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FEBRUARY 2025
Bit between his teeth
Horse racing in the Waikato is a $505 million industry employing more than 6200 people and it is about to undergo radical change, reports senior writer Mary Anne Gill.
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Racing is all year long at Cambridge’s synthetic track.
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CON TIN UED ON PAGE 5
Waikato Thoroughbred Racing chief executive Andrew Castles at Te Rapa Raceway in Hamilton.
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a regular basis. Its underlying residential zone makes it prime for housing. It would be the first to go given courses at Cambridge and Te Rapa would still be needed for racing. The 61ha in Cambridge is already subject to what Castles calls “urban creep” – housing developments are eating into land and roads where once horses were king, but which now compete with speeding cars down Racecourse Road. Cambridge is the Southern Hemisphere’s largest thoroughbred training centre with 1200 horses regularly at work on the synthetic track – opened in 2021 – and 60-70 licence holders. Any new facility would have to cater for them. Castles says 150-200ha would have trainer allotments as part of the development. Very few horses train at Te Rapa and its 50ha – down from the original 160ha purchased in the 1920s comprises 6.5ha of mixed use residential and the rest major facilities. The venue holds 20 race days a year, its track is one of the best in the country and the international grandstand has hosted patrons who watch the country’s best thoroughbreds.
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considered (for racing),” he says. Hamilton rural specialist Peter Kelly has the task of finding between 125-200ha in a triangle starting north of Hamilton, down to Te Awamutu and across to Cambridge. “There are some pieces of land that tick a number of boxes that are not quite in that area, but close to it,” says Castles. “It’s really a matter of making sure that horses, people, race day guests and everyone have the best way possible of getting there. “You wouldn’t want to be down a long narrow road, but it doesn’t necessarily have to be off the Waikato Expressway. Transport links are important but there are a number of other criteria. “I’m not sure we will find everything that ticks every box, but it will be weighted, we’ll look for the best one that ticks the most boxes and fits the most criteria.” Tenders will be considered next month and the final proposal back to members for a special meeting in September. If approved, then the clock starts ticking. On the market will go 34ha in Te Awamutu where Waipā Racing Club used to race but is now a training facility used by 120 horses on
hen Andrew ‘Butch’ Castles says Waikato Thoroughbred Racing’s property hunt is the biggest search for racecourse land in more than a century, he’s not exaggerating. Within eight to 12 years – all going to plan – 145ha of prime Waikato land in Hamilton, Cambridge and Te Awamutu will be sold for residential and commercial development. In their place, the super club - born out of a merger between Te Rapa, Cambridge and Waipā racing clubs two years ago - will have a new greenfields’ site somewhere in the Waikato. “It will certainly be industry shaping and defining for generations to come. “Whatever decision we make will have a massive impact on future generations that look to pursue a recreational interest or a professional interest in racing in the area,” says Castles. Waikato Thoroughbred Racing’s chief executive knows he has a big job ahead of him but having passed the first hurdle – a vote by members last year to investigate a single fit-forpurpose site for racing and training in the Waikato – he has the bit between his teeth. “We want to flush out some property that hasn’t been