TALK OF THE DAY.

BY MAZBPPA.

%* Wolverine is pretty near right now, and by the time the nest racing season approaches he will, I think, be quite rid of the effects of that poisonous influenza that affected him last. February. The Bymptoms of this complaint were quite different to those of ordinary iniuenss, not only as a matter of degree, bat in bringing about all sorts of strange compli* eationi. Silvermark had frigtyf al lamps in his throat, saoh as to nearly' cfyike him ; Wotyen \ti&i inosfc obatjriatp symptom *W--fclfi£ rfc £* eruption in the neighbourhood, .of ,t|ie .hocks, causing weakness;' and both began io the,^ame

way and, evidently proceeded from the same cause. ' ~- , , . . *** A number of .standard-bred trotters have arrived in Melbourne from America. Trotting seems to be, in a fair way to become properly organised as a /separate branch, of spoit in Australia, and the' movement Will doubtless extend in, time to, New Zealand. Indeed, we have already a commencement in the formation of the Canterbury Trotting Association, which is apparently disposed to fully equip itself, with a constitution and comprehensive regulations for the. complete governance of racers and racing,' and in the course of a year or two we should have order where now all is riot. . The present state of trotting affairs cannot last, j It is rotten, in that at ordinary race meetings there is absolutely no supervision of the. proceedings, and horses are palled or otherwise stiffened without the least attempt to cover up the Indecency. The consequence is that , honest men find themselves at a disadvantage,' and if the lack of supervision continues we shall find trotting abandoned by all who value the approval of a good' conscience. The alternative to this disaster is to have i rotting races exposed to the fierce light of public and official critioism; and this is only possible by limiting the number of starters. When 20 horses go out for a race, one half can play all -softs of games with" very little chance of being detected. Divide the field by half, and each horse's doings can be watched. As one who would like to see trotting become art institution, I hope to see bodies' like the Canterbury Trotting Association formed all over the country, bat I would sooner see trotting extinguished than have it as' it will be if 'allowed to take its own' course; unchecked, for another year or two. ' *** The Gazette notifies that all licenses to us 9 totalisators at race meetings are revoked as from Ist. July next.' The meaning of this announcement is that those clabs that possess what they believe to be perpetual permits will have to cease to rely on them, and make application to the resident magistrate' in respect to each and 'every race meeting. There is nothing much in' ithe point, so far as I can see ; at any rate, so ' far as the leading clubs are concerned it will of course simply mean five minutes extra' work on the part of the secretary. Speaking of the law on the subject of the totalisator,.it may be of interest at this juncture to reprint the text of the- statute under which the machine is legalised. It was passed as long ago as 1881, and we cannot all remember what took place eight years 'ago. The provisions of the Gaming and Lotteries Act are as follows :—: — - - . 46. Notwithstanding anything in this act hereinbefore contained, it shall be lawful for the Coloaial Secretary, on the application of any racing club, to grant to such club a license or authority bo use the totftlisator at horse-racing meetings held under the control or management of such club, subject to the following conditions, namely :— (1) Betore the application of the racing club is disposed of by the Colonial Secretary it shall be referred to the' senior resident magistrate of the principal town ot the provincial district in which the racing club is established for hi* report and reoommenda tion thereon. (3) The authority or license shall be In writing, and shall be revocable at any time the Colonial , Secretary'thinks fit to determine the same, either by written notice to the club or by notice published in the Gazette. (3) No more than three totalisators shall be used by the club at one time, and none outside the race i grounds within the control or management of the 'club. (4) Every totalisator shall be under the care and •management of some competent perion appointed by the club, and under the direot supervision of the stewards. ' J (a) " Totalisator " means the instrument Jor wagering or betting known by that name, and any. other instrument or machine of a like nature, and conducted upon the same principles. (b) " Racing club" includes any club or association formed for the purpose of promoting horse racing, or for the management of horse-racing meetings. (47) If the conditions above mentioned are duly complied with) no person shall be liable to any penalty or forfeiture under this aot, or any other law 'for the time being in force relating to gaining and 'lotteries, for the use of the totalisator in manner ihereinbefore provided. .' . '.' In reproducing these clauses for the express benefit of country readers who may not have ready access to copies of the- statute,- I would merely add by way of comment that the law does not insist on the use of the costly instruments we are, accustomed to, machines "of a 'like nature " being permissible, .and that there is not a' word in the act as to the rate to be charged for tbe use of the machine. The 10 per cent, is fixed by the clubs, and this being so some of them may one of these days conspire to lower the rate. Hardly likely at present, I grant ; but competition will work wonders sometimes. Peronally, however, lam beginning to think that after all there is very little sincerity in the growling at the charge. The restrictions proposed to be added at the Napier conference appear in our report of the D.J.C. meeting on Saturday, so that our readers have now the whole law before them. . , ■ , *** We often hear .of a mare " throwing back", to the horse with which she was first .mated. This is what an. English authority has |to say on the question: — "It is a proved fact,, that a previous act of conception will leave traces of the influence of the male upon some of the progeny which are produced by subsequent .connection with another male. This ■ is, perhaps, manifest only to us when the former male has been of a .different species, or at least of different character to the latter. Lord Moreton crossed a mare of pure biood with a zebra, the result being, of course, a mule hybrid ; the next time this mare was bred to, a purebred horse like herself, and the result was a foal which showed very distinct zebra markings, fainter, however, than in the first foal ; a third time she was mated to a purebred horse, and still the markings were visible, though fainter than in the last case ; on the fourth occasion, when similarly jnated, no trace of the zebra cross could be discovered. This mare and her progeny were painted, and the paintings are now in the Hunterian Museum of the College of Surgeons." * # * One of the subjects of gossip aether, present time in England is in regard to matches, concerning which the Field says it may be questioned whether the British public does not prefer to see a large field of fourth-rate horses, to witnessing a mafceh between two , of , the- best horses in training. Be that as jit may f however, it' is not very probable that matches will .ever again become fashionable, for the very simple reason that most horses- have quite as many more remunerative engagements as they tan keep ; and few, save those to whom money is no object and whose love of sport ,i«, exceptionally deep seated, would care to forego the richer 1 stakesnow in vogue in .favour of the, more humble,, match.; To the last-named competition* however, a peculiar interest ib attached. In the first place it is tantamount to an avowal on the part of the respective owners concerning the merits of their horses.- In an ordinary, race some horses start on an off-chance, and- in numberless instances they are not expected to win ; bjifc in a matcli it is otherwise, and, as the parties themselves draw up the . conditions, instead of accepting those put forward by someone else, the distance and the weights are those which both owners think will give their horse a chance of success. \ Furthermore, a match is free from those- disappointing incidents, which- in a- jrace ,wjth: several starters so .often upset all calculations, as there is no cannoning, and no. being shut in, at a,orsti7 . oal moroen> It ,is. possible $aty& jM<n ft;

