Photo / File
Shearing is not your regular weekend punt but a certain final has taken centre-stage as one of the few home-based sports betting opportunities tomorrow.
The only events in New Zealand available to sports bettors on Saturday are Super Rugby Pacific games at Eden Park in Auckland and the Cake Tin in Wellington, a women's World Cup cricket match between South Africa and Bangladesh at the University Oval, Dunedin, and the PGG Wrightson Vetmed National Shearing Circuit finals at Armidale Merino Stud, near Gimmerburn.
The TAB opened betting on the 12-man shearing event last weekend.
The first event for shearing betting was in 1998, only two years after the introduction of fixed-odds sports betting at the TAB in New Zealand.
The inaugural event was the New Zealand Corriedale Championships at the Canterbury Shears.
New Zealand is understood to be still the only country in the world where betting on shearing sports is available, partly due to shearing and woolhandling competition being recognised as a sport by Government agency Sport New Zealand.
TAB sports trader Daniel Beswick said the Circuit was a good opportunity for the sport to retain a place on the TAB programme, especially with the cancellation of other major events.
Through the TAB, people could still show their support for the sport and its top competitors, particularly with the event being closed to the public because of restrictions on public gatherings, Beswick said.
The TAB is running three pools, picking the winner, picking shearers to make the Top 3, and picking where the winning shearer will be from - the North Island or the South Island.
The Circuit is in its 50th year and was established as the McSkimming Memorial Triple Crown in 1972-1973, in honour of New Zealand fine wool Merino shearing legend Fred McSkimming.
Traditionally the finals take place at the Golden Shears in Masterton.
However, the cancellation of this glamour event, due to Covid-19 restrictions, resulted in venue changes in 2021 and 2022, with last year's final held at the New Zealand Shears in Te Kuiti.
This year the Circuit final will be held in the South Island for the first time, following the cancellation of 45 of the 59 shearing sports shows which were scheduled throughout the country during the summer.
The favourite is 2014 winner Nathan Stratford, who has shorn 17 of the circuit finals in an open-class career of 25 years, and whose 73 finals wins outnumber those of all 11 other qualifiers.
With Southland shearers being the first four favourites, the South Island is strongly favoured to produce the 50th-year winner and was paying $1.16 in the North v South pool.
Starting at 2 pm on Saturday, the 12 qualifiers will shear in two semi-final heats of 16-sheep each, comprising four Merino wethers, four half-bred merino-Romney ewes, four second-shear crossbred longwool and four lambs.
The final for the top six will be of 20 sheep (five from each wool type), providing a marathon showdown expected to take over 23 minutes.
The Circuit final will also be livestreamed by Shedtalk on Facebook.
TAB odds to win:
Nathan Stratford (Invercargill) $1.90; Brett Roberts (Mataura) $3.50; Leon Samuels $4.50 (Invercargill); Ringakaha Paewai (Gore) $6.50; Paerata Abraham (Masterton) $9.00; Aaron Haynes (Feilding) $15; Jack Fagan (Te Kuiti) $15.00; Hugh De Lacy (Parnassus) $17.00; David Gordon (Masterton) $41.00; Lionel Taumata (Gore) $81.00; Matene Mason (Masterton) $81.00; Willy McSkimming (Oamaru) $101.00.