:''for winners of the trotting event see:

Inter Dominion Trotting Championship :''for winners of the pacing event see: Inter Dominion Pacing Championship'' The Inter Dominion Trotting Championship Grand Final was a race for trotters within the overall Inter Dominion series. The series is held each year, and is a harness raci ...

'' The Inter Dominion is a

harness racing Harness racing is a form of horse racing in which the horses race at a specific gait (a trot or a pace). They usually pull a two-wheeled cart called a sulky, or spider, or chariot occupied by a driver. In Europe, and less frequently in Australi ...

competition that has been contested since 1936 in

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

and

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

. The Inter Dominion was the brain child of Western Australian Trotting Association Chairman Mr. J P Stratton, with the first series held at

Gloucester Park, Perth Gloucester Park is a harness racing course in Perth, Western Australia. In the suburb of East Perth, Western Australia, East Perth, the oval course is adjacent to the WACA Ground. The track is lit, and Friday night pacing events are popular. As ...

. The host of the series is rotated between the six harness racing states of Australia and the

North North is one of the four compass points or cardinal directions. It is the opposite of south and is perpendicular to east and west. ''North'' is a noun, adjective, or adverb indicating Direction (geometry), direction or geography. Etymology T ...

and

South Island The South Island, also officially named , is the larger of the two major islands of New Zealand in surface area, the other being the smaller but more populous North Island. It is bordered to the north by Cook Strait, to the west by the Tasman ...

s of New Zealand. The rotation of the Championships is fixed annually at a meeting of the council. It is fixed five years in advance. It is held in New Zealand once in each four years. The traditional format is a series of heats held over a two-week period, with the final held in a third. Competitors earn points based on their finishing order in each heat, the 14 horses that accrue the most points over the series go into the Grand Final. The winner is determined by the finishing order in the Grand Final. There is also a Consolation race. The scheduling of the distances is usually at the discretion of the host club. The usual distance is a longer distance in excess of 2400 metres. Blacks A Fake made history in 2010, by becoming the only horse to win four Inter Dominion races.

Pacing championship winners

Notes: * In 1971 Juniors Image was first past the post but was disqualified for a positive swab test. * In 2011 Smoken Up was first past the post but was disqualified for a positive drugs test. A court challenge to the disqualification was not successful. * In 2021 Expensive Ego was first past the post, however was relegated to second placing after causing interference to runner-up Boncel Benjamin.

2022 Inter Dominion (Victoria)

The 2022 Inter Dominion started on 26 November 2022 at Ballarat with 3 heats each for pacers and trotters, all run over 2200m. The second night, Tuesday 29 November, is at Shepparton and the heats are 1690m. The third night, 3 December, is at Geelong and the races are 2570m. On 10 December the finals are held at Melton and each race is run over 2760m. The points awarded during the heats are: 1st (16 points), 2nd (13), 3rd (11), 4th (9), 5th (8), 6th (7), 7th (6), 8th (5), 9th (4), 10th (3), 11th (2) and 12th (1). The stake for the Pacing heats was $30,000 while the Consolation race is $50,000 and the Grand Final $500,000.

2021 Inter Dominion (New South Wales)

There was no Inter Dominion in 2020. The 2021 Inter Dominions were held from Saturday 27 November 2021 to 11 December 2021. The first round of heats and the finals were held at

Menangle Park Paceway Tabcorp Park, Menangle, is a harness racing track operating in Menangle Park, New South Wales, Australia. The New South Wales Harness Racing Club conducts meetings at the Paceway. The New South Wales Harness Racing Club trading as Club Menangle T ...

