TALK OF THE DAY.

BY MAZEPPA.

* # * Whatever is said in favour of consultations can bs more than counter-balanced by the weighty objections that uprear themselves in Btrikicg prominence to the vision of all who have experience of tho system. There is the general objection, to begin with, that as promoted by any leading consultationist they run on iv each other'e track and keep the game perpetually on the move. That is one of tbe worst characteristics of the old style of betting, now happily superseded by the method which practically limit 3 betting on a race to the transactions of the one day. Then, secondly, consultations interfere with racing in this nay: that owners are tempted by offers from ticketholders to start uiifit horses co »s to secure starterj' money ; ""and another form of interference which is to be deprecated is the bribing of jockeys to disregard owners' instructions. Further, coDsn)t»tions lead to blackmail. "Yen won't lay me £1000 to nothing, won't you ? Then I'll scratch him. D'ye think you own the horse ? " Such a series of remaiks were on one occasion actually addressed to a man who drew a favourite for a Dunedin race, and no doubt it U but a sample of many other observations which are never reported. Other objections could also be catalogued, but those mentioned are sufficient, without reljing on the gcody-goody arguments, to show that we ought to be thankful for the access of virtuous indignation which pivmpted the House of RopreEeutativct to reject Mr Lawry's bill last week. The proposal might have met with a little more courtesy, but I am very glad that it was thrown out.

* # * At one time and another during my csreer as a turf writer I have come acrosi various odds and ends of information in reepecb of racing in what weeall the early days of Ofcago, and as opportunity serves I propose to classify this and check it in the beat way possible, with a view to publication, in the belief that some at least of our racing greybeards will be interested in the subject. My idea is not to write a history— tb at task would take a great deal more time than I can possibly bestow on the job— but it has occurred to me that even a fragmentary notice would be better than nothing. The first number of the series appears this week, in the ebape of the " Chronicles of Cromwell." Prominence i 3 given to the doings at this important centie for two reasonß : firstly, because the available records are more complete than tho£e of most other places, tbauks largely to the courtesy of Mr James Mar-hall, who has obligingly placed at my disposal all the old books bekugirg to the club ; secondly, because Cromwell is to this day the focus of a large racing district, blessed with a jockey club that doee its level best to keep the good old game alive and healthy. No further preface is needed, bo far as I am aware, in introducing the subject ; but I may take the opportunity of

remarking that other numbers will follow sooner or later, and that I shall be very much obliged if racing men, either of the past or the present generation, will help me by forwarding to my address at the Witness oifioe any leliuble information they may po3«e3a, either in the way of old newspaper scraps or official docaments. Any such treasures entrusted to my care will bo very tenderly preserved and returned at once, and I shall be pleased to make full acknowledgment thereof.

*** A writer in the Australasian soys : The smaller the horee the greater the guile — so that when one wants an idea as to what may be called the lights and shades of raoing he goes to the poniss for it. At a bush meeting lately the owner of a disqualified pony had ent red, it f^r a race under a new name. To have saddled it in the paddock and weighed out would have meant the risk of discovery, co he went to the starling point on another pony, which, Btra< gely enough, just before the start made an inexplicable bolt into a patch of scrub near the starting point. Aftar a liotle delay it was brought back, and won the race hai 4 ds.mely. After weighing in a horse blanket; was thrown over the pony, and it was taken away home, no one for a moment suspecting anything wrong. It was only when the conspirators fell out over the divisi n of tho spoil that tho trick was whispered about. When the legitimate pony bolted into the scrub the jojkey changed promptly on to the disqualified pony, which was waiting cuddled and ready in the scrub, and as some li.tle tiouble had been takan to make them look as much alike as passible, no one noticed the difference.

