Youngest Racing Manager takes reins

Youngest Racing Manager takes reins at Auckland Trotting Club

Twenty-six-year-old Regan Cotter has been appointed Racing Manager at the Auckland Trotting Club, making him arguably the youngest person to ever hold such a role in New Zealand harness racing history.

Born in Levin and educated in Wanganui, Mr Cotter has worked in the UK, has a Bachelor of Communications, and since August 2015 has been Assistant Racing Manager at Alexandra Park.

“My family is mad on sport and I’ve been brought up around racing. Dad used to train greyhounds and we’d often go to the trots together. Having this opportunity now is like a dream come true,” says Regan Cotter.

He says the past 18 months as assistant to Kevin Smith has been a great opportunity to learn the ropes, run race nights, and do many aspects of the senior role he now has.

“As Racing Manager, you’re really the go-to person for the owners, drivers, trainers and you’re constantly liaising with all the different industry authorities and organisations. I will be bringing a youthful perspective to what is an old industry which continues to face a lot of challenges so I’ll naturally be very future-focused and will always work in the best interests of not only the club but the wider harness racing sector. We just have to!”

Mr Cotter says collaboration between trotting clubs is increasingly important given the shrinking horse pool. At the same time there’s greater competition from other professional sports all effectively competing for sponsorship and the public’s support.

“Among many things, Alexandra Park does a lot more in the social media space than many other clubs and we’ve now got a new website which has a lot more capability. We’re now able to put out a lot more information and commentary ahead of any Friday night meeting. The challenge is to get people interested and keep them engaged and obviously attracting more younger people is key to the industry’s longer term survival.”

Mr Cotter says he’s awe of what the Auckland Trotting Club board and management have achieved in recent years.

“They’ve combined commercial nous with their racing nous to secure the future of the iconic Friday Night Trots in New Zealand’s largest city. Every decision the board and management make is about sustaining racing at Alexandra Park and so it’s great to have that experience, passion and support right in behind me.”

Alexandra Park Chief Executive, Dominique Dowding, says General Manager of Franklin Park Training Centre Karen Blanchard has been specifically assigned to support Regan Cotter when required, who she says has an extensive understanding of harness racing with her family heavily involved in the sector.

Ms Dowding says Regan Cotter’s appointment will be very well received across the industry.

“Regan’s got a bright future. He’s already highly regarded across harness racing and over the past 18 months has proven to be a very competent and thorough operator. This a big step, but it’s really a natural progression for Regan given he’s been a very effective assistant to Kevin,” she says.

Auckland Trotting Club’s Racing Manager since March 2010, Kevin Smith has now been appointed by Harness Racing New Zealand to be a Handicapper.

“It has been a great seven years at Alexandra Park. Sure, there have been some challenges for the industry but the Auckland Trotting Club board and CEO have been very supportive of me taking an innovative approach.

“We’ve worked hard to best utilise the lessening horse population we have and develop a programme that best suits everyone’s needs now rather than just doing what was always done. The board’s different incentive schemes have also helped us attract horses to our meetings as well as encourage more people to get into racing.”

Dominique Dowding paid tribute to Kevin Smith’s time as Racing Manager and Assistant Racing Manager before that.

“Kevin has done an outstanding job and has been a huge asset for Alexandra Park. We can’t thank him enough for his professional handover to Regan and for the enormous contribution that he has made to the Auckland Trotting Club. Our loss is definitely HRNZ’s gain,” says Ms Dowding.

For further information visit www.alexandrapark.co.nz.

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