As in other countries, the continuance of sport in New Zealand during the First World War was the subject of intense public debate, and especially in the case of horse racing as arguably the most widely followed sport in the country but also one that had been under attack from religious and moral reformers for several decades. Influential racing leaders argued that their activities were vital to the economy, tax revenue and maintaining morale in a society under pressure. They condemned their critics for exploiting wartime conditions in the service of pre-war agendas. But by mid-1917 claims that racing was an unproductive and unpatriotic luxury that undermined the war effort finally gained traction with a New Zealand government that generally displayed a single-minded and austere commitment to the war effort. The surprise is not that racing was partially restricted, but that the measure took so long to enact.

与其他国家一样，第一次世界大战期间在新西兰继续进行体育运动是引起激烈辩论的主题，尤其是在赛马运动中，该运动可以说是该国最受欢迎的运动，但也是宗教和道德改革者的袭击持续了数十年。有影响力的赛车运动领导人认为，他们的活动对处于压力之下的社会的经济，税收和维持士气至关重要。他们谴责批评者利用战时条件为战前议程服务。但是到了1917年中，有人声称赛车是一种无用的，不爱国的奢侈品，破坏了战争的努力，最终在新西兰政府的领导下得到了普遍的重视，新西兰政府对战争的努力表现出一心一意和严格的承诺。