*#*-{?oine item 3 from tho Cromwell Argus : We iic&td of a very rash bet on the Dt-rby tho other day— £2o to £5 thai a Silv^rmark wouldn't win. Consideriog there are eight Silvi'rmarks out of 13 nominations, this should be considered a good wager for the oddstaker, especially at this of the year, the majority of the youngsters being untied. Two of the candidates are out of ex-Derby winners — viz., Sor-cerc-FS, who h out of The Witch, who won that race in 1882 ; and Mr T. Foster's filly out of Hiuc'a, who romped home in 1886. The sporting writer in the County Pie^s draws attention to Lady Elizabeth's nomination for the Cromwell Derby. She is out of an Ivachoe irure, and not a Duntroon mare us advertised. We hear that it is Mr Monsou's intention to send Silvermark down to ths district for stud purposes rexb year. As there has not been a MiO!Oughb;o.l of this clans in our midst fur s">me considerable time, this well bred 'uu bhculd meet with adequate support. Mr E. M'Nulty is bejiuning to ride Dunluce again after his long spell. He his sent Gaz-lle away up the Waitaki to be mated with Stapniak, so it is quite prcbtble that the old mare will not be asked to race again. We hear that the Cromwell Tradesmen's Club may submit a programme worth £70 or £80 to tho sporting public this year. It is also ea : d that tho old Wanaka. Club intend to " wake up" and hold a little meetitg this spring. Aa neither of theso clubs will be granted a totd : s*tor license, they will have to rely solely on the public fur support, which we hope will bo liberally extended by our sporting fiiends.

*#* A deputation of owners and trainers of racehorses waited upon Dr Bevan, of Melbourne, one day last week, asking him in hi* capacity as president of the Council of the Churches to use his influence in olt*inirg the support of the ministers of the various denominations to the legislation for tho introduction of the"tot*lisator. Dr Bavan replied that the council wtra opposed to tho totilisalor, but he expressed himself willing to U3e his influence in its favour if provUiou were made in the bill to suppress all other kinds of gambling. The bill, to hia mind, did not go far enough. It aimed at purging the turf only. He wanted the measure to purge the whole community.

* # * Note in the above-mentioned facts »n illus'ration of how" the fashion of this world changeth." Hera we have a clergyman ap> preached and asked to make common cause with ricehoriso owners and trainers. Dr Bevan, be it observed, is not what is called a sporting parson, nor a hunting parson, nor a notible l&titudinarian in any sense of the phrase. He represents the modern type of mit i?tnr, and holds in Melbourne somewhat the same position as, say, the Rev. Mr North or the Rsv. Mr Saunders doe 3in Dunedin ; that is to fay, he heads a body of men and women who regard racing as more or less improper. I use a very mild expression so as to be on the safe side. The owners and trainers who waited on the rev. gentleman probably exprcted a courteous but more or less rebuking rebuff. But the doct.»r appears to have bejn open to conviclion, and bt.f ore the racing men left htm he expressed h'mstlf willing to defend the totalizator on a certain specified condition the terms of which need not be diseassed here. The point I wis-h to mike is that Dr Bevan was seemingly convinced that the.tot&li>ator is an sgent in effecting social reform. Does not this fact suggest something to these New Zealand preachers who are so embittered against the totaliiator P It ought to, and I take upon myself to show what the4gifon is that may be learnt — viz., that a man y ho has lived of Jate years, aiDr Bavan has, in a cifcy given over to the old-fashioned forms of betting, is very easily convinced of the necessity for the wholesoma regulation which comes atout through the tofralisator system Our churches in New Zealand don't know what betting means. We have had tho machine at work since 1879, and in the intervening decade and a-half they have forgotten the iniquities of tho superseded system under which the public were periodically led as lambs to the slaughter. Dr Bevan sees theae wholesale swindles going on all around him, and gladly welcomes any form of relief. The position is interesting. If the clergymen of whom Dr Btvan is a representative do really make up their minds to approve the Totalisator Bill they will be striking out a new line. But thai; fact need cot dismay them. The cause is a righteous one. The totalisator will nob transform sinners into saints, but it sits right down with all it 3 weight on the lazy, low-class swindlers of the turf, and makes our racecourses fib for our wive 9 and sisters to atteud, and discourages the plunging owner, and lessens the temptation to bet in large sums, and generally acts as a purifying agent ; wherefore I hold that it is a desirable thing anywhere, and will ba a perfect godsend to such places as Melbourne and Sydney as soon as the people there make up their minds to have it.