the inpreaged number of, race meetings npw,held and the valae'of ijhe,stakes..comßeted v for, ; the dissemination of racing news, and- the, pitch, to which touting has been brought, have gone some way towards making matches less popular than they wore. .Horse-matching could not .have' been very systematically carried out when, all', the touts arrived too late, and missed seeing Eclipse's trial prior to theiEpom Spring meeting in 1769, and were, indebted to the observations of an old woman,. foe the intelligence that O'Kelly's horse had come in first. Then, as well as down to a comparatively recent period, form was not such .a deep study as at present j and it was possibly the persistency more than the judgment of the/,old match-makers which has; caused them to. become famous /in.^xaoing history. The Duke ?f Queensberry (° : QId Q")» with Dick Goodispn as his jockey, delighted.in nothing more than a match, and was b pf ten seen on his own horses. What, is believed to be one of his first sporting wagers was the"' famous match against time,* when he. and Lord Eglington laid-lOOOgs that tour hones should draw a carriage with a man. in it 19 miles , within an hour. Wright;, who built so many, of the coaches of the day, 'was* entrusted,', with; the building , of vehicle, which was little more than-'a trame'work strong , enough to hold the whieels together. The distance , was com-, pleted in 53min 27sec. . A stiil more ecoentrjc wager was that in which the 'Duke of Queens-, . berry backed bimsblf to have a letter- conveyed ( : 165 miles in an hour, and this effected by enclosing itin a cricket ball, and engaging some cricketers to, stand in a circle, and throw the ball from one to the other. , In between. these, 1 and many other curious ways of making or losing money, "Old Q." found time to match his ; horses against those of his friends, the moat, .memorable rac?, perhaps, being that against the Duke of Hamilton, owners up, for lOOOga ; bub several others were run for the same amount, and some idea of the extent to which matchmaking went on may be gained from the fact, that one of his horses. Dash, by piorizel, won , nearly 4000gs in matches alone in about four months of the season of ,1789. - ; %* There is more trouble at Napier ,<?yer 'the totalisator. The federated hack racing clubs have resolved to ask the members for the, J district to use their influence in taking from ■ the metropolitan club 9 any power over the granting the use of the totalisator, and in. the event of Government refusing to comply with this request, the members are requested to cn rf deavour to have the totaliaatox abolished. The ,law on the subject is pretty well, known ; there is no statutory obligation on the part of the minor clubs to consult the" metropolitan clubs— this was proposed in' the Colonial Secretary's circular, but withdrawn ; but the. metropolitan j clubs have themselves taken a firm grip of the j offenders by holding over their heads the threat .of disqualification, and to malje this penalty th,e. | more effectual measures will shortly be adopted extending the penalty of disqualification to the owner, nominator, trainer, and jockey of each ; horse running at meetings the programmes of. which are not approved. I must confess that lam not a lover of coercion. It is not an edifying sight to see a big boy overawing, his little brother. But in this case £he ; little brother has become not only very irritating— were this the sum of .his offence' we t could' .pardon . him-*-but positively .dangerous to. himself, and .others, and if allowed to have his own way he would " baft", up the family arrangements. , This being so, a limit must'be set to his power. The simile seems to be an appropriate one, for what could be more childish than the' whimper that if the minor clubs do not get their own way they will cry until they get the totalisator abolished ! And the justice of :the restrictions imposed is apparent on the sur-" face. The metropolitan, glubs find that a simple disqualification of the h o ??P * Da * rUBE ! a^ *YeV c ?? a * authorised" meetings is not 'sufficient'to prevent these meetings from being held ; therefore tbe. scope of the penalty is t enlarged, The whole question lies in a very small compass. . The Jotalisator must be preserved ; its continuance is endangered by the rebellion of certain clubs; if the rebels are successful the system of turf government will come tO griof j therefore the objectors are really anarchist?,. and must be suppressed; >Let us pray that the hopelessness of their cause, ' if no h'ighsr motive can movie' them, wiir prevail' with the clubs referred to, and induee I ' them to, give up this factious opposition and work (x animo for the common weal. ' , , ' , \* The field that contested the Great Northern Steeplechase on Saturday can hardly be called first-class— e|ther Canard, or Clarence,, or The Agent at their best could have put up 12.7 and beaten the whole seven at their present j weights— but it was fairly representative of the district, and with the existing scarcity of real j tip-toppers, the club should be well satisfied to have had the patronage of whatf we may call" a respectable second-class lot. Oddfellow found ithe jumps' too 'stiff for' him, and retired. Per r j haps he would have done better had he been j kept out of the Hurdle Race, though it will be ! observed that Don,' who won' the big money, j was also a competitor in the earlier event. The 'finish for the big money must have been exeft- \ ing. We read that the three placed horses rose j together at thelast hurdle. This obstacle is, ,or r was when I was last up therei ! two-thirds of the," way up' the straight. The i?ace " that I saw was. the one in which' Chandler and Hercules raced in company from the stonew all to this hurdle, when Hercules, dead tired, ran round, Opinions may be divided as to the advisability of having a jump so close to the winning post.bqt it has its advantages, and when we read, as in this case, that three of the field approached it in line, we can understand that the was at least interesting. The following table showsthe WINNBHS OF GBBAT NOETHBEN STEEPLECHASE.

