Owners of maiden pacing and trotting winners will be $1500 worse off this season.
Harness Racing New Zealand announced last week the scheme in which it paid $1500 win bonuses to maiden winners will not continue.
The bonus scheme had been in operation since April, 2017.
It was introduced after the New Zealand Racing Board, which recently reformed as the Racing Industry Transition Agency (Rita), directed a $2.8million race stakes boost for harness racing through its industry enhancement fund.
HRNZ said at the time the scheme started it initiated it as a way of directing those funds towards maiden winners to boost the bottom end of the industry.
The organisation also said the scheme would be reviewed as $2.8million was unlikely to sustain the initiative for a full racing season.
HRNZ said this week the initiative had largely been paid for by reserves.
"We know how popular the first winner's supplement has been. However, as a board we must ensure we are acting in a fiscally responsible manner."
HRNZ said several new sources of funding were expected later in the season, enabling a review of the decision.
It is not known where the $2.8million in funding from the industry enhancement fund will be spent this season.
What is certain is that the regular stakes payments in the new season are set to stay the same as last term.
That comes after the transition agency ensured existing levels of code funding to HRNZ would be maintained.
This means HRNZ funding to clubs will remain the same on what it called a race-by-race basis.
The HRNZ board said it expected clubs, which each set their own stake levels, would match or better their race purses from last season.
That news should come as a relief to many southern harness racing administrators.
Many harness racing participants were expecting stakes to be cut by some southern clubs, whose betting turnover had declined in the past season.
Thoroughbred stakes levels are set by New Zealand Thoroughbred Racing, which has received the same funding guarantee from the transition agency.
NZTR chief executive Bernard Saundry said that allowed his organisation to maintain the stakes levels it set for clubs last season.
Saundry described the move by the agency as a positive outcome for thoroughbred racing as last season had been a challenging one for the code.