*** When ? That is the only qutst ; on there is to ba answered out of all tbo mass of to-called debatable points that are raised ; it is the one thing concerning which no answer can be returned with any degree of assurance. It may seem tomewhab strange to an outsider that in view of the practical experience of South Australia, Queensland, Tasmania, and New Zealand, where the totalisator has tfcken deep and ineradicable root, where it has become The People's Institution and as such is proof against tfco, coddling and meddling and muddling o£

either Puluit or Legislature, and it eofcually doing a work of focial reform which the Cold Tea Party in their moments cf inspiration are only jeb dreaming about —it may seem strange, I repeat, thst in the face of all these facts the machine has not long since forced its way into Victoria and New South W»les. But on second thoughts the strangeness d s\ppears. The truth is that vested interests ate tlgh ing against it for d ar life. Ikey Mo and 'Any Collina and Bill tho Welsher foresee that when the tote comes they will have to go to work ; and the prespect is distasteful. The local leviathans of the betting ring see in it a fcrce which will devastate their monopoly and reduce them to the harJship of roast beef and beer aEd oabs and ivory solitaires ; and they don't relish the idea of the "come down" from chicken and turtle and ch&mpagno and private broughams and diamonds. So pressure is brought to bear upon owners, and orders are given to trainers, and coaxing is resorted to with tho hope of forming an alliance with tho prophsta of Cold Tea and H«lf-baked Sconea ; aud between the pure funk and the lever of money and the gammon that tries to make swindling betting appear more de3)'rable than open and restricted and regulated betting — between all those conflicting things and the frantic endeavour to make them assimilate a dreadful hullabaloo is kicked up, and the simple issue is temporarily loit to s'ghb. This being so, no one can say for a ceitiinty how long it will bo before Viotoria and New South Wales boldly ttretch forth the withered hand. Even as I write there comes to me a mesiage which, though purporting to be of an encouraging nature, may mean the reverse. I read in a Me bourne cablegram cf Saturday's date that M al a meotiog of members of the V.R.C, held to cousider the Totalisstor Bill, a large majority of the committee and membsrs cxpre«ed themselves strongly in favour of tho I machine." Observe the qualifying bu^gettion : that a minority of the committee are still in opposition. I don't like that. It signifies futther de'ay. That miaority will work twice as hard as the majority, and they may possibly succeed in thuir opposition to the bill. Thip, however, need Lob dispirit the friends of the totalisator. It will come on again and again, every time with a little more strength, and when at last it ii in position and the people discover that it is their best friend they will listen no more to tho representations of Ikey or Chadbaud, but hang on to their new privilege with affectioD, and wonder how they did without it in the long years of oppresth c monopoly.

*#* A legal decision of importance to owners of racehorses was lately given on the West Coast. The question as presented to Judge Ward at Hokiuka came up practically in this form : Who is entitled to the stikej won by Laugley the Devil when in the nomination of Demufch, after that trainer's decease ? I am indebted to the Referee for a report ot the reply. In the lower court the executors of Dsmuth got judgment against the West Laud Racicg Club, who hold over payment pending direction of the court. M'Cartney, the owner, and Pilbrow, trainer, were joined in the action taken against the club in the District Court. After hearing argument his Honor overruled the noii'uit points and referred the case back to the magistrate. He held that on the death of Deinuth, the horse rtvetlod to the owner, and Pilbrow as agent for .the owner entered the horao, and it seemed to him was entitled to the stakes, though he was nob called on to decide that point. The Gaming and Lotteries Act must not be construed as taking away existing rights, and action could in this case be taken. Respondents nonsuited. Cjsls £10.