In the, jVJnter Handicap three. Muskets and 7 / four others were .put down by that clever.pony Signess, who -has ,proved,.a perfect prodigy this season... Why her owrver keeps -her in' New "wiien there, are hatfuls of money tobewon in Australia* is a. problem that -no one ;can SOlve. ,1 v- v ' '* ! . , >••"< ,;'iv ••:• " *■-•'■ : \* The Sydney Beferefe tells the following story, which I am - sorry .to- say is hot a singular ■ experience :-r A -certain liorte was first favourite' !for a race at S to 1, and being known to be good ■goods, the actions of his owner, were, :caref ally taken stock 0f.., Eager as the punters, were, they had not long to wait, as, the owner who, perhaps, prides himself with being no f'mug,". shouted out." sto 1 : Rafter which the little party " surrounding him quietly- betook themselves to otherparts of ; the paddocksjunder the impression .that the horse was not "wanted." iTo say jfchafc v the offer, to lay sto 1 was inadejn earnest is not to express pur belief , that it was, aßtheowner.Bhortly_afterwendedhis.waythtough the ring and accepted. shorter odds himself., Why a mm should lay 5 to 1 and t then;take4to 1 it ia imposaible to say, and the';6nly inference to be arrive^ W- that he was .misleading th> public. .Sureljithia^^perspn,Hwh"o W? theppsifa^R of boofanftker and ; ho.rjs§a,wn.er, derives safficientr from tbe publio wiiout; *tiMyy&s to^bttiem ,

