New Zealand, on-course and online wagering on the races is offered through the TAB, the country’s licensed betting operator. If you are new to the code, it helps to understand the common markets before you get involved. You can learn more about the sport through our horse racing betting hub and the guide to TAB racing.

The main bet types mirror thoroughbred racing:

• Win: your selection must finish first.
• Place: your selection must finish in the top positions (usually first, second or third, depending on field size).
• Each way: effectively two bets in one — a win bet and a place bet combined. Our explainer on each-way betting breaks down how the returns work.
• Exotics: multi-horse bets such as quinellas, trifectas and first fours that pay more for correctly picking several placings.

Big carnival meetings such as Cup Week attract far higher turnover than an ordinary card, in the same way the Melbourne Cup betting market spikes on the thoroughbred side. Prices for harness races are shown as decimal odds, where your total return equals your stake multiplied by the odds.

Responsible gambling and disclaimer

This article is provided for general information about harness racing in New Zealand. It is not betting advice and does not encourage you to gamble. Racing results are unpredictable, no strategy or piece of information can guarantee a win, and you should only ever wager money you can afford to lose.

If gambling is causing you or someone you know harm, free and confidential help is available in New Zealand:

• Gambling Helpline: free on 0800 654 655, or text 8006, any time.
• Safer Gambling support and self-help tools at safergambling.org.nz.
• The Department of Internal Affairs regulates gambling in New Zealand.

You can also read our guide to responsible gambling tools for New Zealand bettors. You must be 18 or over to bet.

Frequently asked questions (FAQ)

What is the difference between pacing and trotting?

Both are regulated harness gaits. In pacing, the legs on the same side of the horse move forward together, which tends to be faster. In trotting, diagonal pairs of legs move together. Most New Zealand harness races are for pacers, but trotters have their own championship events such as the Dominion Trot.

When and where is the New Zealand Cup run?

The New Zealand Cup is run each November at Addington Raceway in Christchurch, on Cup Day, which falls on the second Tuesday of the month and is a Canterbury public holiday. It is contested over 3200 metres from a standing start.

How much prize money does the New Zealand Cup carry?

The modern New Zealand Cup is worth NZ$1 million, making it the richest race of any code in the country. Prize money has risen steadily, supported by new slot races such as ‘The Race’ at Cambridge Raceway.

Who won the most recent New Zealand Cups?

Kingman won in 2025. Before that, Swayzee won back-to-back titles in 2023 and 2024, and Copy That won in 2021 and 2022.

Can you bet on harness racing in New Zealand?

Yes. Wagering on New Zealand harness racing is offered through the TAB, the country’s licensed operator, both on-course and online. Common markets include win, place, each way and exotic bets. You must be 18 or over to bet.