*** The race that the Auckland-bred Friendship won at Sydney waa the Thirteen-thre3 Handicap, four furlongs, at Kensington on the 27th ult. There were 10 starters. Says a local writer : "In the race there were two chestnut poijies nominated under the respective names of Maori Queen and Friendship, and by some means thq public imagined that the good-look-ing one of the pair was Maori Queen, and under that name she was quickly made favourite ; but when the ponies were saddled up the majority of backers were dis^usbtd to find that the pony they had taken to be Maori Queen was running under Ihe name of Friendship, while Miori Queen was a pony (hat had apparently done good service in a buggy. Meanwhile Frietdihip had been backed down to 6 to 4 on by those who knew the true state of affairs, and she won easily, while Maori (suean was beaten by a quarter of a mile. After the raca the owner of Toby, the second horse, entered a protest against the winner on the grounds that she was identical with a New Zealand pony named Lady Whitford (by Nordenfeldt — Bianca), and after a thorb sitting the c.mmitteee adjourned the inquiry to Friday. On the resumption of the inquiry it transpired that Mr J. Sharpe was the owner of the mare. He stated that he wag not aware of her pedigree, and that as she had never been raced before, he was under the impression thab he c:uld nominate her under any name he pleased. Mr G. Wright also gave evidence to the effect that his connection with the pony ceased when she was placed en board the steamer at Auckland." Ido cot know Mr J. Sharpe, but if there is such a parson he must surely be the champion innocent if he is correctly reported as saviog that though the owner he did not know the pony's pedigree. The inquiry terminated, as we have learned previously, in the exoneration of everybody concerned. I think they want the totalisator over there.

*** *" or the French Derby, ran on May 26, there were 13 starters, of whom Le Sagittaire, the firm favourite, acted as whipper-in for half the journey, and when brought up to a handy position at the foot of the straight he su ck his to^s into the ground and refused to st-uggle. Omnium II was more generous. He came with a rattle just in the nick of time, and got home by a length in the good record of 2min 41seo. Ihe winner, who was known as a capital performer, was bred in France by the late M. Dclatre, got by Upas (son of Dollar and the Skirmisher mare Rosemary) from Bluette, by Welliugtonia (son of Chatanooga and Araucaria) from B!ue Serge, by Herm't— Blue Sleeves, by Beadsman. Upas divided the 1886 Derby for Count de Bsiteux with Sycomore, who carried the colours of Biron de Schickler. At the death of M. Delatre his breeding stud was sdM, and Omnium II was secured by Countess Le Moans for 23630v5, and was included later on by her in the De&nville sales. There was some very cmart bidding for his ownership when the colt was led round the*ring. Count do Feld, Mr Ridgway, and M. de St. Alary v/ere very keen on him, and finally the hammer fell to the bid of Mr Ridgway (on behalf of the last-named gentleman) for 564 so vs. The Mr Ridgway who bought the colt for his present owner has now the mixed pleasure of Eesing the bought colt win and his own representative finish third. The attendance on Derby Day was a record for Chantilly, and the " gate " made the large sum of £3920. The "mutuals" did an enormous business, taking no less than £72,000 on the day, ef wh'ch £26,920 was over the Derbr.

*** Mr O. H. T. Hart'a letter from the Dub* of Portland fully bears out the oable news as to the Duke's opinion of Carbine. In his letter the now owner of the Australian chnmpiop, after thanking Mr Hnrfe for making such perfeofe arrangements for sending the old hoise Home, says : I delated writing to you about Carbino until I had Been him. r This I have done to-dey. and I cannot tell you how .delighted I am with his nppea-aace. He thowa far more quality thin 1 expected, and is, I think, a fine type of a very high-clas3 k racehorse. The pictures of him that have appeared in the English newspapers are the most atrocious libels, and instead of having an enormous fiddle-head as he is depicted, I think I have never seen a better countenance on a racehorse, and his nose would go into a pint pot. He is an improved and stronger likenets of Orme, and I could nob have chosen a more suitable-looking horee to m&te with my St. Simon mares. I also like the yearling very much indeed, and think he will grow into a fine col*. I shall send htm into tramiDg with my other yearliugs, work him got tly, and try to win some of the big races at Ascot with him when he is four or five years old.

