TAB Karaka Millions: Miss out on a hospo ticket? Never fear GA is here and it's gonna be a good good night

If you’ve been all tied up with festive celebrations these past few weeks you may have missed the news that the ‘Big E’ is back and we are gearing up for one heck of a welcome home celebration on TAB Karaka Millions night come Saturday 27th January.

The bad news is, if you missed our ticket announcement last month or perhaps found yourself humming and harring about whether or not to buy your mum a Xmas present or instead secure a ticket to one of our fabulous precincts, the rest of Auckland has beaten you to it and they’re ALL SOLD OUT.

So what now?

As your FOMO kicks into a race winning gallop, and you’re still keen to come along and be part of New Zealand’s richest night of sport and get amongst aaaaaaaaaall the action, then you best trot along now to our website and get yourself a GA ticket, but don’t worry, we’ve outdone ourselves with the awesome area we’ve got planned for our GA pals. UPDATE:  Sorry team, these are all gone now too!

Read on to learn more about whats in store…..

The Coolest, Bar None

One for the millennials to live out all their Transformer dreams thanks to our friends at The Grand Tour. This 16m semi-trailer rolls up and rolls out into a huge hospitality space where you can eat, drink and be merry. This truck transforms into 220sqm of covered floor space with luxe seating, a beautiful bar, large screens so you won’t miss a second of the racing action, and don’t worry about outdoor shade as it has you covered (quite literally) with it’s generous awnings and umbrellas. If you want an optimus prime spot, it’s definitely the place to be if you’re coming to hang in GA..

Picture Perfect

Have you heard The Edge are joining us on TAB Karaka Millions night and they’re bringing along their 360 degree camera? You may have seen these on Hollywood’s red carpets, so if you want to make like a celebrity for 5mins then dress to impress, grab your crew and get amongst it.

And not to be outdone, The Grand Tour photo moment that’s toured the country this season will make its first appearance at Ellerslie and we hear there may be something extra in it for you if you strike a pose with The Grand Tour pony and get sharing on your socials – psst it’s your chance to win cold, hard cash! More here.

All the Essentials

There’ll be no need to traipse around the grounds to find food, bevvys or betting facilities as everything you need will be at your fingertips. We have a couple of food trucks parking up just for you, The Grand Tour Bar will be serving up its finest plus a range of other great options and our tote caravan will be open for business, so there really won’t be any need to move (unless of course you need the bathroom – in which case the restrooms are just a hop, a skip and a jump away in the Newmarket Room on the ground floor of the Ellerslie Stand).  Also in the Newmarket Room are additional totes, bar and food options plus air conditioned comfort – too good!

It’s Showtime

We’ll have a big screen set up in GA which will not only livestream all the TAB Karaka Millions racing action but this year there’s also going to be a big screen show in and amongst the races lined up for your viewing pleasure which will feature your favourite jockeys, horses, tips and other content relevant to the days racing.

Winner Winner

While we’re sure you’ll be trying your luck to win big on the ponies, we also have another chance for a big WIN located in GA with our ‘Pick the Winner’ competition. Win this and you and a friend could be jetting off to the sandy beaches of Hawaii for four nights staying at the Outrigger Reef Waikiki Beach Resort thanks to our friends at Hawaiian Airlines. All you have to do is head to our ‘Pick the Winner’ competition zone, fill out the entry form for who you think will take out our $1.5m TAB Karaka Millions 3YO feature, pop it in the corresponding box and if they’re first past the post, you’ll go into the draw to win this epic trip. Aloha to that!

Just Horsing Around

One for youngsters (or young at heart)! …..Our favourite ponies are back, ready to be laden with love and endless pats, we’ll have our bouncy castle (sorry this one really is for just the kiddies) and lawn games set up ready to go, but if colouring is more your child’s vibe then we have our kids packs at the ready to keep them entertained. And best of all…….it’s all FREEEEEE!

Party On!

Now we all know the TAB Karaka Millions afterparty is the stuff of legends, and we couldn’t leave our GA friends out in the cold, so you’re like, totally invited! So make sure you pack your comfy shoes so you’re all set to dance the night away with us.

Kicking things off after the last will be our resident Ellerslie band, followed by our headline act, Sweet Mix Kids, who will be belting out all the bangers into the night! And we may even have one more surprise up our sleeves for our afterparty crowd, but you have to be there to find out what that might be.  More about the afterparty here.

It’s safe to say the TAB Karaka Millions is going to be one massive night of racing and entertainment no matter where you base yourself. We’ll see you there!