New look Inters a boost for NZ

New Zealand fans could be in for more interdominion excitement as provided here by Smoken Up (centre) this year. Photo / Natalie Slade

The Interdominions could be in for the most radical change in its history and one which will provide New Zealand harness racing fans with a huge bonus.

This year's series at Alexandra Park was believed to have been the last time an Interdominion would be held in this country but that may now be only partially true.

The series will be held in Perth next year with the following three years, 2013-15, of hosting to be held in an as yet to be determined state.

The series went up for tender last week, with only West Australia and New South Wales tendering as most other major harness racing regions prefer to concentrate on their own key carnivals, like the New Zealand and Auckland Cup meetings.

The New South Wales proposal, which is favoured to win the tender process, would see the series spread around Australasia.

In a radical departure from the usual format, which sees two rounds of heats and a final staged at the same track over a fortnight, the NSW bid would see heats held in six different cities.

The A$50,000 heats would be staged in Sydney, Melbourne, Perth, Brisbane, Auckland and Christchurch on the same weekend, with the winners guaranteed a place in the final at Menangle two weeks later.

The heats would be restricted to horses trained in each state or island to prevent trainers moving their charges to a different state to try to find an easier heat.

The strongest heats would also guarantee the runner-up a place in the final, while one spot in the 10-horse field would be at the discretion of the host club.

The final would be for A$750,000 and the host club would cover all transport costs for the finalists.

"We feel that having heats in separate states will make for ultra competitive racing as horses don't have to be taken outside the normal training environment until the final," said NSWHRC boss John Dumesny. "And because you virtually have to win to get in to the field, no one will be happy to just go around and collect points, you will have to be at your best to make it. Having representatives from all over Australasia, we feel, would make it a true Interdominion."

The changes could well revitalise the series which has suffered from format and brand confusion in recent years. Dumesny's point about horses not having quiet runs in the heats will ring true with many punters, although this season's pacing series was an exception to that rule.

With the two major New Zealand clubs not involved in the tender process, the series appeared to have been lost to New Zealand, possibly forever.

But the NSW proposal would guarantee two, possibly three Kiwi pacers in the final and provide an intense weekend of heat racing that should provide some media momentum.

The pacing series will be separate from the Trotting Series, though, which is more likely to find a home, possibly under a different name, in Melbourne.