*#* Daimio appears to have won the V.R.O. Grand N*tioual very easily. Dart, one of the sons of Gipsy King sold by Mr Keith to Me Kelso, finished second, but it was a poorsecoud. D*imio is evidently a good horse. He has won the rsce twice io succession. On the second occasion he had a rise of 351b in weight, and ran the diatanco liijsec faster than a year ago. These facts are made apparent in the following summary of particulars :—: — 1881-Sussex, 13.1, 7min2}seo 3882— Great Western 11.0, 7m»n 2Jsec 1883— BUckthorn, 10.12. 7min 171 sec 188 1— uhippenhain. 11.7 1885-Wymler, 10.4, 7min 19isec 18S8-G4me, 11.10, 6mia 48i«c 1887-lloyal Oak, 10.12, 7iuin 253e0 1883— Ruby, 12 7, 6min 53scc 1889— Eaglet, 11.2. «mm 59dec 1890— Kesrless 11, 9.9, 7miu Olseo 181)1— May Be, 10.0, 7mm 15<>ec 1892— Re-leap, 13.3, 6miu 45}scc IS!'3— Trcjftii, 11 9, 7min 44sec 1891-Datuiin, 9 3. 7iain OJsec ISI'D-Daimio, 11.10, 6min 45isec. Moreover, tho time made this year is a record. Hats off, then, to Daimio. And what about our New Zealander, Dart ? He must be a fair horse for a four-year-old. Word was sent to Duaedin on Saturday that he was "a oertaii.ty," so I reckon that he was supported by his patty. On form the show did not look over prom-sing', but form is not ererythinjr.. For instance, Dart was boiten at Wik liam&ton in the Hurdle Raoe, and ie is asserted that he ought to have won. The Age says : " Occupying a front position nearly alt through, it is probable that had Underwood let Dart sail away in the last half mile he would have won comfortably, as ho was going splendidly, which position inspired his pilot witU ovsr confidence, and in a dash home from the lanfe hurdle, which is in the straight, Bill beat him by a neck." In the National, however, form was justified, and Dart seems to be developing » liking for seconds. All the same he is a good horse and will be worth following. The following are the heights of the various jumps in the V.R.C. course : — Both the stone walls are 4ft l£in ; the logs, 3ft 10£ i n; the palings, 4fb 1-Ain ; tho first open fence before the paling*, Mb l£in; the second open fence before #tuo palinga, 4fb lia (this fence formerly was the highest on tho ground), aid all the others are 4ft.

* # * English racing men generally tell you that they don't care a straw about time records, cither in public or private. But of late the example of Australia and America seem to have made some impression on the prejudice, and in a London Sportsman to hand there is actually to be found a list of fast times on the English turf. These are printed elsewhere, rather as a curiosity, in that they show the advance of intelligent ideas than for any value the compilation itself possesses, since the figures relate to five dittancis only, and it is incredib'e that no batter time than 2.43 lias ever been made for a mile and a-half, especially considering that there is such a splendid record for a mile, beating even Bendigo's fast go in the Lincolnshire, which waa so good as to read like a mistake. It is quite possible" that in the near future one may tlnd raco3 timed regularly by competent persons. The existing arrangements are open to suspicion, to say the least of it, when almost side by side with the table above referred to we find such a paragraph as this printed: "Worcester is said to have made a mott remarkable fast time over*Beven furlonga of the new coureo at Epwm yesterday. Aa timed by Benson's chronograph, the reoord was made of ltnin 12 2 5 <co. They cannot beat this in America., where the fastest record for seven furlongs is lmin 23£ sec." Note, please, that this record for seven furlongs is exactly the same, to a tonabitfa eyebrow, as the time recorded by Serpentine for six furlongs. Are out English friends turning the timing basinets into ridi.ule ? It looks like it.

