What ever you want to call it!

[mary]

The carnival will start on Saturday 16 February with six Inter Dominion qualifying heats being held throughout Australasia over a 90 minute period including two heats at Tabcorp Park Menangle.


Ok thats 6 spots & who fills the other 4??
What happens if the top horses get knocked over & knocked out of it for any reason?
Say ITMQ gets poleaxed & runs last, & BITO, SMOKEN ,CARRIBEAN are in the same heat, then who misses out to lesser horses from other states.
TERROR, SMOLDA, SUSHI, FLY, only one will come over??
In other words this final field can be made up of a lower level of horses.
If that does happen, what a pathetic concept.
Who ever dreamed this up, should put there toys back in the box & stop playing with themselves. :confused::confused::mad::mad:

[2minuteman]

The carnival will start on Saturday 16 February with six Inter Dominion qualifying heats being held throughout Australasia over a 90 minute period including two heats at Tabcorp Park Menangle.


Ok thats 6 spots & who fills the other 4??
What happens if the top horses get knocked over & knocked out of it for any reason?
Say ITMQ gets poleaxed & runs last, & BITO, SMOKEN ,CARRIBEAN are in the same heat, then who misses out to lesser horses from other states.
TERROR, SMOLDA, SUSHI, FLY, only one will come over??
In other words this final field can be made up of a lower level of horses.
If that does happen, what a pathetic concept.
Who ever dreamed this up, should put there toys back in the box & stop playing with themselves. :confused::confused::mad::mad:
Just read this morning that the powers that are will select the other eight starters from "the highest ranked placegetters".

[aussiebreno]

I believe its called the Ben Hur Invitational.

Every year they open themself up to riducule with the Miracle Mile. They've improved on that the last couple years with the decisions moreso set in stone. Why they want to go down this avenue again who knows. I only hope the ranking system is available before heats.

But then if the ranking system is available pre-heats, why not just have one race for the Top 14 horses?

It doesn't make sense. But a lot of HRNSW decisions don't make sense. Like the race field selection process....

[mary]

Just read this morning that the powers that are will select the other eight starters from "the highest ranked placegetters".

Did not know there are 14 in it.
Can you imagine if they put so & so in, in front of the other so & so etc....messy. Even if they have a "highest ranked placegetters" thing going, it could turn out real bad.
Go back to the INTER DOM, 3 heats & the final. Over 2 weeks. I thought it worked just fine.

[mary]

I believe its called the Ben Hur Invitational.

Every year they open themself up to riducule with the Miracle Mile. They've improved on that the last couple years with the decisions moreso set in stone. Why they want to go down this avenue again who knows. I only hope the ranking system is available before heats.

But then if the ranking system is available pre-heats, why not just have one race for the Top 14 horses?

It doesn't make sense. But a lot of HRNSW decisions don't make sense. Like the race field selection process....


No Brenden it does not. If any thing it could fail badly, and the powers that be will look even more stupid that the idea itself.
If this happens lets hope they have the brains to go back to the REAL Inter Dom.

[2minuteman]

No Brenden it does not. If any thing it could fail badly, and the powers that be will look even more stupid that the idea itself.
If this happens lets hope they have the brains to go back to the REAL Inter Dom.
The one thing that will not happen is the going back to what we had.Those in power (any organisation) will defend their decisions to the death,whatever the rights or wrongs of those decisions.
Don't like it,tough!
On another matter.I see we are going to have a strategic directions roadshow.Be still my beating heart.
To show how forward looking we are,this "plan" will cover three,count them,three years.
A suggestion,have a chat to the AFL about how to develop and implement a 25 year plan to rule the world.

[mary]

The one thing that will not happen is the going back to what we had.Those in power (any organisation) will defend their decisions to the death,whatever the rights or wrongs of those decisions.
Don't like it,tough!
On another matter.I see we are going to have a strategic directions roadshow.Be still my beating heart.
To show how forward looking we are,this "plan" will cover three,count them,three years.
A suggestion,have a chat to the AFL about how to develop and implement a 25 year plan to rule the world.



3 years ??? are they joking. Harness racing will be lucky to be here in 3 years the way its going......
In NZ last season their were only 3192 mares served , a far cry from the record of neally 9000. What does that tell you??
A guy I know ,who AIs mares is doing 50% less this year.
Im not breeding any more, I had 8 mares.
In my circle no one renewed their licence, trainer, driver or stablehand & over the last 3 years that same circle is down 30 odd broodmares.
Get some sats from HRA....everything is down. Trainers , owners, drivers, owners, breeders, owners, & more owners. And punters are walking away.
Don't like it, tough!
But thats whats happening & here they are destroying a race that used to hold the attention of the whole public, even non race goers.

