Motorsport is set to be scrapped from Pukekohe Park Raceway next year with Auckland Racing Club turning the venue into solely a thoroughbred racing facility.

Pukekohe Park Raceway has been the spiritual home of motorsport in New Zealand since the 1960s and has hosted some of the biggest names in the sport’s history over the years.

Auckland Thoroughbred Racing chief executive officer Paul Wilcox says that while the motorsport closure does represent the end of an era; it will pave the way for the club to continue in its widely reported plans to futureproof the sport of thoroughbred racing in Auckland.

“We can appreciate today’s announcement will be big news for many,” Wilcox said. “Motorsport has undoubtedly had a strong association with Pukekohe Park, becoming synonymous with our racecourse since the first-time cars and bikes raced on it in 1962.

“However, our purpose is to facilitate thoroughbred racing at our Auckland venues with our vision being to provide a sustainable future for our sport in New Zealand.

“Part of that remit has seen us undertake a $40m+ project to deliver a world-class racing surface at Ellerslie and, during our recent merger process, we also made no secret of the fact that we hope to significantly increase average stakes money to help retain industry participants and attract growth both for our sport locally and for the long-term.

“To better support those activities and help ensure we become a financially viable, internationally recognised racing club that delivers to industry participants, we see a need to increase the training density in the region and have identified our site at Pukekohe Park as being an ideal location for that.

“As a result, we are developing plans to build additional stabling facilities at the racecourse to accommodate an increased horse population. Unfortunately, however, it is not conducive to have both motorsport activities and an increased numbers of horses stabled on site – hence our decision not to renew Pukekohe Motorsport’s lease with us from April 2023.”