* # * " Hidalgo" writes thus from California to the Aos'ralasian ._: It would not surprise me if Axiom proved the besb two-year-old filly of tho year. She belongs to Mr P. J. Dwyer, a brother of the gentleman who is now racing in Eogland in partnership with Mr Richard Cn ker, of Tamany Hall notoriety. Philip Dwyer was at one time a resident of San Francisco, and kept a butcher's stall in Washington market. He is now worth close on 1,000,000d01, and, in addition to several vary successful seasons on the turf, won 40,000d0l on the defeat of John Li Sullivan by James Corbetfc, and about 60,000d0l on Mr Cleveland's second election to tho Presidency in 1892. If he were like his brother Michael, now in England, I should expect to see Axiom raced off her legs before the clo3e of the season, bub as he is a more cautious and conservative man, the daughter of Maxita is not likely to receive such treatment as fell to Miss Wcodford, Firenzi, and Thora. She is not tall, but very 6trongly builr, and has superb legs and feet. She sold last year for 5000dol, the largest price ever realised in America for a filly by an untried sire, for at that time nothing was known of the performances of Bluefire or anything else gotten by Maxim prior to his exportation. I regard Maxim's early death as a national loss. Mr Haggin has since purchased Watercress, Golden Garter, and Goldfinch in England, and I would not give M»xim for the whole three if he were alive. Watercress is the only one of the three that I fancy. Well Halma, is a great colt, but he has not yeb met Waltzer, who is the best Darebin that has so far started in America, and whom all the trainers predicted would be better in his three* year-old form than as a two-year-old. He won several good stakes last year, and his total winnings footed up - 39 625d«1. The connois'sourg all agreed that Waltzer waa a very game colt, but a slow beginner, and so liable to be outpaced at the start! that , he .could not catch the leaders till the ■ race was over. If H&lma beats him at distances over a mile, then I will concede that he is bis superior, but not until then. As for Connoisseur and Sir Galahad, I think they are like the most of the Sir Modreds —better at two years than they are at any lima afterwards. The supremacy of Australasian sir«

In America lies bstween Maxim and Darebm, to my notion.

*** A special meeting of tho Canterbury Metropolitan Trotting Association wa* held on Monday, to consider the action of the Auckland Trotting Club with regard to the Edwards and M'Bride disqualification. With regard to the former, the Chairman said he did not receive from tho Auckland Club till after a delay of eeven weeks a reply to hia letter of May 23. Tbe reply was most unsatisfactory, affording HO explaca'ion why a disqualified person had been allowed to take part in the club's meet ing. It wap r, solved — " That thi3 association having carefully considered the explanation re the Edwards case as conveyed in a letter from the eecretary of the Auckland Trotting Club, under date July 6, decide to suspend operation of Rale 7a so fsr as that club is concerned till further coUce." Tho tffect of this will be that all owners, riders, drivers, aud horses taking part at the Auckland Trotting Club's meetings or meetings uudcr ito rulf h will be disqualified from taking part iv any trotting meftiig3 held under tho rules of the Canterbury Metropolitan Association. It was resolved that a copy of the resolution, the leports of the meeting, and all correspondence in connection with the case should be forwarded to the Colonial Secretary. With regard to M'Btide's cisc, the Chairman said that the Auckland Trotting Club disqualified M 'Bride on May 10, but did not advise the association till 12 d«ys afterwards, when, on the eve of the meeting, a telegram was received announcing the disqualification for nnng imp opfer language in connection with the officials This did not accord with the resolution appearing in the Auckland Herald and Spoiting Review, and he (the chairman) wroto on May 23 asking if the proceedings were correctly reported, and, if not, whertin they differed from the facts. After abont seven week** delay, he received a reply that the" newspaper reports were incomplete, and convoyed a wrong impression, but no reply was made to the very explicit inquiry rs to wherein they differed. After referring to the circumstances at some length the Chairman moved—" That this association ccc no reason to take action in regard to M'Biide's difqualification by the Auckland Trotting Club," and the motion was carried.

