With two-year-old racing on a real roll, the 2025 season for the juveniles will kick off early in February.
Harness Racing New Zealand has just released its draft schedule for the 2YOs for the first half of the year.
“Given the enormous uptake we saw in the Entain 2YO Bonus in 2024, we feel it is imperative that we provide both owners and trainers some clarity as to where racing opportunities lie, particularly early in the 2025 season,” says HRNZ’s Head of Racing and Wagering Matthew Peden.
The 2YO pacers will start on February 7 in the North Island and February 9 in the South while the 2YO Trotters start on March 21 in the South, with the North following two days later.
“It is a draft schedule and while we aren’t expecting wholesale changes to it,” says Peden, “we have the capacity to programme additional races for two-year-olds in both gaits should demand outweigh supply.”
“We expect to see a continuation of trends we saw in 2024, with a larger number of 2YO pacers and trotters lining up to race than what was historically the case”.
Included in the schedule between January and the end of July are three $100,000 Group 1s – the Diamond Creek Classic at Invercargill on April 27, the Welcome Stakes at Addington on May 23 and the Young Guns Final at Alexandra Park on May 2.
To see the draft schedule click here
