New Zealand Bloodstock Racing Hall of Fame Inaugural Gala Dinner TONIGHT!

Prime Minister Helen Clark and Racing Minister Winston Peters will be among the who's-who line-up of guests attending the inaugural New Zealand Bloodstock Racing Hall Of Fame dinner in Auckland tonight.

The function is expected to be attended by up to 500 people with tickets selling fast but there are still some available, says Hall of Fame Chief Executive, Renee Geelen.

Other guests include the National Party's spokesman on racing, Lindsay Tisch, with the Phillip Leishman and Kelly Swansoe-Roe the MCs for the evening.

A total of 14 inductees will remain secret until the night when they will be announced.

The title sponsor for the event is New Zealand Bloodstock with event sponsors Auckland Racing Club, First Sovereign Trust, Lion Breweries, Montana Wines and the New Zealand Racing Board.

The inductee sponsors are: Australian Racing Hall Of Fame, Australasian Turf Monthly, Beattie Rickman, BG and DG Neville-White, Bloodstock PR Ltd, Cambridge Stud, Canterbury Jockey Club, Chianti Stallion Partnership, Dunstan Feeds, Fairdale Stud, Highview Stud, Huka Lodge, Northern Ceilings NZ Ltd and TRAC Racing.

The selection panel for the inductees was chaired by well-known NZ racing administrator Don Hancock and comprised 12 people involved in racing mostly journalists, historians, industry profressionals.

The selection criteria is:

Horse candidates will primarily be racehorses, but could include great stallions and famous broodmares;

People candidates might include jockeys, trainers, owners, breeders, administrators, and media contributors;

In all instances, nominees will have been outstanding achievers in their category and in their era; and Racehorses, to be eligible, should have been New Zealand-based and trained for an important part of their career. There will be exceptions where New Zealand bred racehorses have achieved outstanding success internationally and therefore should be considered.

The function will begin at 6.30pm at the Ellerslie Convention Centre on Friday March 3.