The TABtouch Perth Inter Dominion Grand Final will return to a Friday night at Gloucester Park in 2016.
2015 was the first of three Inter Dominions in Perth with a number of new initiatives implemented, however following a review by Racing and Wagering WA (RWWA) and Gloucester Park Harness Racing (GPHR) a number of changes will be made, starting with a Friday night Grand Final.
The Carnival will remain in the same timeslot in 2016, with the first heat set for Friday 25 November, followed by heats on Tuesday 29 November and Friday 2 December, with the Grand Final staged on Friday 9 December.
“Friday night is the traditional home of harness racing in Perth and that is when the Inter Dominion will be conducted for the next two years” said Gloucester Park President John Burt.
“There were a number of reasons that we tried Sunday for the Grand Final, however it didn’t draw the crowd that we had hoped for. Part of the plan in conducting the Inter Dominion over three years was to try new ideas in the first year in the knowledge that the initiatives that did work could be built upon, while the parts that did not could be rectified over the next two years.
“Clearly the Inter Dominion at Gloucester Park belongs on a Friday night,” Burt added.
There will also be a change to the prizemoney structure of the 2016 TABtouch Inter Dominion. The series will remain at $1.8 million, however the heats will rise to $75,000 each, with a Grand Final of $1.1 Million.
“It will be a more equitable series with a fairer share of the spoils” said RWWA Chief Executive Richard Burt.
“At $1.1 million the TABtouch Inter Dominion Grand Final is still the richest harness racing event in Australasia, but by increasing the value of the heats it will be a much fairer distribution of the stakes on offer for all competitors”
Other key recommendations include reverting to all random barrier draws for the heats and a change in the distances, with heats one and two at 2130m, heat three, 2536m and the Grand Final run over 2936m.
The commercial viability of running the second heat of the Inter Dominion at Bunbury is in question, however it is hoped that a provincial staging presence may still be possible.
Media Contacts:
Michael Radley, Chief Executive Officer, Gloucester Park Harness Racing
0431 945 329 – mradley@gloucesterpark.com.au
Charlotte Mills, Executive Manager Racing Marketing and Communications, RWWA
0411 485 040 – charlotte.mills@rwwa.com.au
www.gloucesterpark.com.au
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