Ellerslie Racecourse is the main racecourse in Ellerslie

Ellerslie, New Zealand

Ellerslie is a suburb of the city of Auckland, New Zealand. It is seven kilometres to the southeast of the city centre, close to State Highway 1...

, Auckland

Auckland

The Auckland metropolitan area , in the North Island of New Zealand, is the largest and most populous urban area in the country with residents, percent of the country's population. Auckland also has the largest Polynesian population of any city in the world...

, New Zealand

New Zealand

New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...

 for thoroughbred

Thoroughbred

The Thoroughbred is a horse breed best known for its use in horse racing. Although the word thoroughbred is sometimes used to refer to any breed of purebred horse, it technically refers only to the Thoroughbred breed...

 racehorses. It is an undulating, grass circuit of approximately 1,900 m.

History

The first race meeting was held at Ellerslie on 25 May 1874. At this time the racecourse was a considerable distance outside the city and it took Aucklanders up to several hours to get to the course by carriage. Many took the trains, though with the demand created by the event, as late as in 1910 they often had to travel in open cattle trucks because there were not enough normal coaches available for the demand of the extra services.

Ellerslie Racecourse was the location of the first automatic totalisator

Tote board

A tote board is a large numeric or alphanumeric display used to convey information, typically at a race track or at a telethon .The term "tote board" comes from the colloquialism for totalizator , the name for the automated...

, designed by George Julius

George Julius

Sir George Alfred Julius was the founder of Julius Poole & Gibson Pty Ltd and Automatic Totalisators Ltd, and invented the world's first automatic totalisator.-Early years:...

 and installed in 1913.

Champion racehorses to have raced at Ellerslie include Kindergarten

Kindergarten (horse)

Kindergarten was a New Zealand bred Thoroughbred racehorse that raced during the early 1940s. He won many of the premier events in New Zealand including the Wellington Cup and Auckland Cup for more than £16,000 in stake money, which was a large amount during the War.-Breeding:He was a bay colt by...

, Balmerino, Bonecrusher

Bonecrusher (horse)

Bonecrusher Is a retired champion New Zealand Thoroughbred racehorse who was widely admired in both Australia and New Zealand. Bred by Bill Punch, his dam's sire was a son of a French champion, Tantieme. Bonecrusher was purchased by Peter Mitchell for just $3,250 at the Waikato Yearling Sales,...

, Uncle Remus, Japan Cup winner Horlicks

Horlicks (horse)

Horlicks was an outstanding Thoroughbred racemare from New Zealand. She won the internationally-contested 1989 Japan Cup in a world record time of 2:22 for 2,400 metres - a remarkable feat given that many of the world's classic races, such the Belmont Stakes, are run over this distance...

, Il Tempo, Mr Tiz, Sunline

Sunline

Sunline was a New Zealand bred Thoroughbred racehorse who was the world's highest earning racemare of her time, competing on 48 occasions for 32 wins, 9 seconds and 3 thirds to earn A$11,351,607. She won races in three different countries, Australia, New Zealand and Hong Kong. She won successive...

 (who was buried at the racecourse in 2009) and Jimmy Choux

Jimmy Choux

Jimmy Choux is a New Zealand thoroughbred racehorse. On 5 March 2011, he won the 135th running of the New Zealand Derby. In doing so, he became the first horse since Surfers Paradise in 1990 to win both the New Zealand 2000 Guineas and the New Zealand Derby....

.

Ellerslie is home to two of New Zealand's major racing carnivals - the Summer Carnival and Auckland Cup Week

Auckland Cup Week

Auckland Cup Week is one of New Zealand's major racing carnivals. Held in Auckland in the first week of March, the carnival includes Thoroughbred, Harness, and Greyhound racing. The carnival was first run in 2006. The main features are the Auckland Cups for each code, with the thoroughbred version...

