Harness racing is a form of horse racing in which the horses race at a specific gait. They usually pull a two-wheeled cart called a sulky, spider, or chariot occupied by a driver. In Europe, and less frequently in Australia and New Zealand, races with jockeys riding directly on saddled trotters are also conducted.
1997 in sports describes the year's events in world sport.
Lyell Creek is one of New Zealand's best Standardbred trotters. Also known as "Creek The Freak", he had 113 starts for 56 wins, 15 seconds and 11 thirds, including an Australasian record 15 Group One wins. His fastest mile rate was 1.52.4 and he won $2,950,224 in stake money, which is an Australasian record for a trotter. Lyell Creek won the 2000 Inter Dominion Trotting Championship Grand Final at Moonee Valley in Melbourne, taking home $295,000 for his efforts. He also won New Zealand's two biggest trotting races, the Dominion Handicap and the Rowe Cup, both on three occasions. In the 1999-00 season Lyell Creek won the Dominion Handicap, Inter Dominion Trotting Championship and Rowe Cup becoming the first horse to win the three races in the same season. At the Inter Dominion carnival in Melbourne he won four Group One races including the Australasian Trotters Championship, Dullard Cup and Millennium Mile where he produced a remarkable winning performance after being trapped wide on the track. It was his sixteenth consecutive win. He won 20 consecutive races until being beaten in the New Zealand Trotting Free For All on Show Day in 2000. The defeat came one start after he had broken the New Zealand record for a trotting mile at Ashburton by winning in 1:55.6. Before racing in the Northern Hemisphere he won his second Rowe Cup and the Bill Collins Mile in Melbourne.
The following lists events that happened during 1904 in New Zealand.
The following lists events that happened during 1906 in New Zealand.
The following lists events that happened during 1909 in New Zealand.
The following lists events that happened during 1940 in New Zealand.
The following lists events that happened during 1943 in New Zealand.
The New Zealand Cup for standardbred horses, also known as either the New Zealand Trotting Cup or the New Zealand Pacing Cup is a Group One (G1) harness race held annually by the New Zealand Metropolitan Trotting Club at Addington Raceway in Christchurch, New Zealand.
Take A Moment is a Standardbred horse and one of New Zealand's greatest ever trotters. Racing from 2000 to 2005, he won 39 of his 67 starts, and his overall prize money of $NZ1,164,356 is only bettered by his stablemate Lyell Creek in terms of Australasian trotters. His biggest wins included two Inter Dominion Trotting Championship Grand Finals, three Dominion Handicaps and a Rowe Cup. He was inducted into the Inter Dominion Hall of Fame.
The Auckland Pacing Cup which is sometimes referred to as the Auckland Trotting Cup or merely the Auckland Cup is a race held at Alexandra Park in Auckland, New Zealand for Standardbred horses. It is one of the two major harness races, along with the New Zealand Cup, held in New Zealand each year for the highest grade pacers. It is a Group 1 championship race and has been won by many of the champion pacers in New Zealand.
Harness racing in New Zealand is primarily a professional sport which involves pacing and trotting competitions for Standardbred racehorses. The difference is the horse's gait or running style:
The New Zealand Trotting Hall of Fame is an organization created to recognise and honour those whose achievements have enriched the New Zealand Harness racing industry.
Ordeal was a New Zealand Standardbred racemare. A notable achievement was winning the Rowe Cup, the top event in New Zealand for trotting horses. Ordeal was considered the top trotter in New Zealand in the 1960s, but had moderate success in the United States. She was the first ever trotter to break the 2:00 mile barrier in New Zealand.
Easton Light was a New Zealand Standardbred trotter. He was inducted into the New Zealand Trotting Hall of Fame with other immortals. A notable achievement was winning the Rowe Cup, the top event in New Zealand for trotting horses. He also won the Dominion Handicap twice, the other premier event for trotting horses.
Great Evander was a New Zealand standardbred racehorse. As a notable champion, he was inducted into the New Zealand Trotting Hall of Fame.
Anthony Grant Herlihy is a New Zealand driver and trainer of standardbred racehorses. He was associated with many champions and has been a leading driver of harness horses in New Zealand. In 2014, he was inducted into the New Zealand Trotting Hall of Fame, and he has also been inducted into the Inter Dominion Hall of Fame.
Mark Purdon is a driver and trainer of standardbred racehorses in New Zealand. He was associated with many champions and is one of the leading trainers and drivers of harness horses in New Zealand and Australasia. He was inducted into the Inter Dominion Hall of Fame.
The Inter Dominion Hall of Fame is an organization created to recognise and honour those whose achievements have enriched the world of the Harness racing industry, particularly in the Inter Dominion series. The hall of fame was created to honor the standardbred annual races of the Inter Dominion which includes the Inter Dominion Pacing Championship and the Inter Dominion Trotting Championship. The races are held in a rotating cycle in Australia and New Zealand. The 2020 race is being held in New South Wales.
Natalie Clair Rasmussen is a driver and trainer of Standardbred racehorses in Australia and New Zealand. She has been associated with many champions and is one of the leading trainers and drivers of harness horses in Australasia.