Harness Racing Victoria (HRV) today officially announced the return of the time-honoured Inter Dominion (ID) Trotting Championship.

The ID Trotting Championship was placed in a period of hiatus after the win of I Can Doosit at Tabcorp Park Melton in 2012, no longer forming part of the annual Inter Dominion carnival in following years in New South Wales and Western Australia.

However, the recent decision by Harness Racing Australia (HRA) to rescind a previous motion “preventing the use of the term and conduct of the Inter Dominion Trotting Championship” paved the way for the current Inter Dominion hosts – HRV, Harness Racing New South Wales (HRNSW) and Harness Racing New Zealand (HRNZ) –to reinstate the ID Trotting Championship.

“It is a wonderful outcome for the trotting gait, to have the Trotting Inter Dominion reinstated alongside the pacers’ Inter Dominion,” HRV CEO David Martin said.

“There has been significant growth in trotting in recent years and the 2018 Australasian Premier Trotting Sale produced strong results.

“The Inter Dominion Trotting Championship has a rich history and has been won by some famous horses, including Sundons Gift, who went back-to-back at Moonee Valley in 2009 and 2010, Lyell Creek, Pride Of Petite, True Roman and Scotch Notch.

“We’re proud to announce the Inter Dominion Trotting Championship will feature as a key part of our ID18 line-up of races and we look forward to hosting the best trotters in Australasia as they target this illustrious series.”

Victorian Square Trotters Association (VSTA) President Nick Youngson celebrated the decision.

“The promotion of the squaregaiter through the Inter Dominion series has always been enormously important and the VSTA wishes to thank HRA and the Inter Dominion hosts HRV, HRNSW and HRNZ for this action,” Mr Youngson said.

“We can’t wait to see the best trotters vying it out for the Inter Dominion trophy at Ballarat, Cranbourne and Tabcorp Park Melton later this year.”