 |
 |
|
It was in early 1896 that the story of this remarkable standardbred racing series began.
On March 4th that year, at the Moonee Valley racecourse, a 100 pound three heat series called the “Inter Colonial Free For All” was staged, bringing together the New Zealand champion trotter Calista, the freak New South Wales trotter Fritz, Australia’s finest pacer Mystery, the illustrious trotter Osterley and the leading new South Wales trotter St. Louis.
The incomparable Fritz won in straight heats and more than 10 seconds was slashed from the Australasian Mile Record. It was hailed as the greatest exhibition of trotting ever seen in the Southern Hemisphere.
The Inter Colonial Free For All was in a sense the first Inter Dominion style championship but it was to be the last harness race run at Moonee Valley for eighty years.
It was almost thirty years later when the remarkable administrator James Brennan, West Australian chairman, revived the concept of a series of races between Australian and New Zealand standardbreds. He visited all states with a proposal for a championship series, which would rotate between capital cities. Despite an unenthusiastic response, the first Australasian Trotting Championship was held in Perth in 1925.
The Great Depression then intervened, and the concept was again set aside until 1935, when harness racing delegates from across Australia and New Zealand met in the “Australasian Trotting Conference”. Their support led to the modern Inter Dominion Championships, with the first series in Perth in 1936.
An extended historical perspective can be gained from various stories penned over the years; select from these options to browse through the collection
A Brief History (1896 – 1985) www.harness.org.au/inter/history.htm
Past Series www.interdominionsydney.com.au/history.asp
Past Series - Stars & Stats www.harness.org.au/inter/stars.htm
|
|
|
|
