THE Racing World.

-" Jlotor was racing- on the big side, and badly at that, at the Hutt on Thursday. I hear that E. Derritt will be at the -midsummer meeting of the Auckland Racing Club. Mr Stead's team will probably leave Lyttelton on December llth for the A.R.C. meeting. The weights for the A.R.C. Railway Handicap and Steeplechase are due on Monday next. Mr Piper's starting at the Hutt v/as up to his best form, and was a treat to witness. Tirea, one of the competitors in the hack races run at the Hutt, looks a likely sort for fencing work. Lady Thornton, by General Thorn-ton-Hone te Hauto, has foaled a colt to St. Leger, a bay with black points. From a conversation I had with Mr Douglas Gordon, I gather that Advance will be in commission again. At the recent V.R.C. meeting the ' stakes amounted to £19,025, of which New South Wales horses secured . £5969. Nominations close for the Avondale classic events for two and three-year-olds on November 29th (next Friday). Prosser, when asked how Porirua ■was doing, informed me that that colt is a rare doer, but never looks right in his coat. Mr Harry Hayr acted as timekeepe/on the opening day of the Welling- ' ton meeting, as substitute for Mr Grace, resigned. After the Maiden Hack Race at Wellington, Mr Lance Wood purchased- Mooi, by Strenuous, from Wi Parata . " Beccles, a half-sister to The Watchdog won the Commissioners' Purse at Poonah recently in a very hollow fashion, and then bolted round the course. There are now fourteen colts and . eleven fillies at Sylvia Park while at Wellington Park nineteen colts ana . geven fillies have so far made their appearance. Mr Jorgenson is building- commodious stabling near the Hutt Racecourse, twenty-two boxes in all, aud will thus supply a long felt want there. L. Hewitt, L. King, and Raynor each had two winning mounts on the first day at the. Wellington Racing Club's meeting; J. Pine and Cress one ; .each. The Porirua stable will probably be represented at the Midsummer Meeting of the Auckland Racing Club by Porirua, the Seaton Delaval—Wai- .>, temata colt, and others. Kowhete, by Apremont from Whisper, therefore half-sister to First • Whisper, was sold recently by Mr G. i Hunter to Mr Redford, in whose col- -| ours she ran at Wellington. The privileges in connection with the coming meeting of. the Takapuna Jockey Club will be submitted to auction by Messrs A. Buckland and Sons at the'Haymarket on Monday next at noon. The Carbine colt Mannlicher was .made favourite for the Cesarewitch, but even with such a light impost as 6st 71b he finished in the ruck. The ': 'winner, Balsarrock, started at 25 to 1 against. Wjor Yon Gossler's Tuki, by his ' victory in the Hamburg Derby, has how placed to his credit the sum of £8550, the largest amount ever won in a single season by any horse m \ Germany. The Carbine mare Semper Vigilans had an easy task set her in the Fiftysecond Triennial Produce Stakes at Newmarket, England. She went out an odds on favourite in a small field, - and won handily. After running in the V.R.C. Handicap at Flemington the Carbine horse George Frederick was got back to the paddock with the utmost difficulty, when it was found that he was suffering from a severe sunstroke. It is reported that the Caulfielc Cup winner, Hz/mettus, will not be seen out under silk again, but will go to the stud, at which, if good looks and breeding are of any account, he /should be a conspicuous success. Two outsiders in Indian Shot and Cornea put up a great finish in the November Handicap at Wellington, the judge being unable to separate them, while none of the more highly fancied division could get near them. - That great horse St. Simon is once- .; again at the head of the list of winhing sires in England, his progeny having won races to the value of 7 £28,53 G. Lord Rosebery's favourite, - Ladas, is next on the list. Writing of Wakeful, "Terlinga," in %c "Australasian," sums her up as ithe best mare he has ever seen. A Jairly tall order this, when La Cara- :■ -Wne and Auraria have to be taken into.consideration. The Wellington Racing Club was ; -_l_cky as regards weather for the ' opening of the Spring Meeting, a cold northerly wind and a drizzling rain to make matters■ unplea-i-Sant.. Notwithstanding this, however, : the .investments ran into five figures, just beating last year's total of £9994 by £56,

