What about the horses? Racing organisers jockey for the punters’ dollar

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Mehzebeen romps to victory in the New Zealand Cup at Riccarton on Saturday. Photo / George Heard
Another Cup Week has come and gone, with six race meetings across thoroughbreds, harness racing and greyhounds. It was hard to find a loser across the week… but some had bigger wins than others. Mike Thorpe reports.

What a week of
racing. Despite some clear shifts in power, Canterbury’s Cup Week, as a whole, was in scintillating form – with an increase in crowd numbers across the week.

The economic impact on Christchurch is considerable.
“I remember years ago, we did an economic impact study,” said Canterbury Jockey Club chief executive Tim Mills. ”Cup Week came out at the equivalent of two All Blacks test matches and it’s still pretty much the same years later. No one is going to turn down having two test matches in a week.”
This year saw competition from out of town – and that’s not a reference to champion Australian horse Swayzee, who powered his way to a second straight New Zealand Cup win at Addington last Tuesday. The battle for the entertainment dollar was with Auckland, which lured thousands north for one of five bucket-list concerts. First with Pearl Jam (two shows) and then with Coldplay (three shows).
But still, the punters turned up.
“The fact two big days are getting a crowd of around 15,000 out of a population of 300,000 – it’s actually a pretty good result. Let alone the other days [Wednesday and Friday] getting crowds of 3500-5000. I think the city could be quite proud of that,” said Mills.
Perhaps Christchurch’s new stadium (Te Kaha is due to open in April 2026) could provide an opportunity for a headline show of its own in Cup Weeks to come? Both racing codes support more attractions across the city’s biggest week of the year.
“We’re looking at a couple of options around there because I know Venues [Ōtautahi] had Crowded House here on Wednesday evening as well,” said Addington Raceway chief executive Brian Thompson.
Mills said: “I’d like to get perhaps a little bit more involvement or a renewed invigoration with the city off the race days that people go, ‘well, not only do you come to the races, but, getting into Christchurch City now is really good fun’.”
1st Place – New Zealand Cup, Riccarton Racecourse, Saturday.
Being the last event of Cup Week, Riccarton starts each year at the tail of the field but has proven recently that it can handle all conditions. Last weekend was no different. The long-range forecast was awful and the short-range forecast was worse. The morning of race day was bizarre. Cloud, wind, rain, blue sky, hail, southerly wind, sun – and 10C. And it had little effect on the size of the crowd. The Riccarton crowd of more than 14,000 were stayers.
This year the course introduced new features, and the punters lapped it up. From the adult ball pit to the disco bronco, the arrival of the “Grand Tour” proved a huge hit. A young and enthusiastic crowd was then rewarded for braving the dreadful early conditions when the sun shone against bright blue skies for the afternoon. They drifted in and out of the DJ tent that oontz-oontzed all day at the northwest end of the public area.
The members’ area was also heaving, with members and guests… and anyone else who managed to slip through.
And of course, there were horses. Mehzebeen heading off the favourite (Beavertown Boy) in the $400,000 NZ Cup race.
In 2024, Riccarton’s NZ Cup event blitzed the field with an atmosphere that stands to reinvigorate Cup Week and introduce the next generation to the social event of the year.
“At the end of the day, it is a social-interaction event, and long may that reign because human beings are gregarious. You can’t make new friends sitting at home,” said Mills.
2nd Place – The TAB Mile, Riccarton Racecourse, Wednesday.
A much smaller crowd than the Saturday, but no less enthusiastic. Being midweek, the Wednesday event tends to be corporate-heavy, and thus, even better behaved (by and large) than the Saturday crowd.
The Riccarton course is blessed with greenery which shelters the sun and (to a lesser degree) wind. It’s a feature admired by Addington’s Brian Thompson.
“They’ve got the trees, the gardens, the grass. It’s something that we sort of lack at Addington and something I’m very envious and jealous of, to be honest,” he said.
3rd Place – NZ Trotting Cup, Addington Racecourse, Tuesday.
The former favourite of Cup Week, Addington should be setting the early pace, given that it’s the first big event of the week. But it’s tired and it looks a bit unsure of itself. Had the best of the weather – not too hot, not too cold – but couldn’t crack the 15,000-person mark.
Addington CEO Bryan Thompson was still happy with the turnout and told the Herald that numbers were up on last year.
“We can always improve. I think the thing from our point of view is Tuesday, people have to commit to Tuesday and take a day off work. I think that in this sort of culture and environment, it’s a hard thing to do”, he said.
The quality on track was undeniable and Swayzee proved his class, beating a classy field to keep the cup.