in ?two .directions,- by legitimate' ; means back his horse for all the money?he require without attempting. to throwL dust in the eyes of the public, who really keep bis horses , and himself. We are by no means averse to , bookmakers being horseowners, as wearejfirmly of the opinion that some of the -fairest and straighest going owners on the turf are bookmakers, but the person .alluded to can- never after be placed in .that category. This is by no means the first offence, and so, glaring was this episode that, in the interests of the public 'he should, be reported to Tattereall's* by some of the members who witnessed it. . It' is not very long qince .the same party offered exorbitant odds against. his horse as. he did. in. I this case, in order, to frighten tbe public, and then sneaked round amongst his brother metal- : lioiaas , and took them down. .< But he. met his } match in one who. has forgotten more than ever; ■he knew, when he asked {or £70 to £40; * and < was met with the reply, that " he didn't bet with bookmak.ers.'?< The turf is< rotten enough ' already, and amongst its followers are sufficient < worthless owners to ensure bookmakers without; the latter attempting to, play a double game on the public,, and, we hope that TattersalT's Club ! will take the matter up and institute a searching investigation. -Such people are a disgrace ;to any community, and their absence is always I more preferable than their company. . . . ■ %♦ An English sporting paper hears of the ill-luck that has befallen Mr W. Sugden Armitage, of Old Ealby Hall, who has lately come over from-New Zealand to reside in- the Old Country again,, and wishing to have a couple of his .favourite hunters sent over, gave orders to that effect. The first one, All Fours, a marvel over naked wire fences, braved: the perils of ! ]the deep during this very long journey, and was , safely in the English Channel; when he .took •ill; and died, just on the point of being landed. !:The -other, Golden Butterfly; a seven-year-old golden chestnut horse by Cloth of Gold, by jftweetbrjar out of Golden* Grape, a winner of many races out there, was a grand specimen of ;a hunter, 1 and wonderfully clever. This horse jlanded all right and carried Mr Armitage with 'the Qnorn. and neighbouring hunts this season without making any mistake. Recently he I broke his. leg in his exercise, and. had to be i .destroyed. This not only a great loss to his. ~owner, he being a 1 perfect, hunter, but to the 'district of Melton Mowbray, where he wa? to ,have served at the stud this season,- and had a great many .promises. ... ; .%*' Thanks to the oottrtesy of Mr Sydney James, I am enabled this week to present the readers of -the Witness with' a complete statement as to the intentions of the Dunedin Jockey Clubior next .season. The five programmes have been finally revised, they have received the approval of the General Committee, and the -printers are now .employed in making, them all up into a' book, which, when t issuedj will .contain full particulars in regard to all the meetings. This is ; the. first, time this has: been done, the practice heretofore being to treat the Hunt Club programme as a sort, of * 'extraordinary, affair, though as a matter of fact the D.J.C. has .always taken control of - the concern and acted with it very .much as. though it waa one. of its own meetings, t Taking the programmes in the order in 'which they -will come up for consideration, the first is. that for the September meeting, and the .following table shows the. arrangements compared .with those of the expiring year for this gathering commonly, known as. the - ■

It will be observed that the new programme is a fae' simile of the previous one in regard to ithe order of the races, and the likeness holds' gobd in all other particulars with the exception of the amount of stakes, which has been increased in every event. The figures tell their own tale, and I need scarcely point out that the additions come to.the total of £135. The. next programme is that for the November meeting, and in this, as the public have already been told on more than one occasion, there is' an. entirely new departure in honour of the Exhibition carnival.' The new programme is here shown in juxtaposition with that run through last November :— | ' '

