Now is the time to start preparing for Inter Dominion’s return to Victoria

Wow! It’s just the sort of news Victorian harness racing needed.

The 2018 Inter Dominion Series is coming.

Okay, it was probably the worst kept secret in trots that the Inter Dom was coming to back to the east coast in a partnership with the Shaky Isles.

But you want to hear it confirmed – the official announcement that yes it is actually going to happen.

And that is exactly what happened today – Wednesday, November 22.

Harness Racing Australia stated:

The immediate future of the Australian and New Zealand harness racing industry’s flagship event, the Inter Dominion Pacing Championship, has been secured with the announcement today of hosting rights for the iconic event for most of the next decade, and possibly beyond.

With the final series in the current three year tender set to commence this week in Perth, the Inter Dominion Event Committee (IDEC) announced today that the event would next year commence a long term rotation taking in the eastern states of Australia and both islands of New Zealand.

IDEC has endorsed a nine year, 3-rotation plan proposed by co-hosts Harness Racing Victoria (HRV), Harness Racing New Zealand (HRNZ) Club Menangle (NSWHRC) and Harness Racing NSW (HRNSW).

The initial 3-year rotation will begin with Victoria hosting the Grand Final on 15 December 2018 followed by New Zealand, expected to be in Auckland, on 13 December 2019, and then New South Wales on 4 December 2020. There will then be two repeats of the rotation, with Christchurch replacing Auckland as the New Zealand venue in the second rotation.

And it is not for just one three-year rotation, but three. That is big.

Social media went into Melton in Victoria, with devotees of the industry not just voicing their support for the move, but pitching ideas as to how a series might be best structured in Victoria.

HRV CEO David Martin responded to the announcement with a statement of his own – setting out that heats would be run on tracks other than Melton before grand final night at Melton on December 15.

Victoria had a night of a modified series at Geelong when the Inter Dominion was last in the state in 2008.

WA has done the same over the past two years and again is taking a round of heat to the regional circuit of Bunbury.

What everyone is now waiting for is the series structure.

Will have it two or three rounds of heats?

And the biggest question – where will they be?

Ballarat and District Trotting Club responded quickly to the Inter Dominion announcement, with CEO Paul Rowse stating that the club would be bidding to host a round of heats.

Rowse said the club had already initiated talks with the City of Ballarat and Visit Ballarat as part of putting together submission to be put the HRV.

It might be a year away, but there is no question that work must start now.

Exciting times ahead.