Sundons Gift (Chris Lang) wins the 2010 Inter Dominion final at Moonee Valley
Harness Racing Victoria (HRV) wishes to advise that it did not bid to host the Inter Dominion Championships from 2013 to 2015.
Harness Racing Australia (HRA) and Harness Racing New Zealand (HRNZ) had determined that from 2013, the Inter Dominion Pacers Championships would be held in one state for a three-year period. Tenders closed at 5:00pm on Thursday and no bid was submitted by HRV.
HRV’s tender was dependant on receiving Victorian Major Events funding, however the application for this funding was not successful. Victorian Major Events did not view the event as having sufficient benefit to the state’s economy to justify the required investment.
HRV CEO John Anderson said, “It did not make economic sense for the industry to fund an Inter Dominion bid based on the guidelines. HRV was not prepared to run the event at a significant loss, which would impact returns to stakeholders across the board.
“While the Inter Dominion is a globally recognised spectacle, the economic benefits of staging the event do not necessarily flow on to the industry and we strongly believe that any jurisdiction which does bid for the rights would require a contribution from the Government’s Major Events Corporation.
“Should HRV have mounted a bid, the plan was to run Inter Dominion heats in regional Victoria, with the $1m Grand Final to be held at Tabcorp Park Melton.
“Now we know that we won’t be hosting the Inter Dominion, HRV will put renewed energy into developing a feature race for trotters which will attract international horses and become our flagship event.”
Click here to listen to John Anderson explaining HRV's stance on Radio Sport National earlier today.