The first 24 events in the right hand column of - the above list form what has been already published as .the Exhibition • programme, but the •D.J.G. have rat lastr ventured to commit them--, selves to the carrying out of- the 'proposal to add a fourth day's racing-*-to be held cm the following 1 Saturday -^and ' the five last items :in the above table represent- the i bill of farepre*: .pared ;for the occasion; rlfc-must not, however, be supposed ihat the club is going to be content jwithfive races,- Nothingof; the, sort. -Eaeh'idf the, two trotting, races'. is really three related in regard to the distribution, of money, but entirely separate for .totalisator purposes. The. arrangement in the Exhibition Trot is as follows:— The race is to be contested in two-, mile heats, The acceptors will be equally divided into two sections ; the section that contains Hhe longest-distance' horses will start by themselves, afterwards the section that contains the shortest-distance horses ; andthe first horse in each . section will < . receive lOsovs, < second 7sove, third Ssots from the stakes, and these six hordes only are eligible to start .for the final. The first horse in each section to incur a penalty' ; of, Bs.ee, the second .4seo for the final, for which the first horse will receive lOOsovs, second 40$pvsft third 20so.vjiJrQni, the. stakes. ,Th}s(Js I pßwiac^j v the i ßohemo..pr^pounde j d.by » edrce-: spopdenfc ia theee, <^umnsja*re&,or.. four.jweete

'are favourable to a satisfactory isms though I r shall be quite prepared to 'hear, all sorts of 'Obf \ jectio'ns made' to the conditions. ' Some 'folk are' ; bound to rate the club for violating the rule that' .says that no race shall be run in heats; otherswill, object to the distance, and" tell ua that ,a two-mile race is; not a fair test of our horsed abilities, and that therefore some of the cracks* 'will decline nomination; -and -a third set of'tnalcontepts may be expected to groW at the splitting up of what, if given in mass, would her;a capital prize. I thick there is asuflßcient answer to these and other objections ;'and I-give 'the dub credit for 1 daring to s make innov* Ijtions,- the general effect of which seems caK■ouiated 'to ensure more honest- competition. The .only matter in"- which' I would suggest? an alteration* of the proposals— that is,'if' the 7 'suggestion does not come too late — is that injstead .of the sections^being. split np according to 1 the number of acceptors, it would be better if the divisions were left to be made on the' gipand^ and the starters instead. of acceptors equjiliyj divided. By doing this there wonjd be onechance the less of squaring matters, as it would. ■not be known for certain; until the numbers were actually hoisted, to which division eoineOf the middle lot. w,o,uld be attached. .There is not, however, much in the point. The money in the; Carnival Trot is to.be split up in the same pro- - portion as in the Exhibition Trofyand the race ;is, indeed, very much the sane, excepting in: 'these two particulars :. first, the heats are ,po be 1 iope mile each, and there are penalties' for the placed horses In the final of the previous event— 15seo for the first, lOsec for the second, and ssec ; penalty for the third horse. It is quite a new thing in these parts to see' a mile trotting race, and being altogether, in the nature of an - experiment one can hardly foresee whether this/ idea will -take 0n.,: It rink 'it will^ but 1 iwe .must not be too confident until the result < has passedinto history. -The total increase ot . added money for the whole meeting, as com* - pared with that at the last affair is £4745. The > <third gathering of the season, the ,Cup meeting, ■ is furnished with a programme based on the lines of the last one, as will appear by the following :—

A brief account of the alterations on the lasfc programme may. be usefully noted., In the Cop the sweepstake is reduced from 15sova to lOsovs. Entrance for the Selling Race is brought 'down to- lsov. In the Maiden Plate the distance is" made a mile aud.a-quarter instead of a mile and a-balf, and 20sovs is to be bestowed oh;the second horse. In the ' Stewards' Parse, insfead: of the sweepstake going' to the .second horse' ■ that Animal's share of the plunder is fixed - at 20sovs, and. lOsovs is to be given to the third.. In the Novel Race the sweepstake is to be 2sovs instead of 3sovs. The entrance for the Post Stakes and, the Scurry is reduced to half »' 'sovereign. In the Consolation Stakes the third < horse is to receive lOsovs. Acceptances are* reduced to lsov in the Publicans': Handicap,; Stewards' Puree, City Stakes, Hopeful ' Stakes, and Flying Handicap, and to 2sovs instead of 3sovs in the D.J.C. Handicap. These^ with thb^ increases in added money, amounting in all to £280, represents, the i alterations in what is* known as. the. Cup meeting. programme. The Cup itself remains unchanged excepting m regard to the sweepstake. A proposal was, I believe, made to add another - lOOsovs to the -' stake, but it was not insisted on, and' the club has, 1 think wisely, refrainedfrom extravagance < in this direction. The 600sovs is quite suffioiehtf to bring together the few horses we have that ■ are really able to race two miles and a distance, and owners cannot complain that their interests are neglected by the club. As regards' the' March meeting, it so happens that Anniversary > pay in 1890 falls on a Sunday, and- there, being • some doubt as to whether Saturday- or Monday r will be observed as the -holiday, the club has '■- made provision for both days, and issued a pro* gramme accordingly. The last '"Anniversary meeting was, it will be remembered, extended at the eleventh hour. Here are the old and the hew programmes side by side I-—'! .A