Off the track, it seems to be unsure of what it wants to be to whom. A big difference to Riccarton is the designated areas. Members areas, corporate areas, owners marquee, ZM on the green… there’s a lot of places you can’t go and a lot of people to tell you that you can’t go there. At Riccarton it’s either “members” or GA.
Tuesday was for many years the premier race day of the week – but it’s clearly been overtaken by Saturday. Not that either course is looking for bragging rights.
“One time perhaps it might have been head-to-head, going back 50 years. But now we really want everyone to come to all five days. We want them [Addington] to have a big day,” said Mills.
“I know they want us to have a big day. So let’s get a hell of a lot of them cross-pollinating.”
Thompson said: “We share each other’s information. We always attend each other’s race meetings and we give each other feedback. It’s a healthy relationship. And to be honest, if they achieve their numbers it always assists with ours. We want to make sure the Cup and Show Week … experience is best for everyone.”
Hato Hone – St John
The ever-ready team of first responders spent plenty of time being ready – and much less of it needing to respond. A Hato Hone spokesperson told the Herald that across three race days (Tuesday and Friday at Addington and Saturday at Riccarton) they saw 87 patients for “assessment and treatment for ailments typical of an event of this nature, including blisters, bruising and sprains”.
Three patients required transportation to Christchurch Hospital by ambulance, reasons unknown.
Police.
A heavy presence at Addington on Tuesday saw little involvement and the rare achievement of one punter talking himself out of being evicted. There was one arrest for possession of methamphetamine. Three people were trespassed and three others were evicted.
At Riccarton on Saturday there was also one arrest – for assault. Around 17 people were evicted from the course.
“Police were overall pleased with the behaviour at Cup Week, while weather was at times average, no serious incidents were identified,” said Senior Sergeant Roy Appley.
TAB.
Cup Week turnover through both tote betting and fixed odds betting reached $27.4 million across the six meetings (three thoroughbred at Riccarton, two harness at Addington and one greyhound meet at Addington), up 5% on 2023.
The Show Day twilight meeting at Addington saw the biggest jump, with turnover of $4.4m up $1m (29%) on 2023.
Entain, owners of TAB, said more than 1.5m bets were placed at the two biggest meetings alone, with almost 2.9m bets in all placed across the week.
Close to 2000 rugby league players took to the fields of Burnside Park in Christchurch at the weekend for the 2024 Pacific Series.
Around 100 teams registered to take part in the South Island Pasifika organisation’s biggest event yet.
From Under-6s to adult open grades, the event encourages the South Island Pasifika community to represent their culture and heritage through rugby league. Teams representing Māori, Samoan, Tongan, Fijian and Cook Island heritage display their flags and cultural challenges with unbridled passion.
Organisers say the two-day event has now reached capacity – with no room (or parking) to accommodate more teams at the same venue in 2025. This year saw visiting teams from across the South Island and as far afield as Australia – with the Berry Magpies making the trip from southeast New South Wales.
Those running the event acknowledged the strain the crowd (and traffic) puts on residents near Burnside Park and thanked them for their patience.
Or, technically, the third? A recall for 20-year-old Otago opening batsman Jacob Cumming marked a major milestone for the Cumming family at the University Oval in Dunedin on Tuesday.
For the first time, brothers Jacob and Zac Cumming were named in the same senior Otago side. Just a week after 19-year-old Zac made his first-class debut in Napier, father (and former Otago and Black Caps batsman) Craig Cumming was on hand to see both his sons walk out together on their home ground.
“I keep pretty quiet in the background with their cricket careers and don’t talk publicly about them really, but that’s a special time for all of our family,” said Craig Cumming.
Cumming senior says the surroundings are familiar for his boys.
“To be fair to them, they’ve played more cricket at University Oval than probably anyone because they’ve been bowling and batting on the sidelines from when they could walk,” he said.
Zac said: “We watched Dad out here a lot growing up together and to see Jacob play here over the last few years and now for us to live out our dream, it’s pretty cool.”
Craig Cumming works for Otago Cricket and is based at the ground. He said the moment will be especially meaningful for his sons.
“They’ve always been very, very close as brothers and spend a lot of time together.”
Jacob marked his return with his maiden first-class wicket. Bowling gentle outswing, he found the edge of Wellington’s Callum McLachlan in his second over.
Mike Thorpe is a senior multimedia journalist for the Herald, based in Christchurch. He has been a broadcast journalist across television and radio for 20 years and joined the Herald in August 2024.
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