This is the third in a major series of articles concerning racetracks of the world starting with those in New Zealand.
Trotting meetings were held on the North Island’s East Coast for approximately fifty years over three periods (1890’s, 1913 – 1933 and 1978 – 1998).
GISBORNE –
The inaugural meeting of the Poverty Bay Trotting Club (PBTC) was held at the Park Company course, a mile track at Captain Tucker’s paddock, Childers Rd (off Disraeli St and Roebuck Road) on 28 October 1891. The next annual meeting took place on Christmas Eve 1892, following which the initial PBTC ceased operating.
Trotting races were also held at Park Racecourse for the Poverty Bay Sports/Races meetings of Thursday 17 March 1892 (two of six) and 17 March 1893 (one of seven), all events being without totalisator facilities in operation.
Gisborne Park racecourse spring 1900
Park Racecourse was built by the Gisborne (thoroughbred) Racing Club at Te Hapara on the outer western fringe of Gisborne with the inaugural meeting held in 1889. The Poverty Bay TC reformed utilising this facility from 1913 until 1927. Users included the Agricultural and Pastoral Association (annual show held here 1901 – 1929); athletic and cycling events; motorcycle racing and Gisborne Coursing Club (involved rabbits and dogs in a confined area) leased a portion of the course from June 1907 until April 1910 when coursing was banned due to pressure from SPCA. The mile course was rectangular in shape with four corners, rather than a traditional oval. The picture below shows Park Racecourse with A&P grounds behind including an oval used for motorcycle racing in later years.
The Poverty Bay TC was re-formed following a meeting held on 27 September 1912 and used the Te Hapara facility from 1913. The first annual non-tote meetings consisting of six races were held on 27 February 1913 followed by another a year later on 5 March 1914. Annual club meetings from 1913 until the club’s closure in 1927 were run on the Park Racecourse. The current Gisborne thoroughbred track is located at Makaraka, not far from Park Racecourse which is now a golf course and rugby ground.
The PBTC’s first totalisator meeting was held on 7 July 1915 and annual meetings continued until the club’s closure in 1927 (final meeting 29 January 1927). Trotting races featured as part of annual Poverty Bay Hunt Club’s meetings from 1916 until 1926 (except 1920).
During this period of harness racing in Poverty Bay, well known horses to have raced at Park Racecourse included :
- Nelson Derby (GN Derby/Auckland Cup, sire of Haughty, broodmare sire of Brahman, Casabianca) won over a mile in 2:19 2/5 in 1921 as well as starting off 60yds in Poverty Bay Cup
- Peterwah (Dominion Hcp Trot, won twelve in NZ/ten over 2m including World Record 4:23 2/5 at Addington, 1928, sire of Pilot Peter 1938 Dominion Hcp), owned/trained/driven by Gisborne’s Robert (RC) Fisken, won races in 1923 and 1925 (PBTC 2m Dominion Hcp) off 218yds on Park Racecourse
- Wild Lad, a trotter of Fisken’s won a Dominion Hcp as well as Poverty Bay Cup (1922) against pacers
HAWKES BAY –
The very first trotting races held on the East Coast took place on the Napier Park thoroughbred racecourse on Saturday 30 March 1889 under the auspices of the Hawkes Bay Trotting Club. It consisted of five trotting events all raced in saddle. Next they raced at Stortford Lodge paddock, Hastings on 23 June 1891, the only time this venue featured trotting races held on the programme of the Hawkes Bay Jockey Club.
The Hawkes Bay Trotting Club (HBTC) moved to its own course in Hastings for meetings held from 7 October 1891 until Boxing Day 1899. In the initial years (1891/2 – 1894/5), three meetings were held – Spring, Autumn, Winter (October, March, June). Spring/Autumn meetings were held in 1895/6 – 1896/7, Autumn/Winter in 1897/8 with an Autumn only meeting in 1898/9 and a final summer meeting of the inaugural HBTC in December 1899 (included two thoroughbred races).
A recess of several years transpired before the club was re-formed at a meeting on 29 September 1919 (non-tote meetings held at the Waipukurau racecourse, opened in 1884; 25 May 1908/23 February 1909). The first non-tote meetings of the new club were held at Hastings racecourse (Hawkes Bay Racing Incorporated track) on 1 May 1920 and 24 May 1921. The Hastings course has been a venue of racing for the past 150 years commencing 1866.
A further lapse in harness racing occurred until the introduction of totalisator meetings on 30 May 1925 which lasted until the club’s last Hastings meeting on 1 June 1933. A further meeting to assist with finances was held at Hutt Park, Wellington on 6 September 1933 (winners including War Buoy; Sapling Stakes, NZ Derby, Louisson Hcp, won first ten consecutive starts) before the club’s existence ceased until the 1970’s. A number of well performed horses were to win the Hawkes Bay Trotting Cup in these years including Master Hal, Padlock, Arachne and Rey Spec.
Re-formed in the late 1970’s, HBTC held an equalisator meeting at Tomoana Showgrounds (800m) in December 1978. Using the small Showgrounds venue (800m), two equalisator meetings followed in 1979/80 season before an annual two day on course only meeting started on 22 November 1980 continuing until 20 January 1988 (two 2 day meetings in 1984).
The club then moved its now full tote meetings to Hastings racecourse (1700m) from its meeting of 16 January 1989. Annual two day meetings were held until 14 January 1997 (2 two day meetings in 1996) before two pacing races (1 January 1998) and four harness races (16 October 1998; three pacing, one trotting) were staged as part of Hawkes Bay Jockey Club meetings, the final occasions on which harness racing has been seen on North Island‘s East Coast. Maurice McKendry drove five winners from a ten race programme in January 1996 at the Hastings Racecourse.
Winners of the feature Hawkes Bay Trotting Cup during this later period included Dream Drive (dam of Pocket Driver 1:49.3US); Imperial Kiora (dam of Imperiora, Roxburgh/CPTC Winter Cups); Kirchhoff (Methven/Manukau Cups); No Control (1:50.2US); Brinsley (Manawatu/Te Awamutu Cups) and Sam Malone (Taranaki Cup, Palmerstonian Classic, Waikato Flying Mile).
Footnote – refer also to harnessbred articles on a) East Coast trotting (12 October 2016) b) East Coast identities (25 October 2016).
Peter Craig
13 January 2021
Approved By Dean Baring www.harnessbred.com
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