Racing: Hutt Park to host trots again after 5-year spell

WELLINGTON - The Wellington Harness Racing Club has been given the green light to return to Hutt Park.

The move has been sanctioned by both Harness Racing New Zealand and the New Zealand Racing Industry Board. The last harness meeting at Hutt Park was in 1995.

Wellington president Ivan McNicholl was delighted the club could return to an all-weather surface at Hutt Park rather than racing on grass at Trentham.

He said the club had received support for the move from trainers and drivers throughout New Zealand.

There would be costs involved in returning to Hutt Park, in terms of upgrading the track, but McNicholl said this had been taken into account and the club believed it would still be better off financially.

"There is a still a cloud over the long-term future of Hutt Park with the Lower Hutt City Council planning to change its reserve status in June," he said. "But there has been a lot of public concern over that decision and I wouldn't be surprised if it was overturned.

"Our major focus now is to make a go of it financially so that we can live to face another year."

The club made a profit of $2949 on its operations last season and McNicholl said the club's new dates (February 2 and 4) should benefit the club, along with the cost savings of returning to Hutt Park.

McNicholl was hoping to put together a package in association with the Manawatu club to attract strong fields. Manawatu races on February 9 and 11.

"Like the galloping clubs in the region, we need to work closely within the central districts region and frame complementary, well-staked races to attract both the animal and human personalities to the region."

Both the Wellington and Manawatu Cups will be run during the two meetings and McNicholl was hoping to market the Manawatu-Wellington circuit as a package with the international rugby sevens in Wellington on February 10 and 11.

Though programmes are still to be formulated, the Wellington Cup will be run as a class five and faster race, with a minimum stake of $20,000. But McNicholl said it had not yet been decided whether it would be for pacers or trotters.

- NZPA