Horse racing: NZ's greatest horse race remains unchanged

Copy That wins the NZ Trotting Cup driven by Blair Orange. Photo / John Davidson

New Zealand's greatest horse race will remain unchanged after Harness Racing New Zealand has abandoned plans to make the New Zealand Trotting Cup a handicap this year.

But HRNZ bosses say they will still conduct a review of horse numbers and possibly betting data to determine whether harness racing's biggest races become handicaps in the future.

HRNZ confirmed on Monday the New Zealand Cup and the Dominion for trotters, both held during Cup week at Addington, will remain free-for-alls meaning all horses start off the same mark.

That comes a week after it was suggested HRNZ was going to make the two races as well as the Auckland and Rowe Cups at Alexandra Park in May handicap races in an attempt to increase field size and drive more betting turnover.

The Addington club who host the New Zealand Cup voted against the move last Tuesday and said while they are happy to be party to a review, they want hard evidence suggesting making the Cup and Dominion handicap races would increase turnover.

The New Zealand Cup was a handicap until 2007 but with winning times in the great race, and harness racing in general, so much faster than they used to be there can be a real argument made that New Zealand's best pacer Self Assured couldn't have won the Cup this year off what would have been a 20m back mark.

The connections of both Self Assured and defending Cup champion Copy That, who faced a 10m handicap, indicated they would be unlikely to start in a handicap Cup.

Both trainers were happy to hear of the status quo remaining for this year's Cup and confirmed the November 8 group 1 is now back as their main spring target.

Bookmakers around Australia suspended betting on the New Zealand Cup once news of the possible return to handicap racing broke last week but the New Zealand TAB re-opened those markets on Monday night.

No decision on the future conditions of the Cups or major trots is expected until at least November.