Streamlined racing calendar confirmed for 2026-27 season

The TAB New Zealand Dates Committee has released a new-look racing calendar for the upcoming racing season with a focus on quality and strategic placement.

The 2026/27 calendar comprises 587 meetings and 5,101 races, a net reduction of 433 meetings and 5,160 races year-on-year, driven primarily by the closure of the New Zealand greyhound racing industry and the 418 meetings held in that code in 2025/26.

Hawke’s Bay racing fans will welcome the return of a full season of racing at Hastings Racecourse after a recambering of the track, which will provide a major boost for the Central Districts thoroughbred industry.

The calendar also continues to prioritise the use of premier thoroughbred venues and peak wagering days to maximise the returns to the industry.

Overall, 310 licences have been issued to thoroughbred racing clubs, up two from last year.

There are 277 harness racing meetings, 17 fewer than last year, as part of a focused shift to fewer, higher quality meetings with more starters per race.

This includes a rebalancing of Harness Racing New Zealand’s Look North strategy, aligning Alexandra Park and Cambridge programmes to concentrate horse populations, contributing to a starter per race increase.

Tim Gillespie, Chair of the TAB NZ Dates Committee, said the calendar represents a good balance of the needs for the two equine racing codes with the broadcasting operational requirements of Entain Australia and New Zealand.

“Along with these operational requirements, we are able to be guided by the wealth of wagering data from Entain, which is helping to drive the right outcomes for the industry – we want our calendar to epitomise good racing at the right time of the week and year, and at the right venue,” Tim Gillespie says.

The full calendar can be found on tabnz.org in the Other Reports section, or by clicking here