Bathurst Paceway set to host second heat of Inter Dominion Pacing and Trotting Championship

The circuit will play host to the second of the three heats for Australasia's most coveted Group 1 harness racing prizes, welcoming the continent's superstars on December 1.

It's the first time the series has made its way to the city and it will represent a major milestone in the short history of the current Bathurst track.

Bathurst Harness Racing Club CEO Danny Dwyer said it was amazing to learn that the series would be coming to the city.

"Taking the Inter Dominion to a country track is something that hasn't been done before and it's a great opportunity for the club," he said.

"We're stoked that we have this opportunity, and it's come at the right time of the year for us in summer. We've had a number of meetings with the Inter Dominion committee and talks have progressed really well over the last couple of months.

Bathurst spectators can expect see some modern legends of the sport coming to the city.

Two-time Miracle Mile champion King Of Swing looks certain to start as a favourite for the series while Chariots Of Fire winner Expensive Ego and New Zealand sensations Spankem and Self Assured are also likely to be in attendance.

"Drawing the best horses from across harness racing from Australia and New Zealand gives us an opportunity to showcase harness racing at a great facility in a country area," Dwyer said.

"It's great for those are country New South Wales to see horses like this, where you would normally have to travel to the city to see them. Catching them live on your home track live will be something very special.

"Hopefully we get a good crowd and get the support behind us because it really is a one-in-a-million sort of chance that something like this comes about."

Dwyer said he was taken aback, in a positive way, when Harness Racing NSW made the announcement.

"There were no behind-the-scenes things to make it work, they just brought out the schedule of events and it happened to have Bathurst and Newcastle included on it," he said.

"I think the track record is certainly a chance of going. At that time of year the times are going to be faster and we're possibly looking at something around the 1:50 mark, which would be two seconds quicker than the current mark on the track.

"I remember thinking that we could one day get it down to 1:53 on this track and we've already gone below that, so now we have a chance to see it go even quicker.

"We're all very excited for it. It should be an amazing series."

The first heat for the Inter Dominion will take place at Menangle on November 27 and the last heat will be at Newcastle on December 5.

Bathurst Paceway's race distance of 1,730 metres makes it the shortest heat of the series.

The winner of this year's pacers series will take home $500,000 while the trotters champion will pocket $150,000.

The grand final will be on December 11 at Menangle.

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