The new races are marked with an Mteriek ; those that 'jare.st ruck out ,are indicated by. 'the taark of the dagger. ( There ft not much to be: said about tHe alterations, bu| ;I may note that ,'tbe Kew Handicap is confmed, to c twQ-yewrpidsi r aiid.may >cry likely prove feo!be a popular vjface, '— perhaps. b ; e the means of brmguig owners from _ 'Cbjis.t'churcb. who, would nqfc otherwise, deem; it. j'worth while to send teams to, this .'pff ]m<ttiiifg rf 'The increase for the. comjpg year amounts to |£110. Last on.the list of the olub's meetings is :the Birthday affair; the arrangements, of ' which are outlined id the following table :-*-"' - Ji \j —

Aniincresfleuaeioh.rAoe wiUbestwrve^itia*? being of a substantial nature in regard tdyimU two ; clo^hai^cap^i^min»t4o«£»Lwhl*vi«f

to be taken on the night of settb'ng op over the Autumn meethig. ,Imay mark' the following concessions to. owners s—lns — In . the Maiden- Plate,, Sellingtßaoe, and Selling Hurdle. Race the entry is teduceditolsov ; and in the Provincial Handi-cap-the acceptance is. brought dowaito the same figure. i In the Birthday Handicap, the second horse will receive 40sovs and . the third 20sovs. There>isto be a -sweepstake of 2sovs in theTradeamea'fl Handicap, and the third horse will retfeiveJSsovs^.-.The St. Clair Welter isequipp«d. with) like conditions,; Sin the Two-mile I ' Trot the •< second; is < to have 15aova and the third: lOaavs ; and in.the Consolation ssova will be be* towed on the third horse^ The total increase of added, money is;.£2Bo, same 'as at the Cup meeting. I Appended is a statement showing the iocreaso in-atHded money for the whole

This brings 'my task to a conclusion for the present. The reader must excuse the dry reading for once in a way.^There is ample excuse for a little. gush, if one felt so inclined, but I have preferred to-present the plain facts in prose, ? leaving the poetry to be sung afterwards should there be justification for so doing. - Not that I have> any.' apprehension that the Dunedin < Jockey Club has gone beybndits means, and undertaken * responsibilities that it can--not.' perform; There has been a large increases in the' tofralisator revenue this yeatf, and. this being so, ib was dnly right that there should be increases in- the stakes.*' Jtickey clubs are but trustees for the public, and ib is incumbent on them to expend their revenues - on '. racing. If the D.J.C. could not afford to' launch out when the place is 6n the eve of a. boom, when could it make a move? I am satisfied that the proposals have been carefully weighed, 1 the cost counted, and an ample margin left to come and go on provided reasonable expectations' as to the attendance of men and horses are realised. This has been thought out by busines^ men, and I am persuaded that - the .enlargements "are warranted by .the prospeo'ts. Let us, hope that the expectations;. will: be so. completely fulfilled that the club may at this time next year see their way clear jbo con- • tinuein the lead. * o *[ A full description of the race' for, the j Two Thousand Guineas appears in this issue.-; Concerning other events at the Newmarket j meeting, the correspondent of the Leader says :— ° The Duke of Portland's half sister to Donovan, Semolina, by St.' Simon— Mowerina, cantered in for the. First Spring Two-year-old Stakes, five furlongs. For the Hastings Plate of £400; added td a £10 sweepstakes, ditch mile,-for'three-year-olds, Mr Abington's.b o,Freemason, by B&rcaldine — Geh'eimniss (what breeding!), 8.3, S.' Loates,,' caught. Mr Hammond's eh c Laureate, by Petrarch — MoWerioa, on the post and 'won by a neck. Laureate was given 101b though,' and that means a lot at this time* of year. -Royal Star, by George Frederick—North i Star,, B l3, was a bad third. This defeat seni. Laureate td 100 to 8 for the Derby. Nexboto. 1 the Hastings Plate, ,the Prince of Wales Plate was the' biggest event of the afternoon..! Mr Reuben Sasson's- Theodore, by Sir Bevys-rMagdala, won this. Mr Sasson.is a great friend of, the Prince of Wales,- .who was present, i Barring the .Two Thousand Guineas and a private sweepstakes' we had nothing but paltry plates on Wednesday. Perhaps this f aot, and the Guineas being apparently spoilt by Donovan, accounted for the attendance being. ..the spoorest on record for such a day. ;The weather; was dull, 1 and < rain threatened all. the, while, though it did not come on tjll after the 'racing* Better going could not be desiredirthotogh >it ,was just a little on' the soft side." The favourite looked well' and went' well. Pioneer waa decidedly on the big side. Gold ia aoJmproved, colt. Enthusiast always was very handsome, indeed. Barring these four, 100 to 1 was: offered, and I may add, not taken, No little disappointment was felt that Donovan was not taken in to the saddling- paddock before the race. That sort of thing is rough when you are charged 30a for the day's ticket to Tattersall's ! ring, aad/£l more for entrance fee to the pad- 1 dock.)' He was saddled at the starting end of I the Rowley mile, in the stables under the ditch, ; Hardly ihad • the nine runners got to the post | beforesthe .white. flag went up. Scarcely had that banner been upraised before it was lowered | again, and the race had begun. George made running.in Gold's interest. At half a mile Donovan and Pioneer were close up with George, and Enthusiast was -striding along in Donovan's track. . A quarter of amile from home Donovan went to itheirfront, with Pioneer on his left and Enthusiast at hisheelsu. At the distance, Watts (on* Pioneer) found that he could keep with the i favourite, and looked over his left shoulder to see whether danger .threatened -from that side. It did not,fors.;the coast was quite clear. I fancy that Fred Barrett and Watts were both too certain that the -race lay between them, and did not take' Enthusiast' sufficiently into account." , • ' ■■ * # * The copyrighting of the entries for the Melbourne and Caulfield Cups is condemned by the Australasian, which says that to be consistent, this copyright craze must be continued with handicaps as' well as entries, and what a nice state of affairs would exist if the general body of members of the Victoria Racing' Club were to tolerate such a proceeding ! We should haye 1 the weights for the Melbourne Cup lying in the office of the V.R.C. for hours before they were published, and. only a favoured few would know anything about them* It is essential to the success of a racing club that its handicaps • should be declared as soon as possible after the handicapper delivers them to the club officials,, l'o keep'fhem in the office a whole day for the purpose jof cbpyrighting them would be,ri prooedure which no. 'sane body "bf men would attempt, and we' 1 Shall.be greatly mistaken if, the * crimiii on sense" of ' the l ' general body of members' of ' the Viotpria Racing Club'does'not revolt at any departure from the good old custom which has prevailed, 'and found to be so convenient to the public for many years.

