Built in 1865, the lodge on Racecourse Rd was originally leased and later purchased by Henry Redwood, a figure who was instrumental in shaping horse racing across New Zealand from the 1840s onward.
Now under the Christchurch City Council's ownership, the lodge is being reclassified from a community reserve to a historic reserve, allowing it to be rented out.
After the Waipuna Halswell-Hornby-Riccarton Community Board recommended the switch, city council chief executive Mary Richardson is set to sign off on the change in the next week.
A city council spokesperson said the lodge is likely to be available for residential or commercial rental by mid-year.
The chosen tenant will need to meet specific criteria designed to protect its heritage character.
Canterbury Jockey Club chief executive Tim Mills welcomed the heritage classification and the rental plans for the building.
“We believe strongly in protecting the history, but you also need to find a workable use for it,” he said.
“It’s important to recognise the history of the sport but also the very influential people like Redwood who set up racing not just in Canterbury but in New Zealand.”
Mills said the club was open to discussing the lodge’s future and its tenancy with the city council.
Redwood was born in Staffordshire, England, and arrived in Nelson in 1841.
Despite living outside Canterbury, his influence on racing in the region was immense.
He was the first to import thoroughbred horses into the South Island and trained many of Canterbury’s early jockeys.
In 1868, Redwood rented the lodge, purchasing it in 1874, and used it as a stables and training facility.
He named it “Chokebore” after a type of shotgun he was skilled in using.
Redwood also leased the nearby Riccarton Racecourse during the 1870s, helping to popularise horse racing as a spectator sport for early settlers.
After passing through generations of jockeys and trainers, the lodge and some surrounding land were eventually gifted to the city council in 1985 by a property developer planning a nearby subdivision.
