Racing: Thoroughbred racing to return two weeks ahead of schedule

Thoroughbreds will be back racing at Pukekohe on June 20 after nearly three months on the sidelines.

Thoroughbred racing's earlier return to New Zealand racetracks is confirmed.

It will be Pukekohe Park on June 20 which holds the first gallops meeting since the Covid-19 lockdown, two weeks ahead of schedule.

New Zealand Thoroughbred Racing is set to announce the new meeting programmed for that date, after liaising with trainers to ascertain interest and potential horse numbers.

Both were higher than expected with upwards of 100 horses likely to be available for the meeting. While some are certain to drop away, anything around 70 horses would be enough to hold a meeting of between six to eight races.

The meeting is likely to have predominantly shorter races because of the lack of recent racing for horses but for racing fans any action will be a blessing after the most popular racing code stopped two and half months ago.

The Saturday meeting will be followed by another meeting at Riccarton in Canterbury the following Saturday, which will be brought forward from its original July 3 date.

The next meetings will then be at Te Rapa and Awapuni on Saturday July 4.

Today saw the first official trials meeting since lockdown at Foxton and it attracted 14 heats suggesting the Central Districts will have no issues getting a race meeting off the ground by early July.

Greyhound and harness racing have already returned, with Alexandra Park tonight to be the first horse racing meeting held in Auckland since lockdown.

But thoroughbred racing has taken longer to come back as the majority of horses are trained on public tracks that had to be closed at Level 4, meaning horses needed at least six weeks to get back to anything like race fitness.

That means those trained on private tracks, farms or beaches should have a natural fitness edge for the first few meetings.

The return of thoroughbred racing, while it will hardly be Group 1 classic fare, will be the final step in restarting racing's $1.6billion industry, with all three codes back albeit on restricted schedules.

Owners will be allowed back to the harness races this weekend but it looks likely thoroughbred racing will be spared having to implement controls with many predicting the country will be back at Level 1 with no restrictions on gatherings before the June 20 relaunch date.

Pukekohe on a winter's afternoon would hardly be most racing fans' dream meeting.

But after the last three months, for many it will sound like heaven.