Little Bess, who claims Seaton Delaval as her sire, has been doi,ng fairly well among the ponies on the other side. She won a handicap the other day at the headquarters of pony racing in Sydney, Kensington Park. Mr W. C. Whitney's winnings on the turf this season must have run into big figures. Kilmarnock 11., b\ Sir Dixon—Miss Used, helped the popular American to gather in 4000 soys., by annexing the Prix dv Oonseil Municipal., one of the plums of the French turf. The non-inclusion of jumping races in the spring programme of the Wellington Racing Club was a matter of comment amongst visitors —nothing like a little variety. Ellerslie is the great variety show place of New Zealand. Quite contrary to his usual custom with other horses, Mr Stead still hangs on to that exceptionally moderate customer Skobeloff. The son of Stepniak was a starter on the opening day at Wellington, but as usual failed to distinguish himself. It is reported that the Hon. J. T). Ormond has purchased the stallion Birkenhead, a son of Orme and Tragedy. If this is correct the Napier sportsman has certainly obtained a most promising sire, as Orme was Ormonde's best son, and sire of the speedy Flying Fox. Mr Stead's bay colt Imperator created a very favourable opinion by his running in the Nursery Handicap at Wellington. Although quite in the rear during the early stages of the race, yet when called on the son of Gipsy Grand fairly smothered the field, coming- in for quite an ovation on returning to the saddling paddock. Imperator i-s the first of the Gipsy Grands to score. His dam, Coronal, is a full sister to Gold Medallist, who was one of the most brilliant two-year-olds in New Zealand, but not worth a row of pins after being in England for a time. Imperator's granddam, Waterlily, is the dam of Revenue, the Melbourne Cup winner. Mr Evett will declare the weights for the Auckland Cup on Monday, and sportsmen are naturally anxious to see the veteran handicapper's summing ap.of the situation. There ar_ forty-two equines to be dealt with, but many of them are far below Cup form, so that it should prove a difficult task bringing the field together. A number of bookmakers were doing business on the double-event | principle in front of the totalisator I at the Hutt, but they lost money. Some of them laid 15 to 1 Imperator and Cannie Chiel. "This and the next" was their cry all the afternoon. ! One man struck four doubles—only to think of it. Some people can't back singles. • , Horses which are down to tako part at the Takapuna meeting 'am being pushed along in their morning taskes, and the track work is becoming more interesting than it has been since the last meeting at" Ellerslie. Indications point to the respective fields for the various races being quite up to the average in point ol numbers. When the late Baron Hirsch's horses were successful the winnings usually went to swell the funds of various charities. The American sportsman, Mr Whitney, is apparently following this excellent example, as he has handed over tbe Derby Stakes of £5670, won by Volodyovski to tbe stewards of the English Jockey Club for some benevolent institution. Acceptances for the first day's events of the Takapuna Meeting are with one or two exceptions qrdte up to the average, and the horses left in should provide material for^orau capital racing. Only six remain in the St. Andrew's Handicap, which is but a poor response from owners for such liberal prize-money. The magenta jacket and white cop looks to have something of a mortgage on the mile and a quarter race. Diamond Jubilee has been now retired from the English turf and sent to the stud. Although his record is tarnished with several defeats, still there can be little doubt but that he will become the progenitor of a long string of winners, although he will have a very hard task ■ set him in this repect trying- to follow in the footsteps of his brilliant relatives Persimmon and Florizel 11. It is generally admitted that the system of paying out on two horses j in races is not working out so satisfactorily as the originators anticipated. The Carterton Jockey Club will only follow it in races in which there are at least seven horses. A prominent owner thus expressed himself to me on the subject: "As an owner, I am against the principle; but as a club man I am in its favour when worked on races in which good fields compete." Tlie ex-Aucklander Record Reigr has been sent to Patiala. According to the Indian "Planters' Gazette" it seems extremely doubtful if the big son of Castor can be got ready ir. time for the Calcutta, meeting, a which it was hoped that he would distinguish himself. Record Reign git into a rather low condition as the result of his voyage to India, and owing to the severity of the climate it will take some time before he ir, ready to show his accustomed brilliancy. The disqualification of Austerlitz has been the topic of conversation during the week, owing to the owner having'applied for a re-hearing. The stewards of the Auckland Racing Club went most fully into the case their decision being that the sentence

of three months' disqualification ol horse, owner and jockey be confirmed. That this would be the verdict seemed to be a foregone conclusion", to judge by the opinion of the man in the street, and it is hard to see how the stewards could have gone back on their own desision without being guilty of a very weak-kneed policy. A field of ten sported silk in th* Wellington Handicap, Palaver being made favourite, with Cannie Chiel almost in as great demand. The favourite ran ' most disappointingly, being never once prominent. Sii Geo. Clifford's horse fought out a great battle with Tortulla, beating the mare by nearly a length. The New Zealand Cup winner registerec a good performance, however, under her heavy weight, and, in the opinion of many, might just about have go^ home first if Jenkins had reserved his finishing effort until a little later. Cannie duel's victory in the mile and a quarter race was a very popular one, as the public appreciate such a straight going owner. The first of a series of charges of tote betting against Peter Grant, of Burnett and Grant, Dunedin, was heard at the Dunedin Police Court yrstcrday. in addition to Mr. Graham, S.M., four J's.P. put in an appearance, and took scats on the Bench. Two witnesses called _ declined to give evidence, which might incriminate them. Mr. Graham, S.M ; , thought he had power to issue certificates of indemnity, and the Crown Prosecutor produced a telegram from the Justice Department stating that if witnesses gave full evidence they would not be proceeded against. The majority of the Bench overruled the Magistrate's opinion, and the case was dismissed on the ground that the amount paid out was not the same as the totalisator dividend. There are 58 other charges, which were adjourned to December 5. « The Takapuna racecourse is looking exceptionally well just now, everyithing being in capital order. The spring meeting, which commences next Saturday, bids fair tr, prove even more successful than any which have preceded it, which is saying a good deal. The committee hav«j decided that only one totalisator divi-< dend shall be paid on the inside ma. chine, while the two dividend system will obtain on the hill. The great body of betting folk will probably be glad to learn that the older system is to be reverted to, at all events partially, for there is no denying the fact that the method of paying two dividends has -met with almost unanimous disapproval. The Takapunn meeting should give a fine object lesson as to which system finds most favour with racecourse frequenters, At present it would seem that horse owners and punters, who support the favourites, prefer having the dividend on one horse only, while those people who dabble in outsiders naturally enough like two strings to their bow. No doubt the former class is in a very !big majority.