1979 Inter-Dom. dates changed

Press, 9 June 1978, Page 9

1979 Inter-Dom. dates changed

The dates of the 1979 Inter-Dominion Championship series at Addington Raceway have been changed to Saturday March 10, Wednesday, March 14, Saturday, March 17, and Saturday, March 24, one week later than was originally approved. The new dates were announced yesterday by the secretary of the Trotting Conference (Mr John Rowley) after they had been approved by the InterDominion Trotting Council in Melbourne. “The changes have been made as the result of representations from the Racing Conference on behalf of the Wellington Racing Club, which is to run its centennial meeting on March 17 and objected to clashing with the final of the Inter-Dominion carnival in Christchurch,” said Mr Rowley. "Notwithstanding the criteria which apply re-

garding clashes of racing and trotting meetings, the executive of the Trotting Conference decided to support a change of dates for the Addington carnival as a gesture of co-operation between the two codes,” he said. The Pacers’ Grand Final will have a record stake of $125,000, making it the richest horse race ever run in New Zealand, while the stakes for the heats, final and consolation races will total $225,000 and a trophy valued at $2250. There will also be a section for trotters with total stakes of about $50,000. The change in the dates will probably create problems for travel agencies which have booked most of the accommodation in Christchurch for the original dates and airline companies, which have arranged and already accepted bookings for special flights from Australia to New Zealand.