In a coup for the New Zealand racing industry, the Hong Kong Jockey Club (HKJC) have announced the arrival of World Pool to two New Zealand thoroughbred meetings in early 2025.
In an unprecedented development for the New Zealand racing industry, the TAB Karaka Millions meeting at Ellerslie in Auckland on January 25 will be the first of the two World Pool meetings in New Zealand, with the second taking place on the newly created Champions Day on March 8, also at Ellerslie.
Champions Day is home to four Group One races, including the Trackside New Zealand Derby (2400m), Bonecrusher Stakes (2000m), NZ Thoroughbred Breeders’ Stakes (1600m) and Sistema Stakes (1200m), as well as the inaugural running of the $3.5 million NZB Kiwi (1500m), the richest race for three-year-olds in the Southern Hemisphere.
The presence of World Pool leads to increased international viewership as well as providing much larger pools for New Zealand’s TAB customers to bet into.
Lachlan Fitt, Deputy Chief Executive Officer of Entain Australia and New Zealand, the operators of New Zealand’s TAB, said the announcement reflects the progress made in New Zealand racing in the past 18 months.
“World Pool is an exciting opportunity to share the very best of New Zealand racing internationally,” Fitt said.
“The benefits of having the thoroughbred racing world firmly focused on New Zealand for these two meetings cannot be underestimated. As well as the advantages that our TAB customers will see, World Pool meetings are a confirmation that New Zealand racing is making its mark on the global stage.”
Winfried Engelbrecht-Bresges, Chief Executive of the Hong Kong Jockey Club, the hosts of World Pool, was delighted to welcome New Zealand as a World Pool partner.
“New Zealand has a long and rich horseracing history with an outstanding record of producing champion horses, jockeys and trainers on the international stage,” he said.
“Not only is New Zealand a proven nursery in terms of equine and human racing talents, but it also boasts a vibrant and respected domestic racing structure crowned by world-class Group One races.”
New Zealand-bred thoroughbreds hold a great record in Hong Kong, with the likes of Sunline, Beauty Generation, Vengeance Of Rain, Aerovelocity, Lucky Sweynesse and Werther performing to the highest level in the leading racing jurisdiction.
New Zealand-sourced gelding Golden Sixty has been crowned Hong Kong Horse of the Year for the last three seasons, while Kiwi-bred sprinting sensation Ka Ying Rising is proving to be one of the most exciting prospects in Hong Kong ahead of the renowned Hong Kong International Races next month.
New Zealand horsemen have also made their mark in Hong Kong, with leading jockey James McDonald currently plying his trade there on a short-term contract following a standout spring in Australia.
“New Zealanders James McDonald, Shane Dye, Paul O’Sullivan and Jamie Richards are synonymous with racing excellence and also strongly linked to Hong Kong and it is upon this foundation our World Pool partnership is founded,” Engelbrecht-Bresges said.
“New Zealand becomes the ninth racing jurisdiction to have its elite Group One races included in the World Pool operation and, from a personal viewpoint, it is wonderful reflect on the close racing ties shared between New Zealand and Hong Kong.
“New Zealand occupies a special place in the international racing ecosystem due to its excellence in breeding and, as a like-minded partner, the New Zealand TAB has been a strong supporter of international commingling, joining the HKJC pools for local races and other international World Pool events since 2019. We very much looked forward to a continuation of this collaboration.”
Auckland Thoroughbred Racing Chief Executive Paul Wilcox is excited by the extra international attention the World Pool will bring to two of the Auckland track’s feature meetings.
“We can’t wait to host these two meetings, and all the attention that World Pool brings,” he said. “With the addition of World Pool, we’ll be building on the hard work that delivered a game-changing TAB Karaka Millions in 2024 and producing a stunning new raceday on Champions Day.”
New Zealand Thoroughbred Racing chairman Russell Warwick has welcomed the announcement and said it will be a great addition to the local industry.
“To have World Pool operating on not one but two meetings in New Zealand is a great boost for the industry,” he said. “These meetings were already promising to be world-class affairs, and the arrival of World Pool takes them to another level.” For more information: worldpool.hkjc.com
