Inter Dominion Series:
The Inter Dominion Series is a major Australasian Trotting and Pacing Championship across Australia and New Zealand. Each year the series is held in a different state and the trotting series are run over two consecutive weekends. The 2009 series was held at two locations, January 31 at Ballarat where the PETstock Ballarat Cup, Alabar Victoria Derby Heats and Intern Dominion Trotting Semi-finals were held. Then on February 7 at Moonee Valley where the BIG6 Hunter Cup, Alabar Victoria Derby and Inter Dominion Grand Final were held. The 2009 Grand Final winner was Sundons Gift from New Zealand who was driven by CW Lang. The 2010 Series is scheduled to be held in Sydney, New South Wales and in Christchurch, New Zealand for 2011.
The origins of the Inter Dominion Series date back to 1896 when the Inter Colonial Free for All was held at Moonee Valley, allowing both Pacers and Trotters to compete against each other from across Australia. This race would then be the last harness race held at Moonee Valley for eighty years. Then in the 1935-36 racing season, thousands of spectators gathered to watch the first Inter Dominion Series held over a 2575 metre race distance. Now, the trotting races consists of two semi final races with the top five placegetters and the sixth horse going on to the finals and there is also a consolation race. Every eight years, the series locations are selected, giving organisers plenty of time to prepare for the spectacular event.
Barastoc Trotters Grand Circuit Series:
The Barastoc Trotters Grand Circuit Series is worth a total $8 million in prize money and consists of nine legs where drivers and horses compete to be named the Grand Circuit winner. The event began in 1999 and is now sponsored by Barastoc, a premier performance horse feed. Each race that the horses compete in is valued differently, with the stakes varying between $50,000 and $300,000. The 2009 winner was One Over Kenny from New Zealand with 17 points. In the nine legs, he won three and placed 2nd in the Inter Dominion Trotting Championship. The trotters grand winner is determined by the calculating the total scores of each horse and the horse with the most point is declared the winner. In each the Grand Circuit series races the first place getter receives 5 points, the second will receive 2 points and third will receive 1 point.
Oaks, Derbies and Cups:
The 3 year old Trotters Derbies and Oaks are classed as the some of the feature races during the racing season. These races are held throughout the year in both Australia and New Zealand. The Open trotters race calendar features the WA Trotters Cup, EB Cochran Trotters Cup, NSW Trotters Mile and the VicBred Super Series 4 year old Trotters Final. With all these races, the total prize money on offer depends on whether the race is classified as a Group 1 race and its ranking as a major race.