Racing Tauranga has outshone itself, winning the New Zealand Thoroughbred Racing Club of the Year award and further cementing the already established reputation for a high level of community engagement and financial viability.

Based at Tauranga Racecourse, one of the finest provincial racing venues in NZ, Racing Tauranga hosts some of the largest race meetings in the Waikato and Bay of Plenty region.

'This is a jewel in the country's racing clubs,” says Racing Tauranga general manager Louise Dean.

'Last year we were runner up, and this year we won for an all-round award that looks at every part of the business.”

Louise says the award recognises a number of things, including community engagement, creating and promoting racing events that are fun, exciting and profitable, and introducing new people to racing.

'It also recognises our financial viability, showing we are making money, which in turn supports local businesses, contractors and people who work for us.”

Like many other organisations, the club has had to deal with restrictions around Covid. Adding to this has been the pressure from the public discussion initiated by the Tauranga City Council's Commissioners about the future of the racecourse.

'It's really important we fight to keep it where it is.

'The people of Tauranga and Western Bay of Plenty have always been supportive of racing, and our events cater to a large range of people; families, all age groups and corporates. This is a beautiful location that allows racegoers easy access to exciting racing events.

'Our crowd numbers are always so good, with a huge amount of community of support.”

Louise says there are also a lot of racehorse owners and people involved with racing who live in the Bay of Plenty region.

That the club has been able to still grow events and sponsorship in a time of Covid is a significant achievement.

'It's been very difficult over the last 18 months operating in a Covid environment and we've been very fortunate to have sponsors and members who still supported our events even when there were restrictions on them.”