The TAB Karaka Millions twilight meeting on Saturday is shaping to be another exciting spectacle for punters, and adding more excitement to the mix is the introduction of World Pool to the iconic event.
The presence of World Pool will bring eyes from 25 racing jurisdictions around the world to Ellerslie on Saturday for three races - the Gr.1 Sistema Railway (1200m), Karaka Millions 2YO (1200m), and Karaka Millions 3YO (1200m) - and will provide much larger pools for New Zealand’s TAB customers to bet into.
World Pool will be introduced to New Zealand in Saturday's TAB Karaka Millions meeting at Ellerslie. Photo: Nicole Troost
Cameron Rodger, managing director of Entain NZ, said the presence of World Pool at Ellerslie this weekend is a massive coup for the New Zealand racing industry, and he is heartened by the support of the Hong Kong Jockey Club, who power World Pool.
“World Pool is a concept from the Hong Kong Jockey Club where they bring together various tote pools from 25 jurisdictions around the world into one single pool,” Rodger said.
“Usually, punters here are betting into a pool that is New Zealand and maybe a bit of Australian money. On Karaka Millions night, for those World Pool races there is going to be the ability to bet into the same pool as 25 other jurisdictions around the world. That will increase the liquidity and amount of money in there and give better stability to punters.
“It’s massive, just not for the punter, who get access to the liquidity, but I think it is a vote of confidence for the state of New Zealand racing. World Pool doesn’t go anywhere unless there is quality racing.”
The transfer of the Gr.1 Sistema Railway (1200m) from its traditional New Year’s Day timeslot to the Karaka Millions meeting was instrumental in bringing World Pool to New Zealand.
“A pre-requisite is to have a Group One on the card, so the Railway move was really important to ticking that box,” Rodger said.
“It is not just enough to have a Group One on the card, it has to be enough of a spectacle and to a standard that they (Hong Kong Jockey Club) think meets the requirements.”
Prior to Ellerslie on Saturday, World Pool will head to Meydan Racecourse in Dubai on Friday where there will be a distinct New Zealand flavour, with expat Kiwi hoop James McDonald set to ride Hong Kong hero Romantic Warrior in the Gr.1 Al Maktoum Challenge (1900m).
“It is a shame for us in some ways because if he (McDonald) wasn’t booked to ride Romantic Warrior I suspect he would have been down here again (to ride at the Karaka Millions meeting),” Rodger said.
“It is pretty amazing to have a Kiwi out there doing what he is doing. It is a great teaser for us for the races the next day.”
The TAB Karaka Millions meeting will be the first of two World Pool meetings in New Zealand, with the second taking place on the newly created Champions Day on March 8, also at Ellerslie.
“To have not just those three races on Karaka Millions night but also Champions Day now locked in as well, I think it is a big vote of confidence for where racing is at currently in New Zealand, it’s very exciting,” Rodger said. – LOVERACING.NZ News Desk
