Last season a $1 million boost in bonuses was added to the lucrative Karaka Millions Series with the introduction of the NZB Mega Maiden Series. It is set to continue in the coming season with the 2025/26 Series race schedule now available.
The NZB Mega Maiden Series is comprised of 40 non-Saturday Maiden races to be run from September 2025 through to May 2026, split across the three regions in New Zealand.
A $25,000 bonus is struck if a Karaka Millions eligible horse, three years or older, wins one of the races shown below. The winning owner(s) will receive $20,000 and the successful trainer $5,000.
Last season, bonuses were struck across Northern, Central Districts and Southern regions, with prominent owner and racing industry supporter Terry Lines taking out two of the bonuses with his runners Suavetta (NZ) (Almanzor) at Pukekohe Park for trainers Shaun & Emma Clotworthy, and seven days later, Reprobate (NZ) (Ace High) at Gore for trainer Kelvin Tyler.
Southern trainer Robert Dennis took out one of the NZB Mega Maiden Series bonuses at Ashburton in April with Gruffalo (NZ) (Proisir), and is delighted with the addition of these bonuses to the Karaka Millions Series.
“We’d bought him only about a month earlier on Gavelhouse and, while it wasn’t in his plan, we knew he was Karaka Millions eligible and that bonus was there. We decided to go for it anyway and it paid off.”
“Those NZB Mega Maiden Series bonuses are very lucrative, it was like winning a sixty-thousand-dollar race with that bonus attached. It gives us all a chance, it’s hard to get a horse to the Karaka Millions and this initiative is particularly good for owners because horses can get nice returns early on in their career throughout the county.”
“Our stable is about to crack a million dollars for the season from here in Invercargill - the future of racing is looking bright down here.”
NZTR has published the schedule of races for the NZB Mega Maiden Series for the coming season, with the following conditions applying to the 40 NZB Mega Maiden Series races:
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No horse that is KM eligible will be given preference in terms of entry to a race, normal maiden balloting conditions will apply.
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In the event of a KM Bonus race being divided KM Eligible horses will be placed in one race. This will be given priority.
NZB Mega Maiden Series Schedule for 2025/26 Season - click for the full list of all races.
