TOTALISATOR DECREASE.

Auckland Star, Volume LIII, Issue 191, 14 August 1922, Page 7

TOTALISATOR DECREASE.

EFFECT OX AUCKL__ST) CLUB, SHRINKAGE OF £191,880. _ In hi. statement at the annual meetJng v i the Auckland Racing club to-day the president (Sir Edwin Mitchelson) stated that the club was able to show a profit. though not a large one, on the ■ '' am operations. Yor taxation purposes and for other good reasons it was necessary m making up the balancesheet to write oil' for depreciation the mil percentages permitted by the Commissioner of Taxes. Thus * the profit wa s reduced l.y _:!710 ;;/_, represented by items, the dargest of which were: — -110S in 7. .;epreciation on the new l.oger stand.: £7_S 13/2. depreciation on totahsator: aqd £-02 5/3, depreciation on the tot-ijisator house. Had the ! totalisator revenue kept up to the level | of the prece-.-ing year the club should i have shown a very substantial balance to credit: b_it, as wa s the ease with all other racinv clubs in the Dominion, the financial slj-ingency had very seriously affected returns from that source. The totalisatoi- turnover for tho year was £004/100, being less than the "preceding year hy £191,850. This was the more unfortunate as the club had materially increased the stakes, as bound by virtue of the rules of racing. During tne season £7:1.550 was paid away to winninoowners, the largest sum ever given In stakes by any racing club in New Zealand. The shrinkage in totalisator returns and the uncertainty as to the future in thi s connection had" combined to make a reduction in the stakes for tiie present season inevitable, but the reduction had been fixed at as low a figure as possible. The classic events would show an increase of £1800, to which the cTub committed itself .before the decline in totalisator receipts became manifest. The figures in the programmes would showthat as far as stakes were concerned the club held premier position among the clubs of the Dominion. The next feature in tbe accounts which called for comment was an indebtedness to the Bank of Xew Zealand of £ 50,012. ■Members would nat.'rally desire to know what there was to show for this larse amount. During the last year the club completed and paid for the new Legcr stand, the new- tote house, paid for the new totalisator ma-chine, including the very heavy duty thereon (40 per cent), paid for and erected the winter garden buildings, carried out important improvements to the training tracks and equally Important and costly drainage works. These were the chief items of expenditure, bv.t there were many others, including income tax. £12.000. 'for which payment had to he made last year. Certainly if the club's indebtedness had increased it had much to show for it. It could confidently be claimed that the club's system of using its owp"p!ant and employing its own staff under the supervision of the racecourse manager in all but the largest of johs Hid resulted in the work bein_ most efficiently done and at a great saving of to the club. This system may perhaps sufficiently ex- | plain the item £12.001 10/11 wages ap- I pearing in the profit and loss account. | This item is £.500 in excess of that of last year, the excess being accounted for I hy the increased number and magnitude | of the works undertaken. | I