Is third time the charm for Sound in taking out the Barfoot & Thompson Auckland Cup?

The Auckland Cup is an annual race held by the Auckland Racing Club (ARC), held here at Ellerslie Racecourse and was first contested in 1874

Who run the world...

Click here to view speed maps for OMF Melbourne Cup Day, Tuesday 5 November. #HorseRacing #SpeedMaps

Click here to view speed maps for Cox Plate Raceday, Saturday 26th of October. #HorseRacing #SpeedMaps

Click here to view speed maps for Great Northern Day, Saturday 7th of September. #HorseRacing #SpeedMaps

Auckland Racing Club (ARC) today announced the revival of a relationship with Haunui Farm, with the major New Zealand stud signing on to sponsor a Group race during Auckland Cup Week 2020. To be known as the Group 3 Haunui Farm King’s Plate, the race will be run over 1200m for $100,000 under set-weights-and-penalties conditions on Vodafone Derby Day (29th February 2020) at Ellerslie. Haunui Farm returns to ARC as a sponsor after a short absence, having last sponsored a major

Auckland Racing Club (ARC) is thrilled to announce that major partner, Barfoot & Thompson, has renewed its’ commitment to their iconic raceday portfolio. Barfoot & Thompson has recently confirmed that it will continue its’ partnership with Auckland Racing Club for a further four years. They have secured their role as naming rights sponsor of events including: Christmas at the Races: Presented by Barfoot & Thompson; Barfoot & Thompson Twilight Summer Night; and Barfoot & Thomp

Help us decide who is worthy of the title "Outstanding Performance of the Year". This season, we have four finalists in this category which is part of the 2018/19 Ellerslie Awards. Each finalist has been selected by our Executive General Manager - Racing & Operations, Craig Baker, with his decision based on their remarkable effort to achieve victory. Current members of the Auckland Racing Club OR fans of our Facebook page are entitled to one vote each. To vote, send an email

The Auckland Racing Club (ARC) is pleased to announce a partnership with Waikato Stud who is joining its stable in the capacity of a Group race sponsor over Auckland Cup Week. On the opening day of Auckland Cup Week 2019 – Vodafone Derby Day (2nd March) – the Group 3 $100,000 Open SWP 1200m feature will be run as the Waikato Stud Plate. ARC chief executive, Paul Wilcox, says the Club is thrilled to reignite a partnership with Waikato Stud. “We are absolutely delighted to welc

The New Zealand Bloodstock Karaka Million has attracted the best horses of their generation to race for the millions of dollars on offer here at Ellerslie on Saturday in New Zealand's richest sporting competition. Excitement is building for the two million-dollar features, with the competition heating up on Wednesday at the conclusion of the live barrier draw. Two of the favourites for the $1m Karaka Million 2YO faired very differently at the crucial barrier draw. Early favou

We're delighted to let you racing buffs know that the Barfoot & Thompson Auckland Cup has been included as part of the Sydney Cup Bonus initiative in 2019. Sydney Cup Bonus Conditions A $100,000 Owners bonus and a $50,000 Trainers bonus is entitled to any horse that places in the Sydney Cup on Saturday 13 April 2019 that has subsequently placed in the below key staying races in the 2018/19 season; The Metropolitan at Royal Randwick on Saturday 29 September 2018; The Perth Cup

Auckland Racing Club (ARC) has today confirmed racing will resume at Ellerslie Racecourse on 27th October following a successful test on its course proper yesterday. New Zealand’s premier thoroughbred racecourse has not hosted any race meetings since Auckland Cup Week in March 2018 to allow for a drainage upgrade to its track. Yesterday, 12 horses guided by senior jockeys in Samantha (Sam) Spratt, Samantha (Sam) Collett, Matt Cameron, Opie Bosson, Vinnie Colgan and Shafiq R

Thoroughbreds throughout the Southern Hemisphere turned a year older today, and Auckland Racing Club helped one special four legged friend celebrate in true style. All thoroughbreds in the Southern Hemisphere share the same birthday on 1 August. Champion New Zealand racehorse, Mufhasa, was singled out today to be honoured with a special horse-themed birthday party (think carrot cake, candles and party hats), at Ellerslie Racecourse to celebrate his 14th birthday. (Also becomi

Moët & Chandon will be the official champagne across the summer of racing at Ellerslie Racecourse. Moët & Chandon, the world’s most loved champagne, is excited to announce its partnership with Auckland Racing Club, supplying champagne across the summer of racing at Ellerslie Racecourse. Commencing on August 1st, Moët & Chandon will be the official champagne partner of New Zealand’s premier racing experience, joining a dynamic mix of the finest entertainment, corporate hospita

The strength of New Zealand’s two leading stables is illustrated by the first batch of finalists for the 2018 New Zealand Thoroughbred Horse of the Year Awards. New Zealand Thoroughbred Racing (NZTR) today announced the finalists for five of the six racehorse categories, with the finalists for Jumper of the Year to be determined later this month. Half of the 22 flat finalists are trained by either the Cambridge partnership of Murray Baker and Andrew Forsman or the Te Akau tea

Horses were replaced with diggers straight after Auckland Cup Week 2018 here at Ellerslie Racecourse as work commenced on our planned track upgrade. The project, completed at the end of May, was designed with the purpose of improving the drainage on the track as a whole, allowing our track manager greater control of the surface in the "trickier" months here at Ellerslie Racecourse. Working with the Ag & Turf team, we laid lateral drains every five metres around the circumfere

Our stables development is now well underway with the expected completion date being sometime in late October 2018. After being approved by the Board in 2017, we commenced work immediately following Auckland Cup Week back in March 2018. The project has involved the demolition of approx. 70% of the existing stables to make way for the construction of 120+ new tie-up stalls. The remaining stable space that isn’t being demolished is to be converted into a function space, bar and

Tickets and hospitality packages are on sale now for the 2018/19 season It's time to get your social life on track with an unmissable line-up of entertainment and racing set to be delivered here at Ellerslie Racecourse this coming summer. Get out the diaries and start planning your social calendar because last season saw an unprecedented number of hospitality precincts selling out well in advance of the event. With that in mind, check out the calendar below and choose your ti

Around the world, derby races have had an illustrious history with many racehorse owners aspiring to win one of these coveted races. As a result, and because here at Ellerslie we're super proud of own derby race - the $1,000,000 Vodafone New Zealand Derby which is happening on Saturday 2 March 2019 - we’ve compiled a few ‘fun facts’ about Derby races. New Zealand horses, known for their ability over middle to long distances, often punch above their weight in Australasian Derb