xiUY.tuuf.atl jxacxinu-. ■ ' 1188-89. '" £ ' 1889-90. " JB Hurdles... • .'..-60 Hurdles..." ... 150 Maiden ... ' ... ' 60 ' Maiden „. ... 120 St. Andrew's ... 250 Exhibition Oup ... 1500 Selling Two-year-old 100 DunedinStabea. ... 250 Three-mile Trot ... 75 Carnival Handicap .200 Selling ... ... 40 Selling ... ... 100 Spring Handicap ....,75 Railing Two-year-old 120 ■Post Stakes ... 15 Commissioners' Purse 150 Hunters' Plat» ... 75 ; Tally-ho i'> ■ ... - 160 "President's ... 150 President's r , ... 600 Norel' .;.•' ... "65 Criterion . ... 150 Grandstand' .... 75 Onslow Plate ... 250 Criterion, ... 100 , Spring Handicap ... 15P Tahuna Welter. ... 90 Musselburgh Plate 100 Two-mile Trot ... 65 Tahuna "... ... 120 Consolation . ... 50 Post Stakes ... - 80 Pacific Hurdles ... 150 St. Andrew's ... 500 , - Novel... • ..: 100 Jubilee Plato ... 300 ' Grandstand ... 150 Maiden Two-year-old 120 Scurry ... ... 30 Consolation .;. 100 ■ Exhibition Trot ... 200 Selling Hurdles ... 70 CornJvalTrot „. 150 : ■ . Selling Flat ... 40 • i*inal Flutter ' ...' 20 . „£1325 • \ !-. . . % £6070

HUHT ULUB Maiden Steeple .../' Kensington Handicap .Three-mile Trot ' ... Tally-ho ,„ „. Shorts Handicap • Pony Bace ... „, Hurdle Bace „. iTfclegrapb Handicap ... Hunt Club Oup - ... •Two-mile Trot „; Welter Handicap Consolation Steeple „. Meeting. 1888-89. & - . ... 30 ... 55 ... 30 ... 95 ... 40 ... 10 . • ... '40 ' ... 50 " > ... 75 ... 25 „.. 35 , ... 30 .■ £515 1889-90. & 40 1 70 ' 45 , 105. '• 5a 15, 55 65- ' ■ 90 • i 85 ; 45 - JV, ( £650 ■

