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James McDonald set for Hall of Fame history

Just 12 years after riding his first winner, James McDonald is about to become the youngest person to be inducted to the New Zealand Racing Hall of Fame. When his induction takes place at the Hall of Fame gala dinner in Hamilton on May 3, the Sydney-based champion will join 16 other jockeys to have claimed their place in more than a century of New Zealand racing history. “I couldn’t believe it when I got the call, it’s a huge honour and I still get goose-bumps just talking about it,” Mc...

Inductee Horse Tail Project

The NZ Racing Hall of Fame has some wonderful equine and people inductees.The NZ Racing Hall of Fame was set up to honour horse racing and breeding’s elite performers and our mandate is to maintain a history of our inductees which is accessible to people in a digital and physical presence.A recent project has been to obtain pieces of tail from living equine inductees, outstanding progeny of equine inductees or outstanding horses trained, ridden or bred by people inductees.This project will res...

Changing of the guard at NZ Racing Hall of Fame

Chris Luoni, the driving force behind the establishment of the New Zealand Racing Hall of Fame, is stepping down as Chairman after serving seven years in the post but will continue as a director.“Chris was the catalyst behind establishing the Racing Hall of Fame,” past Chairman and director Gerald Fell said.“I was the first Chairman of the Hall of Fame and between us we drove the development of it.“I retired and Chris took over, and it has just got stronger and stronger.”Luoni, an acco...

Linda Jones lends name to new retirement village

A Hamilton retirement village has been named after New Zealand’s most famous female jockey, Linda Jones MBE.The name of Ryman Healthcare’s new retirement village on River Road in Hamilton was revealed on Friday at a special event held at the Hamilton Working Men’s Club, and Jones was present for the occasion.As the first woman to be inducted in the NZ Racing Hall of Fame, Jones is a true Kiwi icon who now joins a long list of great New Zealanders whose names have been lent to Ryman re...

John Costello - Our patron and best supporter

John or Coz to his many friends sadly passed away this week. Coz was a doyen among NZ journalists and we were lucky that horse racing was his passion.Coz was the NZ Racing Hall of Fame’s best supporter and we were honoured to have him as our Patron following on from our old friend the late Don McLaren. Coz’s career was such that we inducted him into the NZ Racing Hall of Fame in 2016 in his own right and his induction ceremony is available for viewing on this channel.At our most recent induc...

Entertaining evening with Hall of Fame legends

When you get Noel Harris and Murray Baker in the same room you know there is always going to be plenty of laughter reminiscing their entwined moments in racing.That was the case at this year’s NZ Racing Hall Of Fame (NZRHOF) function at SkyCity Hamilton when the two greats of the New Zealand turf were among the latest nine inductees, which also included champion Sydney trainer Chris Waller.Internationally successful jockey Tod Hewitt and Ra Ora’s Sir Woolf Fisher were also inducted, as were ...

Fell proud of NZ Racing Hall Of Fame

Success in a lifetime is built around achievements and for Gerald Fell one of his proudest accomplishments will be on show again on Friday evening in Hamilton. Fell (77) was one of the small group of dedicated racing enthusiasts who were instrumental in forming the New Zealand Racing Hall Of Fame (NZRHOF), of which he became the inaugural Chairman. The seventh biennial inductee function is being held at the Skycity Hamilton on the eve of a premier day’s racing at Te Rapa. New Zealand’s Racin...