THE WORLD of SPORT

Auckland Star, Volume LVII, Issue 159, 7 July 1926, Page 13

THE WORLD of SPORT

TROTTING CONFERENCE.

THE PRESIDENT'S ADDRESS

HIGH STANDARD OF SPORT

HK.WY TRA"*. l-:i.LIXG FXPEN'SE?

THE ONK DAY <7UnS

The member; of the New Zealand" TrotT -n" Conference met at Wellington this morninsr. tic president. Mr. H. F. Nicol. presiding. His address reviewed the trottins sport tor the season just closing. and dealt with many of importance to both the pul'lie and those mori-r-losely associated with light-harness rac-in?. Supervision of Racing. '•"Hie ?uporri = ion of racing ilemands further attention. , ' ?nid tho president. '•IvMUJP without constant, vigilant, -in-! expert service wo coiil.l lint >-arry on =iu-ce."fnll;.-. In reaain? throujs ,l ! tlie stipendiary stewards' reports on race meeting during the past year. T have noticed the inorensofl nnd satisfactory attention that theso official' nro giving to this most important suhieft. Tin , viiprndiary stewards have done good ■work, but there is still room for thorn to take a stronger hand in carrying out their duties. There are a few occasions upon which steward? of seme clubs do not appear to have recognised the seriousness of the cases brought before them, and have not carried their decisions to the logical conclusion in the war of penalties, because all affairs, ■whether the offence be one of carelessness or of deliberate wrongdoings should be squarely dealt with. But reading the stipendiary stewards' reports on meetings one notes several events during the past season where ilu- stipendiary steward's complaint to a club's judicial committee is supported liy a patrol steward, yet the offender is let off with a caution, because the horseman who haa been interfered with will not support the complaint. •it is no credit, to a -witness to endeavour to shield the defendant nut of good fellowship. In these dnys of bi:r lields and great ?i*ed, earelessnes-s must be punished almost equally with deliberate intent. An accident occurring in a race endangers life as well as limbs, and where a stipendiary steward's complaint is clearly supported by a patrol steward, or is corroborated by any of the judicial committee from their own observation, *uch evidence should generally be accepted as conclusive, knowing as we do that it is often difficult to obtain straightforward evidence from the contestants in a race. I appeal to all judicial committees to give this matter their best consideration. Starting of Races. "I have been making a study of the starting at our meetings recently, noting on many courses the big fields, how the horses were lined up at the command of the starter under perfect control, and dispatched almost instantaneously, the starter standing quietly with no shouting or gesticulation; the reason for tht success being that the horsemen had confidence in the man. I have watched the starting in Australia. England, and nowhere have I seen such consistently big fields as are marshalled here, and good starting a3 we have with us her* at the present time. Brilliant Performances. "Th* year has been full of interest in our trotting world, and one of the most outstanding features was the performances of some of our high-class horses. At New Brighton in December Onyx delighted spectators by lowering the Australasian record for a mile and a-half. at the same time placing a new world's record on grass to the credit of a New Zealand pacing mare. The following month, at the Canterbury Park Summer Meeting, Bonny Logan, a daughter of that good sire I.ogan Pointer (imp.), won a race in 2.15 saddle class in 2.9 4-5, this being the New Zealand record for saddle horses. "At the Easter meeting of the New Zealand Metropolitan Trotting Clul) Minton Derby, imported from Australia, broke the New Zealand two-mile record by winning the President's Handicap in 4.22 2-5. In the same race Waitaki Girl ran into third place in the official time of 4.22 from 84yds behind scratch (though private watches made her time 4.18 from post to post). This is also a record for a placed performance by a pacing mare. On the first day of that meeting this speedy mare had already Won the mile and a-quarter Flying Handicap in 2.41 3-Os, and established a winrace record for a pacing mare. Minton Derby, the same afternoon that he had broken the two-mile record, started in * mile and a-quarter race and ran third in 2.40 1-5. thus constituting an Australasian recori. "Native Chief, by Logan Pointer from Regina de Oro. by his performances both in classic and handicap races, proved himself to be the best three-year-old yet raced in Australasia. His principal performance -sras 3.37 for If mile, better than a 2.14 gait, and as his owner informed us, after his colt had won the »ew Zealand Derby, that he had a better one at home.' one can look forward to the not far distant day when New Zealand •will be holding the world's record times in place of America. Such performances show a great improvement lwth in *Peed and stamina, and it is satisfactory *j> see that the move by clubs to place ? 5 . s '? races upon their programmes, in addition to the handicap racca, is already ln ? the effect of further encouraging owners of the best horses to travel them from point to point in order to match them against their peers. In this conation I would like to refer to the adventurous spirit ot the owners of «reat Bingen. who journeyed to "West Australia with their horse to see him *un for the Australasian championship, wr which he was only beaten in the final E eat by a very small margin. Taxation and Prize Money. The burden of taxation is still weigh™g heavily upon c i v b S( and several are J" ,4 "!? it difiiouk to carry on. Let mc |°fy for myself and for your executive " Jrl We share the regret'so widely felt w e f oln)d ]ast S( , 3Mon that th " pro . 'sed relief in taxation only amounted o ii p er cent on t))p first '£20,000 put trough the totalizator, and that it was i ™ m PUlsory that this should be spent on Permanent improvements. This concesstr D or ° f very liule bonefit t0 * he ggling dubs, who are requiring „ , De y to pay for upkeep and repairs, "id have no pressing need to spend oney on improvements. The New Zeaa , b P°"s Protection Lca-ue organised •deputation to tho Minister last April, *" d Mr. Bollard promised to bring our c u cc'«stiuns before the Premier fur his

