On Monday, January 24, Betfair, the giant betting exchange, officially made its move onto the New Zealand harness racing wagering scene

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According to an article by The New Zealand Herald, Betfair’s foray into the NZ standardbred wagering market started with the first race at Invercargill, which was won by Motu Young Jacob.

The report states that Betfair has signed an integrity agreement with the New Zealand racing industry, but has yet to come to agreement over what percentage of the profits will be returned to New Zealand racing. The percentage will largely depend on the outcome of an appeal involving a court case between New South Wales racing authorities and Betfair.

"We are not expecting these markets to resemble the huge UK and Australian horse racing markets immediately," Betfair's Hugh Taggart was quoted as saying in The Herald article.

"But New Zealand harness racing is an excellent product and you have to start somewhere.

"We have three million customers worldwide we will be taking New Zealand harness racing to and we think it will become very popular."

(With files from The New Zealand Herald)