Auckland Pacing Cup

The Auckland Pacing Cup which is sometimes referred to as the Auckland Trotting Cup or merely the Auckland Cup is a race held at Alexandra Park on New Year's Eve in Auckland, New Zealand for Standardbred horses. It is one of the two major harness races, along with the New Zealand Cup, held in New Zealand each year for the highest grade (Open class) pacers. It is a Group 1 championship race and has been won by nearly every champion pacer in New Zealand. 
Cup History.
For most of its history the Auckland Cup has been raced in December, however at times it has been moved to other calendar dates such as:
Distance
The Auckland Cup is currently run over 3,200 metres from a mobile start. 
The race started as a 3 mile event in 1890 to 1894 (inclusive) but it has traditionally been a 3,200m or 2 mile event apart from being a 2,700m journey for the races held from:
Stake money
The stake money for the Auckland Cup has reduced in recent years:
Famous winners
Horses which have won the Auckland Cup include Hall of Fame inductees and champions like:
The above horses went on to succeed in the United States and/or Canada.
It has been uncommon for female horses (mares) to win the Cup, the most recent being:
Australian participation.
As with the New Zealand Trotting Cup Australian trained horses sometimes make the journey to Alexandra Park, such as the following winners:
Records.
Most wins by a driver:
Most wins by an owner:
References.
Full list of Auckland Cup results - http://www.hrnz.co.nz