Horse racing in New Zealand

Horse racing in New Zealand consists of two forms:

* Thoroughbred Racing where the horse is ridden by a jockey
* Harness or standardbred racing where the horse is driven from a cart called a sulky.

Harness racing is sometimes referred to as trotting in New Zealand, although there are actually two types of standardbred races based on the type of gait or running style:

* trotting where the horse moves its two diagonally opposite legs forward at the same time, and
* pacing where the two legs on the same side of the horse move forward at the same time.

The majority of standardbred races in New Zealand are pacing.

## Famous New Zealand thoroughbred racehorses

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Notable Thoroughbred racehorses from New Zealand include:

* Phar Lap, the greatest Australian racehorse
* Sunline, the best race mare in New Zealand
* Nightmarch, the first horse to win the Melbourne Cup and Cox Plate in the same year
* Rising Fast, the only winner of the Spring Grand Slam
* Tulloch, the greatest Australian stayer
* Carbine, the winner of 30 principal races
* Desert Gold, the winner of 36 races during WW1
* Il Tempo, the greatest New Zealand stayer
* Grey Way, who defeated every champion in New Zealand and broke an Australasian record
* Horlicks, winner of the Japan Cup in world record time
* Balmerino, a champion international racehorse

## Famous New Zealand harness racers

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The most famous New Zealand Standardbred is the pacer Cardigan Bay. Stanley Dancer drove Cardigan Bay to $1 million in winnings in 1968, the first harness horse to surpass that milestone in American history.[1] Dancer and Cardigan Bay appeared together on The Ed Sullivan Show.[2]

Other top Standardbred horses include:

* Robalan
* Young Quinn
* Christian Cullen
* Lyell Creek
* Lazarus

## See also

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* Thoroughbred racing in New Zealand
* Harness racing in New Zealand
* New Zealand Racing Hall of Fame
* New Zealand Horse of the Year
* Glossary of Australian and New Zealand punting

## References

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1. ^ Stanley Dancer and Cardigan Bay
2. ^ "Looking back to Cardigan Bay by Mike Paradise". 11 March 2015.