Welcome to Franklin Park Training Centre, Station Road Pukekohe - The training hub of Northern Harness Racing
What is Franklin Park Training Centre
- Franklin Park Training Centre is a 96 acre property close to the town centre of Pukekohe
- It has been here since the land was purchased to make a harness training centre by FTC back in 1948
- On site we have 3 training tracks – No 1: Looks very similar to Alexandra Park and used for fast work / No 2: Track is inside the main track and is a fines surface and used for cantering, galloping & jogging /.No 3: Alongside the main track and has a sand surface and used for jogging
- On these tracks there are over 220 horses worked each morning as well as over 50 casuals come to use these facilities during the month.
- Also on the Franklin Park site are 7 horse barn complexes that have accompanying paddocks and they accommodate approx. 100 horses. These barns are rented to 11 different trainers.
- There are laneways running to the track from privately owned properties that house 18 trainers with another 100 horses. Then over 10 trainers will float there horses into the track on a daily or regular basis.
- Added to this horse numbers will swell when we have any visiting trainers that bring there horses to Auckland to race for Premier Race Nights. ( 75 trainers on the list)
Staff that look after Franklin Park
General Manager
Karen Blanchard
Track Manager
Graham Bayley – Graham oversees the daily running of the tracks, staff, machinery, H & S, property maintenance and any arising issues.
Track Assistant
David Cunneen – Davis helps Graham with the preparation of the three tracks, which in summer when it is dry requires constant attention each morning, watering & screening. The winter months require a different preparation.
Part-time track assistants
Allan Nicholson / Malcolm McLean – both Allan & Malcolm cover for when either Track Manager or Track Assistant is away.
Workouts/Trials
- Workouts and trials are held on a weekly basis each Saturday.
- These are run along with the staff and a group of dozen volunteers.
- Average Horse Numbers trialling each Saturday is about 40-50
- We have a Café open for workouts on Saturday
Also on site at Franklin Park
- Garrards Horse & Hound Store
- Administration Offices
- Boardroom & Lounge Upstairs
70 years of trotting in Franklin
It was resolved by a meeting of people in the Orange Hall Pukekohe on 1st July 1948 that a ‘trotting club be formed to be called the Franklin Trotting Club. The First President was Mr. W. S. Hosking.
At the first Annual General Meeting on 2nd June 1949 the Committee was authorized to purchase 381/2 acres of land in Station Road Pukekohe for a training centre to be established. A successful matinee meeting was held on 29th April 1950 at the Franklin Racing Club (now Counties Racing Club) with the Auckland Trotting Club donating the stakes and a net profit of 242 pounds was shown.
The Club obtained a floating totalisator permit which was used in July 1950 then in March 1951 it used its first regular totalisator permit.
Franklin was the first club to centralize when it moved to the Alexandra Park Raceway of the Auckland Trotting Club on 14 November 1959 where it raced in the daytime. 12 November 1960 saw the successful outcome of three years efforts when the Franklin Trotting Club raced in Auckland under lights.
In late 2014 after a Special General Meeting and a vote the Franklin Trotting Club members agreed for a merger with the Auckland Trotting Club.
Franklin Cup history
The first Franklin Cup was run on 22 July 1950, then it wasn’t held again until September 1956. After this the Cup was the main event for the Franklin Trotting Club for the next 13 years. There was a break from the Cup event in 1969 until 1975 however there was either a 2 mile or 3200m race programmed as the feature race of the club’s calendar. On 19 November 1976 the Franklin Trotting Cup was held for a stake of $5000.00 for a Class 6 horse over 3200m and was won by Tokorangi.In 1983 BASF became the first sponsor of the cup then in 1991 Pak’n Save came on board as the Cup sponsors. Pak’n Save Sponsored the Franklin Cup race until 2011. John & Lynne Street and the late Graeme Blackburn along with his wife Erin were the owners of the Pak’n Save stores that were behind this long standing sponsorship until Graeme’s passing. John & Lynne Street continued as the Sponsors of this prestigious race first under Pak’n Save Lincoln North then as Lincoln Farms. As owners the group were able to win the Cup in 2004 with Attorney General.The race achieved Group 2 status in 1992 and is still this today. Over the year it has had a stake as high as $80,000.00 but at present is $40,000.00. A world record for 3200m was set when back in 1980 when Delightful Lady won in a time of 4.05.5. Barry Purdon has trained the winner 9 times and brother Mark has trained the winner 8 times since 1991.
Click here to see past winners of this prestigious race
If you have any questions or queries that are Franklin Park related, please don’t hesitate to give GM Karen Blanchard a call on 09 238 8731 / 027 808 3150. Alternatively you can e-mail her directly at franklinparktc@alexandrapark.nz