consideration. It has been contended hy j some that clubs are not entitled to relief liceaitse it is stated that taxation, on clubs is no greater to-day than it was in 1014. it beinjr overlooked by those re-ponsible for such statements that the j iiddition.il taxation since 1014 is as follows: 1015, 2i per cent, tax imposed on dividend?: 1017. amusement tax (thouprh admission and pate moneys were already I taxed to the extent of 2& r>or cent by I the receipts tax imposed in 1910): 1921. •2 l : per cent dividend tax increased to ."i per cent, and 10 per cent tax imposed upon stakes: 1024. 10 per cent stakes tax reduced to 5 per cent, although when this tax was increased in 1021 from 1 per cent to 10 per cent it was on the distinct understanding that the increase was to be for two years only, and 5 per cent dividend tax made "jcrmanent, ! although -when this tax was increased in 1021 from 2A per cent to •') per cent it was on the distinct understanding that the increase was to bo for two years only. And if this is not, strictly speaking, additional taxation on clubs, yet it i- taxation on raxinjr, and directly affects the prosperity of nil clubs. Nearly all the small dub* are losing ground, and are being forced to reduce stakes to su.-h an extent that it is becoming increa--I iiigly dillieiilt for owners to journey any distance to compete. A race win in many i instances docs not pay expenses, taking into consideration the trainer's expenses I for getting the horse fit, and the very j high railway charges on racehorse? is a ■ further deterrent. I know of many | owners who are limiting their racing to i their own district because of the expense of travelling. Proposed Amendments to Rules. ''Referring to the matter of attendants upon horses at the starting of races, some clubs appear to allow this anomaly to continue and a new rule is before you to-day barring attendants from the course, nnl only allowing the starter and his assistants to assist at the start. "Trotting with us is at that stage such an unfair advantage as an attendant at the head of a. horse to assist him in getting should be barred altogether. Besides the unfair advantage to tho particular horse, it is most unfair to other contestants. Tt. has boon reported to us by the stipendiary stewards that on several occasions during the pa.-t year, an attend- j ant 'has impeded the start of other horses, and tho extra man. or men, on • the course is a source of danger to other competitors. I apprehend that you ■will find no difficulty in agreeing with your executive that the proposed, new rule should be adopted. Handicapping. "A feature of the last three years' racing; has been the success of horses imported from Australia, and, tvnilst we are pleased to see visitors win our races, yet it would be more satisfactory if we were satisfied that the handicapping of these horses was on a fair basis with that of the horses with New Zealand records only. Some of the Australian race tracks are only about four furlongs in circumference, and others are known not to be conducive to the making of fast time, and, when we see horse after horse brought to Xew Zealand from Australia, and immediately putting up much better performances than any they had hitherto been credited with in Australia, it is necessary to make sure that an injustice i= not being done to our own people, and, if handicappers cannot, by ordinary means, arrive at a. direct line with the form in this country. it is evident that a suitable margin should be allowed when handicapping the visitors, as is done by Australian handicappers when Xew Zealand horses visit their shores. "I understand that the New Zealand Trotting Association have noted these occurrences and arc taking some steps in the direction indicated.' . Extra Permits. "It is impossible to drop this subject. We have to-day 15 one-day clubs who are pressing for a second day and rightly so. What possible objection, in common sense, can there be to a district having two days' trotting out of 363 days, when the people of the district want the two days and will support them; also we have three clubs racing without a totalisator permit carrying on simply through the enthusiasm ot the local sportsmen in the hope that their persistence, and evidence of sustained effort may gain them the permit they require, so as to place their club ma better position, and to give their patrons some compensation for the expense entailed in travelling horses to the meeting. These clubs may rest assured that they have not only the sympathy of this conference, but also that we will not lose sight of their just claims at the proper time."