Blue September fund-raiser has bumper first weekend

In just five days Harness Racing New Zealand's Blue September campaign has already raised $12,000 - and there's more on the way.

The annual fund-raiser for the New Zealand Prostate Cancer Foundation is set to get a major boost with 59 items being put up on auction on HRNZ's Facebook page from 7pm tonight.

Items include horse gear, horse feed, vouchers, accommodation, a bungy jump and a whole lot more. The auction will close at 7pm next Monday, September 12.

The campaign started with a flourish last Thursday, with $3000 raised at September's first race meeting at Auckland.

That was followed by the official Blue September launch dinner at Addington on Friday. It was a big success with around 140 people attending ($10 from each ticket went to Blue September).

Five dual sulky rides were also auctionned off, raising between $500 and $1000 each.

The successful bidders will square off against each other at Methven's opening meeting of the spring this Sunday. The five drivers involved will be Blue September ambassadors Blair Orange, Korbyn Newman, Robbie Close, Zachary Butcher and Matty Williamson.

Throughout September ten drivers (ambassadors) will raise money each time they win a race. Some drivers are contributing their own money to the cause, while a number of sponsors, clubs and HRNZ have also stepped up.

The ten drivers (ambassadors) for Blue September are :

Blair Orange
Brent Barclay
Jonny Cox
Korbyn Newman
Mark Hurrell
Matthew Williamson
Robbie Close
Todd Mitchell
Zachary Butcher
Zev Meredith

The latest winners on-track over the weekend were Williamson (2), Orange (2) and Close, with the total number of winners since the campaign started now at 10.

Last year the campaign raised just over $20,000 - and already this year's total stands at more than $12,000.

Regular updates on Blue September are on HRNZ's Facebook page and other social media channels, as well as hrnz.co.nz