. The Summer Carnival is run in the Christmas-New Year period with Boxing Day and New Year's Day formerly being home to the New Zealand Derby

New Zealand Derby

The New Zealand Derby is a set-weights Thoroughbred horserace for three-year-old, run over a distance of 2,400 metres at Ellerslie Racecourse in Auckland, New Zealand. It is held on the first Saturday in March, as the opening day of Auckland Cup Week. From 2009, it was run for a purse of $2.2...

 and Auckland Cup

Auckland Cup

The Stella Artois Auckland Cup is an annual race held by the Auckland Racing Club . It is an Open Handicap for thoroughbred racehorses competed on the flat turf over 3200 metres at Ellerslie Racecourse in Auckland, New Zealand. The race is graded as a Group One and was first contested in 1874...

 respectively, but these were moved to the new Auckland Cup Week in March 2006.

Steeplechasing

Stteplechasing at Ellerslie features the well-known "hill", a part of the course not used for flat racing. The major steeplechase at Ellerslie, the Great Northern Steeplechase

Great Northern Steeplechase

The Great Northern Steeplechase is New Zealand's richest Steeplechase. It is run over 6400 m at Ellerslie Racecourse in Auckland, making it Australasia's longest horse race, taking approximately eight minutes to complete...

, requires the horses to climb this hill 3 times in the 6400m event.

Races

The following is a list of Group races

Group races

Group races are the highest standard of Thoroughbred horseraces in Australia. The Australian Pattern Committee recommends to the Australian Racing Board which races shall be designated as Group races...

 which are run at Ellerslie Racecourse.

Grp	Race Name	Age	Sex	Weight	Distance	Date
1	Zabeel Classic Zabeel Classic The Zabeel Classic is a Group One Thoroughbred horse race run at weight-for-age over a distance of 2000 metres at Ellerslie Racecourse in Auckland, New Zealand...	Open	Open	wfa	2000	December
1	Railway Stakes Railway Stakes (New Zealand) The Railway Stakes is a Group One New Zealand horse race. Held at Ellerslie on New Year's Day, it is held over 1200 metres one of New Zealand's feature sprint races....	Open	Open	wfa	1200	January
R	Karaka Million Karaka Million The Karaka Million is a major New Zealand horse race. Held at Ellerslie Racecourse, it is New Zealand's third equal richest race, with a stake of $NZ1,000,000. The race is restricted to two-year-olds who were sold through the New Zealand Bloodstock Yearling Sales held at Karaka. The race was run...	Restricted 2yo	Open	sw	1200	January
1	New Zealand Derby New Zealand Derby The New Zealand Derby is a set-weights Thoroughbred horserace for three-year-old, run over a distance of 2,400 metres at Ellerslie Racecourse in Auckland, New Zealand. It is held on the first Saturday in March, as the opening day of Auckland Cup Week. From 2009, it was run for a purse of $2.2...	3YO	Open	sw	2400	March
1	Auckland Cup Auckland Cup The Stella Artois Auckland Cup is an annual race held by the Auckland Racing Club . It is an Open Handicap for thoroughbred racehorses competed on the flat turf over 3200 metres at Ellerslie Racecourse in Auckland, New Zealand. The race is graded as a Group One and was first contested in 1874...	Open	Open	hcp	3200	March
1	Diamond Stakes	2YO	Open	sw	1200	March
1	New Zealand Stakes	Open	Open	wfa	2000	March
1	Easter Handicap Easter Handicap The Easter Handicap is a major horse race held at Ellerslie Racecourse in Auckland, New Zealand. It is raced over a distance of 1,600 metres by three-year-old and upwards thoroughbreds....	Open	Open	hcp	1600	April
2	Eight Carat Classic	3YO	Fillies	sw	1600	December
2	Great Northern Guineas	3YO	Open	sw	2000	December
2	Royal Stakes	3YO	Fillies	sw	2000	January
2	City of Auckland Cup	Open	Open	hcp	2400	January
2	Rich Hill Mile	Open	Open	hcp	1600	January
2	Championship Stakes Championship Stakes The Championship Stakes, run at Ellerslie Racecourse, is a Group 2 three-year-old race run at Ellerslie Racecourse in Auckland, New Zealand.When the New Zealand Derby was moved from December to March in the 2005-06 season, the race was set up to be run on the second Saturday in February as the...	3YO	Open	sw	2100	January
2	Darley Plate	Open	Open	wfa	1200	March
3	Lindauer Stakes	Open	Open	wfa	2000	November
3	Great Northern Challenge Stakes	Open	Open	wfa	1600	November
3	Eclipse Stakes	2YO	Open	sw	1200	January