The racing of Thoroughbred horses is a popular gaming and spectator sport and industry in New Zealand.
Weight for Age (WFA) is a term in Thoroughbred horse racing which is one of the conditions for a race. It means that a horse will carry a set weight in accordance with the Weight for Age Scale. This weight varies depending on the horse’s age, its sex, the race distance and the month of the year. Weight for age races are usually Group 1 races, races of the highest quality. It is a form of handicapping for horse racing, but within the horse racing industry is not referred to as handicap which is reserved for more general handicapping.
The Auckland Cup is an annual race held by the Auckland Racing Club (ARC). It is an Open Handicap for thoroughbred racehorses competed on the flat turf over 3200 metres at Ellerslie Racecourse in Auckland, New Zealand.
Balmerino was a bay Thoroughbred stallion that was foaled at Cambridge in the Waikato region of New Zealand. He later became a champion racehorse with many international successes.
The New Zealand Derby is a set-weights Thoroughbred horse race for three-year-olds, run over a distance of 2,400 metres at Ellerslie Racecourse in Auckland, New Zealand. It is held on the first Saturday in March, as the opening day of Auckland Cup Week. The purse of the race in 2020 was $1 million.
Kindergarten was a New Zealand bred Thoroughbred racehorse that raced during the early 1940s. He won many of the premier events in New Zealand including the Wellington Cup and Auckland Cup for more than £16,000 in stake money, which was a large amount during the War.
Desert Gold was a famous and successful New Zealand Thoroughbred racehorse who raced at the time of World War I. She raced in Australia and New Zealand, winning 36 races, including 19 in succession.
Gloaming was an outstanding Thoroughbred racehorse, owned, trained, and based in New Zealand. He set many records which included the Australasian record of 19 successive wins, many in Principal Races. Gloaming was unusual in that he was a champion who won many major races in both Australia and New Zealand. Gloaming still holds the Australasian record of 45 seconds for four furlongs.
The New Zealand St. Leger is a major thoroughbred horse race run at Trentham Racecourse in New Zealand on New Zealand Oaks day in March each year.
High Caste was a Thoroughbred racehorse and stallion that was bred in New Zealand and was considered the best two-year-old in New Zealand after winning three of his four race starts. He was a good racehorse under handicap and weight for age conditions and combined this with wins in good races from 5 furlongs to 1+3⁄4 miles (2,800 m), carrying up to 10 stone 6 pounds.
Heroic (1921–1939) was an Australian Thoroughbred racehorse who won 21 races from 5 furlongs to 2 miles (3,200m) and was a leading sire in Australia.
Nightmarch, foaled in 1925 was an outstanding New Zealand bred Thoroughbred racehorse known as The Kiwi. He won the New Zealand Derby and Dunedin Cup as a three-year-old before going to Australia where he became the first horse to win both the Melbourne Cup and Cox Plate in the same year, as well as other Principal races.
Roysyn is a Thoroughbred racehorse who won the New Zealand Derby in 1995, giving trainer Roger James his first of four Derby wins and rider Vinny Colgan the first of his six Derby wins.
Castletown was a New Zealand thoroughbred racehorse who won over $2 million in prize money and is best known for winning one of New Zealand's toughest staying tests, the Wellington Cup, on three occasions.
The Hawk was an exceptional New Zealand bred Thoroughbred racehorse. He had 136 race starts, winning top quality races in both New Zealand and Australia, and set Australasian records for six and eight furlongs. In an exceptional career he won over all distances from 4 furlongs to 12 furlongs and his last race was as a rising 13-year-old.
Highland Fling was a New Zealand bred Standardbred racehorse. He is notable in that he won two New Zealand Trotting Cup races, the richest harness race, and sometimes the richest horse race in New Zealand. Highland Fling was a leading performer in the years 1947 and 1948. He won the 1948 New Zealand Trotting Cup with a handicap of 60 yards.
The Great Northern Derby was a set-weights thoroughbred horse race for three-year-old horses run over a distance of 2400 m at Ellerslie Racecourse in Auckland, New Zealand. It was discontinued in 1972 after being combined with the New Zealand Derby.
Cuddle was an outstanding New Zealand Thoroughbred racemare that won a large number of major races including the 1935 and 1936 Auckland Cups in race record time. She went to Australia in 1936, where she won a number of races including the Doncaster Handicap.
Colin Jillings was a leading trainer in thoroughbred horse racing in New Zealand from the early 1950s through until his retirement in September 2005.