March Meeton*. ■ 1888-89. ' 1819-901 : «!'•«• Hurdle Handicap ... ... • . 60 - 65 . Anniversary Handicap ■ ... 100 100 - * Three-mUeTrot ..: ... 66 " "66 , Selling Bace, - ... ... 40 ."40 ' '•» Cliffs Handicap »:...'" ... ' 75 ' ' 75 SKew Handicap* ... • . ... — 78/ >■' tony Bace ■ ... , ... 15 15 „ Post Stakes. . ., ... <.. 15 < 15 . Selling Hurdles* " ... ... — 80 Holiday Handicap ... ... 75 . 80 ' Two-mile Trot ... ... -45 - 65 Novel Bace ... ... 60 60 Eleotrio. Stakes ... ... 60 65, PouyTrot*... ... ... . — 30 , Scurry ' ... ... ... 15 15.' Consolation* ... ■ '," ... — 85 ' Novel Macef ' ... ' '... 50 • * — iThree-mile Trotf 40 '*>—■• Two .mile Trott . ... ... .35 „..— ,;* i „ , '' ' £740 ' '.£Bso' f ,

, xjuuiuAoi J iuiuvxxni*. .Hurdle Handicap Champagne - ... Dunedin Cup' ' ... Selling Bace , ' ... ' Handicap ... „ Maiden Plate Selling Two-year-01d ... Stewards' Purse ... Tally-ho Handicap ... ;Cifcy Stakes.: D.J.C. Handicap Novel Eace... „. Railway Plate „. . Suburban Welter ' '• ... Post Stakes... Hurdle Handicap Hopeful Stakes -. ... Fbrbury Handicap .« , Marshall Memorial ... Plying Handicap ... Scurry Consolation 1888-89. 1889-90.. &,. . « ■» ... 100 „ 100 " ... 25» '350 "* • ... 6uO ■ 600 <•... CO " .: '* 60 • .-... 200' ■ , ..200 •i l ... 80 ' 100 „, ... 100 . ,100, ... 100 J ,120 , ... 100 • • 100 • ... 150 150 ' ... 850 400 . 80 .120 ... 100 100 ;.. 100 100 : ... '20 20 ' : ..; 100 - .100 • ' ' ... 120- • 150 . ... 250 „ 800 . ... 200 350 ' ' ... 100 100 ... 20 ' 20 ... 80 100-. , £3260 . £3540, '

Year. Startersi Winner.,, Bider. Weight. , . :■' A. Lyford - . Frewiu Eussell Edgoumbe Coflina St. lb. 12 0 • 11 12, 11 2' '90' .'93, • 188& 1886 1,887 : 1888 , 1889 11. 8- . 8 . 10 , Macaroni' Belle SiWia,,, Allegro . The Don

' • ■ - May Jlketws: ' ' ' ' „ 1888-89. 1869-90. ■-■-' '■''£-> *r Hurdle Handicap ... ... 76 ' 100*Maiden Plate .., " ( ... '; BO >"/•«- «0 Birthday Handicap ... ... - 20Q t , v Three-mile Trot ... ; „ ... 65, , -„ 76 SeiltbgHace ... ..., ,40 , ' „ ,. .iQ , Tradesmen's Handicap *'... '85' '-','" 100 J PoßVStakea"-' ...^ :': ' ..;' 15-;; -20" Selling Hurdles ... ■. . '.;. '.70 r^ , :80.v' , Provincial Handicap...: .. , IW v W>Hovel Bace... ... - ... '70 -t '„W* » , Ty? o-mile Trot ...' ... 60: V. 70 " Sfc. Olair Welter .... ... J 86' ' . IWT* Scurry ... " ■ ... - H " ... 15 ' ' - W >' Coiliolation . ; ... "'J ..: -60 r>s]p^W~r >$ ]p^W~

leason :-r Sunfc,plnt>... November ... ftbnuity „. Ifarob <■ ... Hay -/Tpfcik.. -, „ • ( 1888-89, a ... .615 ... 1335 , ... 32W ; ... 740 ...: 1030 , '„. £68! 0 1889-90. Increase 650 135 . , 6070 4745 ' 3540 SBO 1 850 ! HO " 1310 280 £12,420,. £5.550 %