* # * On the first day of the Epsom Summer reef-ting the old-established Woodcote Stakes, a six-lurlong race, for two-year-olds, that has been won in past years by such good onea as Eo«y Morn, The BaroD, Sur^-foot, and Le Nicbain, brought out a field that is described as not vi-ry brilliant, yet it is acknowledged that in Serpentine, the daughter of St Serf and the Crc-morne mare Footlight, the spectators Baw at least one racsr of high quality. A leading ecribo cays of her : " She is a well-grown, lengthy, blood-like bay, and there is no fault to be f i uud with her except a curby near he ck, which may ntver trouble her A great, rangey filly, of rare quality, and with beautifully* placed shoulders, great depth of girth and Bmfile heart room, she won her race to-d.iy in the style of a thoroughly high-clws one, almost reminding one of the w»y her relative Ladas opened out and strode home a winner of the same event two years ago." Ttrs was Serpentine's fireb appearance in public. She was bred by her owner, Mr D. Cooper, formerly ©f Australia, who won the Woodcote last year with Saintly and in 1890 with Melody. The Deiby race is fully de'eribad in the formal report. It was a closo finish. At no part of the contest, says one who was there, did Raconteur threaten danger, and although Lo p Var recovered some ground in the straight, and was stt) ing on, he could not even bid fairly for a situation. As Btckhampton dropped away Ciirzcn just managed to take the measure of Kirkconnel, and the half-bred gelding had virtually won the Derby when Sir Viito all of a sudden made his appearance on the stand side. From the distance he gained upon Cuizon and Kirkccnnel with remarkable rapidity, and allowing tbht he had caught neither lOOjdi from home he tben passed them both, and won an exciting raca' by three-part* of a length. Matthew Daweon, tho veteran trainer, was unfortunately prevented from being present at Epsom to witeess the victory of Sir Visto. Sir Visto makes the sixth Derby winner prepared by Mat, the others bein/ Ladas in 1894 Melton in 1885, Silvio in 1877, Kingcraft in. 1870, and ThoirnMiby as far back as 1860. He thus ties with another celebrated trainer in John Porter, who has also sent out half a dozen winners of the Derby in Common (1691), Sainfoin (1890), Ormonde (1886). Sb. Blaise (1883), Shotover (188?), and Blue Gown (1868).

*** At a meeting of the Dunedin Jockey Club's CTommitteo on Thursday evening l»sfc the report of the Plumpton Committee was adopted. This means that the coursing at the .Forbury is to be wholly taken over by tho New Zeal-ind Coursing Club, whose position will be tha!; of tenant under the Dunedin Jockey Club. The Hunt Club meeting was airin-jed. It is practically tho same as last year's, with the exception of a rearrangement of the rac-"s, the order now being that the Trot precedes and the Sborta follows the Hunt Club. Cup. The questions as to the starting machines wore referred to the Works Committee with power to act.

*#* "Rata" telegraphs on Wednesday ! — The tan was very fair goiug this morning, and eliould the weather continue as it is nt the time of writing there will be come good work to-morrow. Some fairly good half-pace work was done this morning, and Mr Murray- A) nsley jumped Senator. The North Islanders were out this morning. Norton looks light, but very hard, and Lascar, Mystical, and Repo are undoubtedly 6t enough. Couranto is in blooming bealtb, as is sl-o Mutiny ; but Ido not fancy the latter for the National. The young 'un Tommy Stewart had out yesterday is Shooting Star (by Artillery — Luna), and the hunter that trainer has in hand is supposed to be called Asfcine. He is the property of Mr A. Patterson.

*** The handicaps for the St. Cluir trotting meeting appear in this issue. From a look through the lists I rather fancy that Creole and Jane may be dangerous in the principal events, but with »o many strangera to deal with no one can prebend to pick the winners with any degree of certainty.