Addington likely to offer more than $200,000 for Inter-Dominion final

Press, 14 March 1985, Page 32

Addington likely to offer more than $200,000 for Inter-Dominion final

By

G. K. YULE

A stake well in excess of $200,000 is envisaged for the Grand Final of the 1987 Inter-Dominion Championship series to be hosted by the Metropolitan Trotting Club at Addington Raceway.

“We are still negotiating with a sponsor for the series and it is much too early to give any indication of the stake structure for the carnival,” said the president of the Metropolitan club, Mr Dan McCormick, who attended the recent series at Moonee Valley. “What I can say is that the stake for the final will

be quite a bit more than $200,000, but what the final level will be will depend on sponsorship and the grant from the Racing Authority’s stake subsidy scheme,” said Mr McCormick.

“Much was made by Queensland officials that the $200,000 final next year at Albion Park would be the richest light harness race ever run in Australia. But those closely associated with the series on both sides of the Tasman felt badly let down by the fact that stakes for the heats in Brisbane would be only $lO,OOO, against $12,000 in Melbourne. It is obvious that

the extra stake for the final has been achieved at the expense of the heats,” continued Mr McCormick.

“Any increase in the stake for the final when the Addington series comes round will not be made at the expense of the heats. In fact the committee will be making every endeavour to ensure that moneys will be added to the heats proportionate with anything added to the stake for the final.

"There is not the slightest chance that his club would follow the lead of the Brisbane host club and make its Inter-Dominion series an

all-sprint affair,” he added.

Sprint heats and final could be against the best interests of New Zealand horses, most of which would prefer a chance to contest events. “It seemed as though the Brisbane people didn’t want an InterDominion as such, but an inter-state sprint affair,” commented Mr McCormick.

Traditionally there have been heats run over 3200 m when the series has been run in New Zealand. “As a result of the Inter-Dominion Council decision that all Inter-Dominion events be run from behind the mobile

barrier, my club will have to give consideration to using mobile starts for any heats run over 3200 m.”

He had been most disappointed that the council had not agreed to leave it to the discretion of host clubs as to whether mobile starting should be used for all races,” said Mr McCormick. “There is no chance that my club would want to revert to standing starts for all Inter-Dominion events, but the committee felt that we should have the right to decide to use such starts should the occasion demand,” he said.