Auckland Thoroughbred Racing (ATR) has today announced a significant $4.07 million contribution to stake money for the current season, including a notable $100,000 increase to the Gr.1 Sistema Railway (1200m), taking the total stake to $700,000. This increase highlights ATR’s continued commitment to bolstering New Zealand’s racing industry and supporting its participants.

In addition to the stakes enhancement, ATR has introduced measures aimed at reducing costs for owners. One such initiative involves moving the nomination dates for some of the Club’s most prestigious races closer to the raceday.

Nominations for the Gr.1 Trackside New Zealand Derby (2400m) and Gr.2 Barfoot & Thompson Auckland Cup (3200m) will now close on Friday 3 January 2025, rather than in early December as they did last season.

This change follows an earlier shift, which had nominations closing as early as November in previous years.

Meanwhile, the Sistema Railway nominations will close on Tuesday, 21 January, four days prior to the TAB Karaka Millions on Saturday 25 January 2025, rather than the traditional early November cut-off when the race was held on New Year’s Day.

“We’re delighted to further invest in our racing programme with the additional funding for the Sistema Railway, one of the jewels in our racing calendar,” ATR chief executive Paul Wilcox said.

“The changes to nomination dates are part of a broader strategy to ease the burden on owners and trainers, ensuring that they have more time to make decisions about their entries. These initiatives are designed to make racing more accessible and sustainable for all participants.”

 Another key change involves the Gr.3 Concorde (1200m). Previously scheduled to be held as part of the SkyCity New Year’s Day Races, the race has been rescheduled to the Club’s Christmas Raceday on Saturday 7 December 2024 to align with the shift of the Gr1 TAB Telegraph (1200m) at Trentham from Saturday 11 January 2025 to Saturday 4 January 2025.

ATR remains committed to supporting the industry through these initiatives and looks forward to an exciting season ahead at its Ellerslie and Pukekohe Park venues.