The Wellington Cup is one of New Zealand’s premier horse races. Inaugurated in 1874 the Wellington Cup is a highly anticipated event on New Zealand’s horse racing calendar. The Cup is a yearly event that takes place every January at Trentham Racecourse in Wellington. The race was originally a Group 1 Thoroughbred horse race but was subsequently downgraded to a Group 3 horse race in 2009. The downgrade came with an adjustment top the racing distance from 3.2 kilometres to 2.4 kilometres for six years between 2009 to 2015. However, the race went back to the 3.2km distance in 2016.
Even with group 3 tag, Wellington Cup Day is still a crowd puller. Kiwis look forward to the carnival feel of the horse race as well as the betting opportunities. If the idea of going to the racetrack does not appeal to you, we have listed the top NZ horse race books where you can place your Cup Day Wellington horse race online. We have also included tips on how to bet on the horse racing event.
Bet on the Wellington Cup Races Here
NZ$50 Bonus | 180+ Sports | 98% Payout | LeoVegas | |
NZ$200 Bonus | 1000+ Sports | 96% Payout | Spin Sports Review | |
NZD$100 Bonus | 1000+ Sports | 97% Payout | 22 Bet | |
NZD$50 Bonus | 1000+ Sports | 97% Payout | 10 Bet | |
NZD$100 Bonus | 1000+ Sports | 96.8% Payout | 1XBet | |
NZ$50 Bonus | 170+ Sports | 98% Payout | Intertops Sportsbook | |
NZ$50 Bonus | 500+ Sports | 98% Payout | William Hill | |
NZD$100 Bonus | 1000+ Sports | 97% Payout | Karamba | |
NZD$100 Bonus | 700+ Sports | 97% Payout | Royal Panda |
How to Bet on the Wellington Cup
To bet successfully on the Wellington Cup race punters need to be up to date with race statistics. Keep up to date with the best performing horses and jockeys because they are more likely to do well in upcoming races. The age of a horse is also an influencing factor when horse race betting. Younger horse is usually more suited to shorter distance races while older thoroughbreds have more stamina.
Wellington Cup Betting Tips
- Keep up to date with Wellington Cup statistics
- Know the records of the jockeys as well as previously successful jockeys often have better chances
- Start off with simpler bets like win, place or show. Wager more exotic bets once your simpler bets payout.
Wellington Cup Records
In the past 20 Cup Day Wellington events only three jockeys have won the Cup twice. They are GL Cooksley who won with the Horse Aerosmith in 1998 Envoy eight years later in 2006. GJ Grylls won with horse Oarsman in 2003 then with Graphic in 2014. M Cameron won the 2007 Wellington Cup thoroughbred race with the horse Willy Smith then with Maygrove in 2015.
Very few horses have won the cup twice. In the last 100n years of the Wellington horse race only three horses have achieved the feat of winning twice. Two horses have won three times, Great Sensation and Castletown. Great Sensation won the 1961 to 1963 races with the same jockey. Castletown finished first in the 1991, 92 and 1994 Wellingtons with the same jockey. Good Lord won the 1977 AND 78 Cup with two different jockeys on his saddle.