Harness racing exports to North America are always closely aligned with the the strength or otherwise of the New Zealand dollar in relation to the greenback.
For several years now the New Zealand dollar was sitting in the 85 cents US range which made the export market shrink to almost nothing.
However in the last few months, the New Zealand dollar has dropped by over 23% in relation to the greenback and that has suddenly reignited the market for New Zealand bred harness racing horses in North America.
The stake money in some states continues to grow and more and more New Zealand bred horses are showing up in the results.
One state that has had a real stakes boost recently is New York and Yonkers Raceway in particular.
The open pace and trot at Yonkers every week are now worth US$42,000 and imports from New Zealand are showing up more and more.
Just in the last seven days for instance the following New Zealand bred horses have won at Yonkers Raceway.
* Texican 1:52.4 – $42,000 Pace * Dream Out Loud 1:51.4 – $31,000 Pace
* Mr Hasani 1:53.2 – $31,000 Pace * Alberto Contador 1:53.3 – $25,000 Pace
* Pass Them By 1:54.2 – $21,500 Pace * Freespin 1:53.3 – $21,500 Pace
* Temudjin 1:54.2 – $19,000 Pace * Caribbean Rose 1:53.4 – $25,000 Pace
Add to that horses that were placed in the same seven day period such as Mustang Mach, Second Wind, For The Ladies and Galactic Galleon and you can see why some North Americans trainers are looking to the Southern Hemisphere for stock.
The market for North America is still price sensitive though due to the high transportation costs involved but it has provided another outlet for a lot of New Zealand horses who have reached their mark down under.
Harnesslink Media