Hastings Racecourse is now earmarked for possible redevelopment in a future where Hawke's Bay racing is staged on a new course in Flaxmere. Photo / NZME
Hawke’s Bay horse racing could move to a new $77.3 million course in Flaxmere, unlocking about 30 hectares for residential development in Hastings.
But it could be some years away, with Hawke’s Bay Racing (HBR) and New Zealand Thoroughbred Racing (NZTR) working through an interim return of racing to Hastings in the spring of 2026, and a long-term plan to create a “metropolitan” facility for premier racing into the future, before the current course could be released for development.
The proposition was made to a Tuesday night members’ update forum at the Hastings racecourse, home of the Hawke’s Bay Jockey Club (now HBR) for more than 130 years.
While apparently favourably received, decisions and a move will need a vote from the members on the final plan.
HBR and NZTR said the forum marked the first “formal opportunity” for the membership to discuss what is now a two-part strategy, developed after the safety-based cancellation of racing since the end of September last year.
The first is “restoration” of racing in Hastings, the second “advancing plans” for relocation to a greenfield site at Flaxmere in the longer term, as part of a national racing infrastructure strategy that recognises Hawke’s Bay as a key regional centre for the sport of kings.
While there have been issues of ageing buildings on racecourses nationally for many years, urgency in Hawke’s Bay was sparked by the abandonment of the second day of last year’s Spring Carnival after just one race last September.
Inspections after a horse slipped resulted in major races at the rest of the three-day carnival, and other scheduled meetings, being run on other courses, pending safety improvements.
In May it was announced that part of the course would be recambered to enable racing again in time for the Spring Carnival in 2026, and that the Waipukurau racecourse would be recommissioned for three days’ racing in the interim, the first on November 16, and including the Hawke’s Bay Cup in April.
The groups say the proposal is to develop a new, purpose-built racing and training facility envisioned as a modern metropolitan venue, hosting premier race meetings, supporting year-round training, and providing wider event and tourism benefits.
Members were told bare land off Portsmouth Rd has been earmarked, subject to funding confirmation and Resource Management Act approvals, including mana whenua consultation. A vote is required once funding is confirmed before timelines can be considered.
NZTR chief executive officer Matt Ballesty said Hawke’s Bay remained a vital part of New Zealand’s racing and is an important focus of the organisation’s long-term strategy.
“Our vision is to build sustainable, world-class racing infrastructure across the country, and Hawke’s Bay has a key role to play in that,” he said.
Richard Riddell, who became chair of HBR late last year, said the forum was about opening the conversation with members as part of the decision-making process.
The club and NZTR said redevelopment proposals would deliver benefits extending well beyond the racing industry, which has been said to support as many as 2000 jobs in Hawke’s Bay.
Any long-term redevelopment of the current racecourse site could only happen once the new facilities are ready for racing, at which land could be released.
It would be with the potential for much-needed housing and other urban projects “in the heart of Hastings”, the groups said.
“This aligns with wider community priorities, with local government and Council already progressing for new housing initiatives in the area,” they said.
In the meantime, the first of what would have been the 2025 Spring Carnival’s Triple Crown races will be raced on Saturday as the $400,000, 1400-metre Proisir Plate at Auckland’s Ellerslie track on Saturday.
It was in recent years in Hastings known as the Tarzino Trophy, but was originally the Hawke’s Bay Challenge Stakes.
Doug Laing has been a reporter for 52 years, more than 40 of them in Hawke’s Bay, at the Central Hawke’s Bay Press, the Napier Daily Telegraph and Hawke’s Bay Today. He has covered most aspects of general news and sport.