Anthony Grant Herlihy MNZM is a driver of standardbred racehorses in New Zealand. He was associated with many champions and has been a leading driver of harness horses in New Zealand. [1] He was inducted into the Inter Dominion Hall of Fame. [2]
In the 2012 New Year Honours, Herlihy was appointed a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit for services to harness racing. [3]
The following are some notable wins during Tony's career:
The Great Northern Derby is a harness racing event for 3 year old standardbreds. It is a major event for 3 year old colts and geldings in New Zealand. It is run at Alexandra Park in Auckland, on the same night as the Auckland Cup in early March. The stake of $400,000 is the richest for 3-year-olds in Australasia.
The New Zealand Messenger Championship is a Group One event for 4 year old pacing horses in New Zealand, run at Alexandra Park. In recent years the race has been held in late April or early May. It is on the same race-night as the Rowe Cup and Northern Trotting Derby for trotters and the New Zealand Sires Stakes Championship.
The Noel J Taylor Memorial Mile is a Group One event for 4 year old pacing horses in New Zealand.
The New Zealand Pacing Free For All is a major New Zealand harness race. It is notable as it is a Group One championship sprint race and has been won by nearly every champion pacer in New Zealand.
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 on New Year's Eve 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 nearly every champion pacer 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:
Peter Tom Wolfenden is a former New Zealand driver and trainer of Standardbred racehorses. He is most notable for his victory in the New Zealand Trotting Cup when he drove New Zealand's top pacer Cardigan Bay. He won the New Zealand drivers' premiership 14 times, including eight consecutive years from 1974, and twice won the Australasian Drivers Championship. He represented New Zealand seven times in the World Drivers Championship in harness racing, placing second in 1977 and third in 1971. He had 1762 career race wins in New Zealand as a driver, and 798 as a trainer.
The Rowe Cup is a race held annually in May at Alexandra Park, Auckland, New Zealand for standardbred horses. Worth $156,000 and run over a distance of 3200 m, it is one of the major harness races for trotters rather than pacers.
The Inter Dominion Trotting Championship Grand Final was a race for trotters within the overall Inter Dominion series. The series is held each year, and is a harness racing competition for both trotters and pacers that has been contested since 1936 in Australia and New Zealand. The host of the series is rotated between the 6 harness racing states of Australia and the North and South Islands of New Zealand. However, in recent years the Trotting series has mainly been held in Victoria with other Australian states reluctant to host the series. It forms part of the overall Inter Dominion series for pacers and trotters.
The Dominion is a race held at the Addington Raceway each year in Christchurch, New Zealand for standardbred horses.
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.
David James "Doody" Townley was a driver of Standardbred racehorses in New Zealand. He was associated with many champions and was a leading driver of harness horses in New Zealand.
John Langdon is a former driver of standardbred racehorses in New Zealand. He was associated with many champions and was a leading driver of harness horses in New Zealand.
The New Zealand Derby is a classic event in New Zealand for 3 year old harness horses, run at Addington during the autumn.
The New Zealand Sires Stakes 3yo Final is an event for 3-year-old pacing horses in New Zealand. The race is one of the major harness races in New Zealand and is contested by the top three-year-old horses, who have to qualify in heats run throughout New Zealand in the preceding six weeks. It is run on the same day as the New Zealand Trotting Cup.
Chokin is a New Zealand Standardbred racehorse who was notable in winning the New Zealand Trotting Cup, which is New Zealand's most prestigious horse race. Chokin is also one of the few horses to have won Harold Park Paceway's prestigious Miracle Mile Pace twice.
Gammalite was an Australian bred Standardbred racehorse who was the first Standardbred to win A$1 million in Australia. He was regarded as one of Australia's most successful pacers with 16 Group one wins. He won the Inter Dominion Championship twice and was inducted into the Inter Dominion Hall of Fame.
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.
Christopher Vance was a Group One-winning New Zealand Standardbred racehorse, trained by Roy and Barry Purdon and generally driven by Barry Purdon or Tony Herlihy.