[2minuteman]

3 years ??? are they joking. Harness racing will be lucky to be here in 3 years the way its going......
In NZ last season their were only 3192 mares served , a far cry from the record of neally 9000. What does that tell you??
A guy I know ,who AIs mares is doing 50% less this year.
Im not breeding any more, I had 8 mares.
In my circle no one renewed their licence, trainer, driver or stablehand & over the last 3 years that same circle is down 30 odd broodmares.
Get some sats from HRA....everything is down. Trainers , owners, drivers, owners, breeders, owners, & more owners. And punters are walking away.
Don't like it, tough!
But thats whats happening & here they are destroying a race that used to hold the attention of the whole public, even non race goers.
Yes,that was when the sport was marketed.Compare what the VRC does with the Cup Carnival v the Harness Racing Club with ANY race/meeting.

[Danno]

Personnaly I would love to see the KPI's for ALL of our administrative personnel, not just employees, include our leadership teams please!!!

unfortunately our game has suffered many times from self serving "leaders", people who were in the game to improve their own stocks first and foremost. A great number of them have passed, however their legacy lives on.

[Toohard]

I believe its called the Ben Hur Invitational.

Every year they open themself up to riducule with the Miracle Mile. They've improved on that the last couple years with the decisions moreso set in stone. Why they want to go down this avenue again who knows. I only hope the ranking system is available before heats.

But then if the ranking system is available pre-heats, why not just have one race for the Top 14 horses?

It doesn't make sense. But a lot of HRNSW decisions don't make sense. Like the race field selection process....

When there's a big race on at Melton they publish a list of all the previous winners in the race book. My young son loves going back through the lists and either asking me about the horses on them that I saw race or he looks them up himself on the net.

Great way of comparing horses from other times with horses now. If they call this the Interdominion they'll just continue adding the winners of this format to the list of winners of the real '3 heats and a final' format. The list of winners will lose it's meaning. No way can compare the winner of this format with the likes of Gammalite, Our Sir Vancelot and Blacks A Fake to name just a few.

I've told him before it's not always the race won by the best horse. It's won by the best horse over 4 races in 2 weeks. Have gone to great lengths to explain it all to him eg; the best horse might not be able to cope with 4 races in 2 weeks.

In 20 years time he's going to have fun explaining the Interdom winners list to his son when taking him to the races (hopefully with his sons grandfather in tow)!

[mary]

eg; the best horse might not be able to cope with 4 races in 2 weeks.

EXACTLY!

And it was great to watch & follow who had the points & by the last heat who had to earn those points to make the final.
This race IS NOT an inter dom & never will be, its already lost its meaning to me.

[Chariots]

As a traditionalist by heart I much preferred the old style three heats and a final but I think that you are all missing the points why the format was changed:

At a cost of approximately $1.8m less hard to get sponsorship conducting clubs no longer wished to be in the rotational arrangement. Those states that would be prepared to continue would have to weigh up any benefits against the cost that would have to come out of grassroots racing. I assume that NSW having it for three consecutive years has led to Government support.

Not an ideal situation but the option of the old format at one venue would appear to be financially unviable.

[Danno]

As a traditionalist by heart I much preferred the old style three heats and a final but I think that you are all missing the points why the format was changed:

At a cost of approximately $1.8m less hard to get sponsorship conducting clubs no longer wished to be in the rotational arrangement. Those states that would be prepared to continue would have to weigh up any benefits against the cost that would have to come out of grassroots racing. I assume that NSW having it for three consecutive years has led to Government support.

Not an ideal situation but the option of the old format at one venue would appear to be financially unviable.

With all due respect to you Ray, if the club/states (s) taking their turn at hosting could only afford to put on a race for say...only $800k, does that stop the general public from getting curious about harness racing? Mate I am a purist too, but I also see the Inter as our greatest marketing race, so if the race is for a bit less $$$ then so what?.

The rotation system of the interdomion, which has been in effect for donkeys ages, enables each area where our great sport in playing to get a first hand view of our games greatest horses and horse people, to me the main role of the interdominon is to attract attention to our sport, not pay the owners of the "best" horse a shitload of money.

Employ clever people and not dunces, stop "paying peanuts to the monkeys" get people who can deliver or get someone else who can!

cheers,
Dan

[2minuteman]

Employ clever people and not dunces, stop "paying peanuts to the monkeys" get people who can deliver or get someone else who can!

cheers,
Dan
What he said!

[Chariots]

The new format may well not work but the format that we all loved was struggling big time. I was at Alexander Park when Elsu won the inters and there was less than 4,000 on course.

Also not sure that trainers would be keen to race four times in two weeks for greatly reduced prize money when there are so many individual high stakes group races around.