Changes proposed for Inter-Dominions

Press, 17 June 1986, Page 32

Changes proposed for Inter-Dominions

PA Wellington To ensure the InterDominion Championships remain the premier harness event in the southern hemisphere, the code’s chief executives have formulated a plan which could be in force for the 1989 series. In April the officers were asked by the InterDominion Trotting Council to formulate a plan which would ensure that the best horses compete and that the event offer a more stable stake.

At a special meeting in Melbourne last week

plans were made to provide for such a stake and recommendations made to change the funding methods and to abolish the current travel subsidy. It was proposed that each host club contribute equally by way of an annual levy to the InterDominion stakes fund and that a stakes levy be met by the owners of horses competing on metropolitan tracks. The balance will be provided from nomination and acceptance fees during the event, from interest earned on the stakes fund

and from sponsorship. The officers recommend that the travel subsidy be scrapped and a broader-based stake distribution system introduced. They propose that the total stakes on offer be spilt between the grand final (50 per cent) and the heats and consolations (50 per cent) and that prize money be paid to all starters in all events. The recommendations will go before the next meeting of the InterDominion Trotting Council.