A date for family and friends to gather and celebrate the life of New Zealand Racing Hall of Fame trainer Laurie Laxon has been set for late February.

The Melbourne Cup-winning trainer passed away in July, however, due to COVID lockdown restrictions there has been no opportunity to mark his passing appropriately. 

The venue for the commemoration at 3.30pm on February 24, the Sir Don Rowlands Centre overlooking the Waikato River at 601 Maungatautari Rd, Karapiro, could not be more fitting.

Laxon’s career began from stables on the banks of the Waikato River at Ngaruawahia, and he gained further fame from his property at Karapiro, again bordering New Zealand’s longest waterway. 

Laxon went on to dominate Singapore training ranks with nine premierships as well as being the first to prepare 100 winners in a season. He remains the only trainer to saddle more than 1,000 winners on the Kranji track.

*The Laurie Laxon commemoration will be an open door event and if there is no change to COVID protocols, all attendees will be required to produce a vaccination passport.