New Zealand horse racing

Auckland Cup betting

NEW ZEALAND offers some of the best betting fields of any racing jurisdiction around the world and punters are starting to get involved.

Horse racing is big business in New Zealand and we only have to look at how many Kiwi-trained horses come over to Australia and dominate our races.

With one of the highest tracks per-capita rating in the world, a lack of racing is never a worry in New Zealand and premier meetings are offered from Wednesday through the Sunday.

Whether you’re betting on the New Zealand Derby or a maiden at Rotorua, betting on New Zealand racing is exciting and more importantly profitable for recreational and the more serious punters.

We have the top New Zealand betting bookmakers, the best betting racing tracks and all the info you need to place a bet on racing across the Tasman.


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How to bet on NZ horse racing

How to bet on NZ horse racing is a question we get posed a lot at this website and it is a straight-forward one to answer, with the most obvious way being to wager with online bookmakers or betting sites. These include the NZ TAB, which has online services, and many offshore online betting sites, which are perfectly legal for Kiwis to wager with.

The other options for Kiwis to wager on horse racing in New Zealand, include via on-course bookmakers, which are found at all the tracks that host competitive meetings; you can also bet on New Zealand horse racing via TAB betting outlets, with this company holding a monopoly on retail betting in the country.

We will now break down how to bet on horse racing from New Zealand:

  1. Choose an online bookmaker:
    The first step in betting on horse racing from New Zealand is to choose an online bookmaker, with these including options in the United Kingdom, Australia and even Malta-based wagering products. Unlike Australia, which does not allow their citizens to bet on horse racing with offshore bookmakers, Kiwis are able to legally wager with these bookmakers.
  2. Sign up at the online bookmaker
    Now you need to create an account at the racing betting site, with this taking a matter of minutes and involves filling in an online form. You will need to give over things like your name, email address, postal address and date of birth. This information needs to be verifiable.
  3. Fund your NZ betting site account:
    Now you need to fund you sports betting site with a number of easy payment of options. These include credit and debit cards, web wallets and even cryptocurrency.
  4. Place horse racing bets
    Generally online bookmakers in New Zealand will have their horse racing section well labelled. Simply navigate to this section and make your selections. You will then be booted to a bet slip area, where you can choose your bet type and stake.

Best New Zealand racing bookmakers

Betting on New Zealand horse racing is available with all the bookmakers listed above.

Markets are often opened earlier than the local New Zealand TAB, so punters can get the best early value.

Topbetta’s Global Tote product is also available on select New Zealand meetings, which gives punters the best possible tote price against a range of Australian bookmakers.

Several betting sites based in the United Kingdom also offer their services to New Zealand residents, with these including the likes of 888Sport, Betway and William Hill.

One of the major benefits to wagering with an international horse racing betting site, rather than one from neighbouring Australia, is that they still have free bet offers and bonus bets available. This means you might be able to get a freebet upon sign-up, which can greatly increase your chances of winning, or at the very least extend your punting session.

These sports betting sites are licensed by the United Kingdom Gambling Commission, which is a highly respected organisation.

What New Zealand races can I bet on?

Punters can bet on every race from New Zealand, which covers both the North and South Island.

Fixed odds and tote markets are available on all meetings and most bookmakers offer futures betting for the major races on the New Zealand racing calendar.

A full list of the New Zealand feature racing calendar can be found here.

Top New Zealand racing group one races

Bookmakers offer fixed odds and futures betting on all group one races from New Zealand, including the following:


Best New Zealand racing tracks

There are many high quality racing tracks in New Zealand, but most of the major group one racing is done at three/four venues.

Ellerslie, located in Auckland, is the premier track in New Zealand and hosts the likes of the Karaka Million, New Zealand Derby and the Auckland Cup.

Ellerslie was used more frequently in the past, but it has primarily become a spring, autumn and summer track with racing in the winter diverted to other venues around Auckland.

Hastings is the home of the spring carnival triple crown which kicks off with the Tarzino Trophy. The Hawke’s Bay circuit is set in a dry part of New Zealand (known as wine country) and that allows the racing surface to be premium for most of the year.

The spring carnival kicks off in October and the winners will often be seen making their way to Australia later in the year.

Riccarton plays host to the New Zealand Cup carnival where the 1000 and 2000 Guineas are the feature races. The carnival is typically compared to the Melbourne Cup carnival in terms of enjoyment and visitors on track.

Trentham is another major track, but has been used less and less of late. The home of the New Zealand Oaks has been troubled by wet tracks and is featured heavily throughout the wet winter months.


Best New Zealand racehorses

New Zealand has a proud history of producing world class thoroughbreds and punters betting on New Zealand racing can get an early glimpse at the next Kiwi champion.

Below is a list of the most famous horses from New Zealand to make it into the NZ Racing Hall of Fame, or check out our guide to the funniest horse names in racing.

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