The historic Castlepoint Beach Races celebrates its 150th anniversary this March. Photo / Jacqui Gibson
The historic Castlepoint Beach Races celebrates its 150th anniversary this March. Photo / Jacqui Gibson
Visit the rugged Wairarapa coastal township of Castlepoint on Saturday 11 March to experience the Castlepoint Beach Races – an unmissable weekend event celebrating 150 years of horse racing on the beach. Jacqui Gibson finds out more.
If Wairarapa calls to mind rugged landscapes, a windswept coastline and a tight-knitrural community, then Castlepoint is perhaps its best evocation.
It was one of the region’s earliest colonial settlements and the influence of pastoral farming runs deep here; be it in old country pubs frequented by locals or the tradition of horse riding passed down through the generations.
Hosting the annual beach races at Castlepoint is a cherished part of the community’s heritage and this year’s 150th anniversary event is a highlight on the Wairarapa’s late summer calendar.
Thousands make a beeline for the Castlepoint Beach Races. Some come and go on race day. Others make a weekend of it, arriving on Friday and staying until Sunday to soak up the race day vibe and look around the district.
Keen to join the fun? Here’s your guide to this year’s historic event.
If Wairarapa calls to mind rugged landscapes, a windswept coastline and a tight-knit rural community, then Castlepoint is perhaps its best evocation. Photo / Jacqui Gibson
Friday afternoon
Arrive at Castlepoint on Friday afternoon to explore and ready yourself for the Castlepoint Cup Calcutta, an exciting night out, kicking off in the Castlepoint Station woolshed at 7pm.
Hire a bach or rent a room at Castlepoint’s historic hotel. At Castlepoint Holiday Park & Motels, book a campsite closest to the beach for a front row view of Saturday’s beach races. Then get in your togs and jump in the sea. Decide if you’re among the many Kiwis who ranked Castlepoint in the country’s top 10 beaches a few years back.
Afterwards, head to the beachfront store to stock up on weekend supplies. Wander past holiday homes on Jetty Rd to check out The Gap, a surf break where the Pacific Ocean surges between Castle Rock and the enormous bent arm of Castlepoint Reef.
Friday night
The town is also home to Castlepoint Station, a 3750-hectare farm owned by Anders and Emily Crofoot since 1998. In keeping with tradition, the couple run the annual races with help from the Castlepoint Racing Club and community volunteers.
At 7pm, join the Crofoots in the woolshed for the Castlepoint Cup Calcutta. It’s here you’ll find generations of farmers and out-of-towners excitedly teaming up to win big in the Castlepoint Beach Races’ most important contest, the Castlepoint Cup.
Form a team to enter a raffle for a half share in one of the horses competing in the Cup race. Provided your horse is drawn, you can then bid to win the other half of the horse, or sell your half to another team. The ultimate prize? The lion’s share of the night’s earnings should your horse cross the line first in the morning.
Start Castlepoint Beach Race day by following the path to the lighthouse to find the best place to eyeball the seven races later in the day. Photo / Jacqui Gibson
Saturday
Start race day by following the path to the Castlepoint lighthouse (operational since 1913). The 15-minute hike up the limestone headland will give you views of the beach and clues on the best place to eyeball the day’s seven races.
Every year, the tides and weather dictate the exact time the races get under way – or if they’ll go ahead at all. If you haven’t already bought an entry ticket, head to the main carpark on Jetty Rd. Pay five dollars to a racing club volunteer and get amongst it.
As the day continues, expect to see families picnicking, children playing games - like the golf-ball-and-spoon race on the sand - between races, and competing jockeys dressed in their finest race day silks.
Head to a lemon-coloured portacom – the tote – at the start of each race to try a style of gambling known as equalisator betting. For two dollars, you’ll get a ticket featuring a letter randomly assigned to a racehorse in the line-up after the tote has closed. After each race is won and the winning horse declared, the prize money is divvied up between first-place ticket holders.
Later, check out Fashion on the Beach to see a sartorial entrant crowned best-dressed punter. Then visit the 150th anniversary exhibition stand celebrating the history of the beach races (thought to be one of very few still running in New Zealand). Don’t leave without pre-ordering a copy of the Castlepoint Racing Club’s professionally written and illustrated anniversary book, due out in October.
Today’s modern race event is a far cry from those held in the 1870s when shepherds raced farm hacks down the beach to score a bottle of rum, says Ian Balfour, a volunteer and former racing club president like his father and grandfather before him.
“Still, there’s nothing like the sound of horses galloping across the sand. It’s what you hang out all year to hear and it’s what you remember long after race day is over.”
Ian Balfour is former racing club president for Castlepoint Beach Races and now volunteers at the event each year. Photo / Jacqui Gibson
Sunday
Before heading home, walk the Tīnui Anzac Cross trail, a three-hour return hike that leads to a memorial cross erected at the world’s first Anzac service in April 1916.
Checklist
CASTLEPOINT
Getting there
Castlepoint is an hour’s drive from Masterton and 165km from Wellington. More information: castlepointracingclub.com
