Racing: Betfair opens on Invercargill

The $6500 first race at Invercargill today doesn't look anything special but it could signal the start of one of the greatest changes in New Zealand's harness racing betting history.

The race will be the start of a commitment from giant international betting exchange Betfair to bet on all New Zealand harness races.

The predominantly internet-based company has revolutionised betting, particularly in England and Australia, as it gives punters the option to bet against each other.

That means you can either back a horse to win or lay it to lose in any New Zealand harness race from today onwards.

With a lower take-out than the tote or traditional bookmakers, the dividends on Betfair are routinely higher than other options available to punters.

Betfair has signed an integrity agreement with the New Zealand racing bosses but has yet to come to agreement over what percentage of the profits will be returned to New Zealand racing.

That will largely depend on the outcome of an appeal involving a court case between New South Wales racing authorities and Betfair.

With New Zealand punters not known for embracing new forms of betting, few established New Zealand Betfair racing customers and not many people aware of the launch, the Betfair pools on today's races and New Zealand harness racing in general in coming months will be small.

But the effect of the exchange taking bets on New Zealand harness racing will be long-term and eventually could force the Racing Board into either entering an agreement with Betfair or setting up a rival betting exchange. And the move comes at a smart time, with Australian punters able to see almost all New Zealand harness races on Sky2 and the Interdominions just around the corner.

"We are not expecting these markets to resemble the huge UK and Australian horse racing markets immediately," Betfair's Hugh Taggart told the Herald.

"But New Zealand harness racing is an excellent product and you have to start somewhere.

"We have 3 million customers worldwide we will be taking New Zealand harness racing to and we think it will become very popular."