Unlock all articles by subscribing to this international offer

All-Access + BusinessDesk Weekly

Herald Premium, Viva Premium, The Listener & BusinessDesk
Pay just
$10
$2
per week
See all offers
Already a subscriber? Sign in here
Or
Bay of Plenty Times
  • Bay of Plenty Times home
  • Latest news
  • Business
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Property
  • Sport
  • Video
  • Death notices
  • Classifieds

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • On The Up
  • Business
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Property
    • All Property
    • Residential property listings
  • Rural
    • All Rural
    • Dairy farming
    • Sheep & beef farming
    • Horticulture
    • Animal health
    • Rural business
    • Rural life
    • Rural technology
  • Sport

Locations

  • Coromandel & Hauraki
  • Katikati
  • Tauranga
  • Mount Maunganui
  • Pāpāmoa
  • Te Puke
  • Whakatāne
  • Rotorua

Media

  • Video
  • Photo galleries
  • Today's Paper - E-Editions
  • Photo sales
  • Classifieds

Weather

  • Thames
  • Tauranga
  • Whakatāne
  • Rotorua

NZME Network

  • Advertise with NZME
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • BusinessDesk
  • Newstalk ZB
  • Sunlive
  • ZM
  • The Hits
  • Coast
  • Radio Hauraki
  • The Alternative Commentary Collective
  • Gold
  • Flava
  • iHeart Radio
  • Hokonui
  • Radio Wanaka
  • iHeartCountry New Zealand
  • Restaurant Hub
  • NZME Events

SubscribeSign In

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Home / Bay of Plenty Times

Plenty on offer as thousands turn up for Bay's biggest horse races of the season

Kiri Gillespie
By Kiri Gillespie
Assistant News Director and Multimedia Journalist·Bay of Plenty Times·
2 Jan, 2017 08:55 PM2 mins to read

Subscribe to listen

Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen.
Already a subscriber?  

Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech.
‌
Save
    Share this article
FUN DAY OUT: Groom-to-be Grant Edwards spent much of his stag party at the Tauranga Races in a ''pretty comfortable'' girl's school uniform. PHOTO/GEORGE NOVAK
FUN DAY OUT: Groom-to-be Grant Edwards spent much of his stag party at the Tauranga Races in a ''pretty comfortable'' girl's school uniform. PHOTO/GEORGE NOVAK

FUN DAY OUT: Groom-to-be Grant Edwards spent much of his stag party at the Tauranga Races in a ''pretty comfortable'' girl's school uniform. PHOTO/GEORGE NOVAK

When thousands of people descended on Tauranga Racecourse for one of the biggest races of the season yesterday, Grant Edwards did not realise he would be one of them - let alone wearing a dress.

Mr Edwards was taken to the Interislander Summer Festival races in Greerton by friends and family to celebrate his stag party, ahead of his wedding in three week's time.

''I had no idea this was going to happen,'' he said.

''I go to the races about once a year, and usually try to go for the second favourite [horse].''

Mr Edwards said he had no idea of the day's events and was simply going with whatever his friends threw at him, including an old girl's school uniform.

Unlock all articles by subscribing to this international offer

All-Access + BusinessDesk Weekly

Herald Premium, Viva Premium, The Listener & BusinessDesk
Pay just
$10
$2
per week
See all offers
Already a subscriber? Sign in here
Or
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Horses and jockeys do battle in race two of the Interislander Summer Festival races in Greerton. Photo/George Novak
Horses and jockeys do battle in race two of the Interislander Summer Festival races in Greerton. Photo/George Novak

One of Mr Edwards' friends said the online purchase of the uniform was perfect, since Mr Edwards was a teacher.

''It's pretty comfortable,'' Mr Edwards said.

Among the large crowd were many families, including English woman Polly Hall, her brother, his wife and their toddler Olive.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

''I'm really looking forward to the day,'' Ms Hall said as the races got underway.

''I'm just going to pick horses by numbers or with what Olive picks.''

Ms Hall flew over from Britain to surprise her brother Giles in Christchurch for Christmas. The siblings then travelled to Tauranga for the holidays to spend time with more family.

Ms Hall said it was good to be able to spend the day with family at an event such as the Tauranga races.

Save
    Share this article

Latest from Bay of Plenty Times

Bay of Plenty Times

Woman charged with murder after fatal BoP assault

Premium
Bay of Plenty Times

'Unprecedented growth': $55m expansion for Tauranga shopping centre

Premium
Editorial

Editorial: The suite life and bootcamps - are efforts for troubled teens working?


Sponsored

Farm plastic recycling: Getting it right saves cows, cash, and the planet

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Recommended for you

Retired dairy farmer knits more than 1000 blankets for neonatal babies
Northern Advocate

Retired dairy farmer knits more than 1000 blankets for neonatal babies

New clashes in Serbia as political crisis escalates
World

New clashes in Serbia as political crisis escalates

‘Landmark’ social housing block sold off by Kāinga Ora for $1m
Wellington

‘Landmark’ social housing block sold off by Kāinga Ora for $1m

Diesel spill in waterway after fatal tanker crash near Rotorua
Rotorua Daily Post

Diesel spill in waterway after fatal tanker crash near Rotorua

West must not be cowed by Putin, warns head of British forces
World

West must not be cowed by Putin, warns head of British forces

US man found guilty of rape after fake death scheme
World

US man found guilty of rape after fake death scheme



Latest from Bay of Plenty Times

Woman charged with murder after fatal BoP assault
Bay of Plenty Times

Woman charged with murder after fatal BoP assault

The 25-year-old will appear in Whakatāne District Court today.

14 Aug 08:53 PM
Premium
Premium
'Unprecedented growth': $55m expansion for Tauranga shopping centre
Bay of Plenty Times

'Unprecedented growth': $55m expansion for Tauranga shopping centre

14 Aug 06:02 PM
Premium
Premium
Editorial: The suite life and bootcamps - are efforts for troubled teens working?
Editorial

Editorial: The suite life and bootcamps - are efforts for troubled teens working?

14 Aug 05:00 PM


Farm plastic recycling: Getting it right saves cows, cash, and the planet
Sponsored

Farm plastic recycling: Getting it right saves cows, cash, and the planet

10 Aug 09:12 PM

NZ Herald
  • About NZ Herald
  • Meet the journalists
  • Newsletters
  • Classifieds
  • Help & support
  • Contact us
  • House rules
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use
  • Competition terms & conditions
  • Our use of AI
Subscriber Services
  • Bay of Plenty Times e-edition
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Subscribe to the Bay of Plenty Times
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • Bay of Plenty Times
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northland Age
  • The Northern Advocate
  • Waikato Herald
  • Rotorua Daily Post
  • Hawke's Bay Today
  • Whanganui Chronicle
  • Viva
  • NZ Listener
  • Newstalk ZB
  • BusinessDesk
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • iHeart Radio
  • Restaurant Hub
NZME
  • About NZME
  • NZME careers
  • Advertise with NZME
  • Digital self-service advertising
  • Book your classified ad
  • Photo sales
  • NZME Events
  • © Copyright 2025 NZME Publishing Limited
Unlock all articles by subscribing to this international offer

All-Access + BusinessDesk Weekly

Herald Premium, Viva Premium, The Listener & BusinessDesk
Pay just
$10
$2
per week
See all offers
Already a subscriber? Sign in here
Or
TOP
search by queryly Advanced Search