New Zealand Show jumping champion, 15-year-old Tyla Hackett, is now starting to make a name for herself in harness racing.

Nominations for North and South Island positions on the Harness Racing New Zealand (HRNZ) Board closed on Friday 19 May.

Brad Williamson has chosen to drive Majestic Man in the 2-year-old trotters section of the Harness Jewels at Ashburton on Saturday.

Gentleman Sir enhanced his chances of a 2017 Jewels crown with a courageous win at Alexandra Park last Friday night.

Champion driver Kerryn Manning heads back to New Zealand a “last trip winner.”

David Marshall and his durable 5-year-old gelding, Itsokbeingbetter, achieved a rare feat at Manawatu Raceway this week.

Alan Mason and Neville Simpson, life members of the Oamaru Harness Racing Club, have extended their association as owners of Majestic Connies, the 2-year-old trotter who qualified for the Harness Jewels with his win at Invercargill on Saturday.

As a dam, she’s already considered as being highly successful, but the real calling for Rob The Nest may just come as a grand-dam if this year’s Four-Year-Old Ruby at next week’s Harness Jewels is anything to go by.

Andrew Bublitz and Shapeshifter have issues – so much so the Cambridge trainer recently wanted to give the 4-year-old Shadow mare away for free.

Nigel McGrath was more than happy to ever so slightly to slip under the radar with Dizzy Miss Lizzy in Friday night’s PGG Wrightson NZ Yearling Sales Series Final at Addington.

The trainer behind the most hyped horse of Harness Jewels day has labelled her odds ridiculous.

Gary Hall Sr is confident Ohoka Punter will be a major Perth Inter Dominion player later this year.

Alabar and Nevele R are thrilled to announce that they have joined forces to secure the lifetime rights to the reigning US Horse of the Year, Always B Miki – the fastest horse in the history of our sport.

Up until last Thursday it had been 19 months since Fergus Schumacher last drove a New Zealand winner - and sadly his future wins might also be few and far between.

The most anxious wait for many Harness Jewels punters has ended on an unexpected high -- and that could see Piccadilly Princess start the hottest favourite on next week’s $1.2million day.

Ruthless Kayla and Paravani qualified for the Harness Jewels at the eleventh hour with wins at Oamaru on Sunday.

Tim Butt has his sights set on Australia's best pacers with My Field Marshall.

Classy pacer Mr Mojito is a definite Harness Jewels runner.
 

Natalie Rasmussen’s reserved, but powerful, raise of the fist at the end of last night’s New Zealand Oaks at Addington was a salute to a filly who she is fast considering to be one of her favourite horses of all time.

Greg and Nina Hope wouldn’t have had too many concerns in signing off on Ricky May’s driving fee for his effort behind Enghien in the PGG Wrightson NZ Yearling Sales Series Final last night.

Dexter Dunn is ready to declare war on the All Stars in the two richest races at Addington tonight --- but only one of them by choice.

The 2017 version of the Kiwi Punting Championship (KPC) has just got a whole lot better with the addition of automatic qualification for the winner of the KPC Final into the National Horseplayers Championship (NHC) to be held in Las Vegas in February 2018.

Ben Butcher will be looking to notch up his 61st career win at Cambridge Raceway tonight and has four chances to do just that.

Saddle trotting events have proved so popular at the annual Pirongia Boxing Day races in recent years they are now part of the Auckland Trotting Club’s Workouts at Pukekohe.

Cran Dalgety expected Bonnie Joan to run in the top three of last week’s Nevele R Fillies Final, but the manner in which she produced the performance to dead-heat for second, left even the usually collected Dalgety suitably impressed.

A second line draw for the likely pre-post favourite and an outside of the front line draw for her high class stable mate has done enough just to throw some murky cloud over Friday night’s Group One New Zealand Oaks at Addington.

Addington Raceway’s newest initiative, Stridemaster, is providing punters, owners and trainers with more statistical information than has ever been made able to them before.

Harness racing’s newly-crowned Mr 6000 says Kiwi mare The Orange Agent can test Aussie pacing superstar Lennytheshark given the chance.

Superstar Kiwi mare The Orange Agent should put the icing on the cake of an already awesome week for Chris Alford.

With a New Zealand record next to her name already, after just five race starts - there’s a fair bit of scope around Barry Ward’s latest find, Angel Of Harlem.

Clifton Tactic ran a track record for a mare over 2200m (mobile) of 2.40.6  (1.57.6 mile rate) when she overcame a second line draw at Forbury Park last Thursday.

When competing at the ultimate level it’s the small percentages that can often determine an outcome and for Spanish Armada they proved a major factor in her Group One success in the Nevele R Fillies Final last night at Addington.

James Stormont trained and driven trotters have won at the last two Alexandra Park meetings, but the Pukekohe horseman fears his wins may dry up if he keeps losing his race-team to Australia.

Andre Poutama is just three victories away from achieving his goal of 30 wins in his first season as an open horseman.

Tonight’s Group One Nevele R Fillies Final at Addington is more about opportunities than it is chances for Delightful Memphis.

The fine form of Rakarazor is a turnaround of the Australian fortunes of Rakauhauka (Southland) owner-breeder Brendan Fahy.

Eager Pukekohe teenager, Nathan Delany, cant wait until Friday rolls around.

Margaret Lloyd doesn’t own any racehorses any more but that didn’t stop her from getting in her car and travelling the 25km to Alexandra Park last Friday night to watch two horses bred by her late husband Bruce.

Mark Purdon and Natalie Rasmussen are the leading conditioners at Alexandra Park this season, but don’t expect the Canterbury duo to claim the track’s training premiership in 2016-2017.

Waimate (South Canterbury) owner- breeders Lex and Heather Williams have prospects in feature trotting races on both sides of the Tasman this week.

They say that a change is as good as a holiday and in the case of Buster Brady it’s worked the oracle.

Adopted Aussie Mr Mojito will open his campaign aimed at the Harness Jewels when he steps out for the first time for new trainer-driver Kerryn Manning at Melton on Friday.

There isn’t much champion driver Chris Alford has not achieved, so it takes something a bit special to get him really excited these days.

Champion driver Chris Alford has been counting down the days until his first drive on superstar mare The Orange Agent.

Jack MacKinnon’s most significant driving win also came in his own training silks at Alexandra Park last night.

Scott Dickson is one of the most humble horsemen you could ever meet, but even before the races he thought both of his pacers could go close in last night’s Wairarapa Cup at Manawatu Raceway.

His best may have succumb to injury, but Sam Smolenski is well on the way to finding her a replacement.

Brent Weaver had no right even winning one race let alone going ‘two-from-two’ at yesterday’s (Tuesday) meeting at Manawatu Raceway.

Doug Donaldson’s drive from Auckland to Tauranga last Friday night took about 15 minutes instead of the usual 150.

Jack Harrington’s biggest fear was that he would become a trainer who was known for just the one good horse.

Father Dan Cummings said the first indication he had that Bonnie Joan possessed the raw materials to help her develop into a nice stayer came when he trained and drove the then two year old to win and qualify on the grass track at Balfour in December 2015.