The Group One Levin Classic - formerly the Bayer Classic - is one of the premier races for three-year-old thoroughbreds in New Zealand.

History

The race, first run under the name Levin Turf Classic, was originally run at Levin Racecourse until that facility was closed as a racing venue in 1990 and the race was transferred to nearby Ōtaki.

For more than a decade the race was sponsored by Bayer, and known as the Bayer Classic.

For much of its history, the race was run at Levin and then Ōtaki on the last Friday in November.

Concern began to grow in the 2000s about the race's close proximity to the New Zealand 2000 Guineas and New Zealand 1000 Guineas, both run in the second week in November. The three Group 1 3-year-old races over a mile in the New Zealand racing season were all run within the space of three weeks, leading to an inevitable dilution of quality of fields. From 2014 the Levin Classic was moved to Trentham Racecourse in Wellington and initially run as part of the Wellington Cup Carnival in January conducted by the Wellington Racing Club. In 2022 and 2023 the race was held in March but it was returned to January in 2024.

Notable winners

Among the most famous winners are:

• Bonecrusher, winner of the 1985 New Zealand Derby and 1986 Cox Plate

• Imperatriz, winner of the 2022 New Zealand Thoroughbred Breeders Stakes and 2023 Railway Stakes

• O'Reilly, winner of the 1997 Telegraph Handicap

• Our Flight, winner of the 1982 New Zealand 1000 Guineas and New Zealand Derby

• Tit For Taat, winner of the 2000 New Zealand 2000 Guineas, 2003 Waikato Sprint and Sir Byrne Hart Stakes

• Veandercross, winner of the 1991 New Zealand 2000 Guineas, 1992 Canterbury Guineas and 1993 Australian Cup

• Wahid, winner of the 2006 New Zealand Derby

Race results

See also

• Recent winners of major NZ races for 3 year olds

• Otaki-Maori Weight for Age

• Trentham Stakes

• Thorndon Mile

• Karaka Million

• Hawke's Bay Guineas

• New Zealand Derby

• New Zealand Oaks

• New Zealand 1000 Guineas

• New Zealand 2000 Guineas

References

• Racenet - Australia's Premier Horse Racing News, Form Guides & Tips

• New Zealand Horse Racing Statistics and Information - RaceBase

• The Great Decade of New Zealand racing 1970-1980. Glengarry, Jack. William Collins Publishers Ltd, Wellington, New Zealand

• New Zealand Thoroughbred Racing Annual 1981 (Tenth edition). Costello, John, Editor. Moa Publications, Auckland, New Zealand