while the second and third rounds of heats were at Bathurst and Newcastle respectively. Due to COVID-19 a significant number of horses, particularly from New Zealand, were unable to compete. Horses that were in the final rankings but did not compete included: * 5 - Father Bob - Mark Fletcher, NSW * 7 - Ride High - Clayton Tonkin, Vic * 9 - Out To Play - Emma Stewart, Vic * 14 - San Carlo - S J Donoghue & R K Bartley, Vic * 16 - Code Bailey NZ - Margaret Lee, Vic * 19 - Colt Thirty One - Grant Dixon, Qld * 25 - Zeuss Bromac NZ - Paul Fiztpatrick, NSW * 30 - Perfect Stride NZ - Russell Jack, Vic * 31 - Jilliby Chevy - Margaret Lee, Vic * 33 - Mister Brazil - Adam Ruggari, NSW * 34 - Blacksadance - Chantal Turpin, Qld

2019 Inter Dominion (Auckland)

The 2019 Inter Dominions were held in Auckland, New Zealand, hosted by the Auckland Trotting Club at the Alexandra Park track from Friday 29 November 2019 to 15 December 2019. Spankem who was one of the favourite contenders for the Interdoms was withdrawn due to a fetlock injury diagnosed following Christchurch cupweek. Heats 1 and 2 on Friday 29 November were raced over 2200m with a mobile start and Free-for-all conditions. * Heat 1 was won by Ultimate Sniper (

Natalie Rasmussen Natalie Clair Rasmussen (born 1977) is a driver and trainer of Standardbred racehorses in Australia and New Zealand. She has been associated with many champions and is one of the leading trainers and drivers of harness horses in Australasia. Bi ...

, $2.50) from Chase Auckland (Tim Williams) and Mach Shard (Zachary Butcher) in 2:35.4 (mile rate 1:53.6). * Heat 2 was carried out by A G's White Socks (Maurice McKendry MNZM, $29.60) from Cruz Bromac (

Mark Purdon Mark Purdon is a driver and trainer of standardbred racehorses in New Zealand. He was associated with many champions and is one of the leading trainers and drivers of harness horses in New Zealand and Australasia. He was inducted into the Inter D ...

) and Thefixer (

) in 2:36.1 (mile rate 1:54.2). Heat 3 and 4 on Tuesday 3 December were raced over 1700m. * Heat 3 was won by A G's White Socks (Maurice McKendry, $6.40) from Chase Auckland (Tim Williams) and My Kiwi Mate (Craig Demmler) in 1:59.17 (mile rate 1:52.7). * Heat 4 was won by Ultimate Sniper (

, $2.80) from Cruz Bromac (

) and Mach Shard (Zac Butcher) in 1:59.01 (mile rate 1:52.6). Heat 5 and 6 on Friday 6 December were raced over 2700m. * Heat 5 was won by Ultimate Sniper (Natalie Rasmussen, $1.50) from Chase Auckland (Tim Williams) and Colt Thirty One (Grant Dixon) in 3:16.11 (mile rate 1:56.8). * Heat 6 was won by Cruz Bromac (

, $2.70) from Thefixer (

) and Triple Eight (David Butcher) in 3:16.7 (mile rate 1:57.2). The Grand final (2700m) was raced on 14 December and won by Ultimate Sniper (

) in 3:14.7 (1:56.0) from Mach Shard (Zac Butcher) and Thefixer (Blair Orange). The 4 year old Ultimate Sniper went through the series undefeated. The horse Triple Eight was number 8 in the final, drawn 8 and was placed 8th.

1952 Inter-Dominion racebook

File:1952 Harold Park Inter-Dominion Championship Final Racebook P1.jpg, Front cover of the 1952 Harold Park Inter-Dominion Final racebook. File:1952 Harold Park Inter-Dominion Championship Final Racebook P2.jpg, Inside cover showing race night officials. File:1952 Harold Park Inter-Dominion Championship Final Racebook P3.jpg, Racebook showing starters & conditions. File:1952 Harold Park Inter-Dominion Championship Final Racebook P4.jpg, Racebook showing starters & the winner, Avian Derby.

Reference list

{{reflist

External links

2009 Watpac Inter Dominion Official Site

Rotation Program - Inter Dominion Championship Series

Queensland Harness Racing Homepage
- Host state for 2009 Inter Dominion Recurring sporting events established in 1936 Harness races in Australia Australasian Grand Circuit Races Inter Dominion winners Inter Dominion