It is notable as it is a Group One championship sprint race and has been won by nearly every champion pacer in New Zealand.
Horses which have won the Free-for-all include hall of famers and champions who later shone in the United States and Canada like Cardigan Bay and Caduceus.
The race has also been won three times by Robalan, Harold Logan, Lordship and Author Dillon.
Distance Unlike the New Zealand Cup it is run from a mobile, rather than standing, start.
The 2008 race was won in record time (1.54-mile rate for 2000 m) by Auckland Reactor.