TROTTING.

Auckland Star, Volume LX, Issue 61, 13 March 1929, Page 15

TROTTING.

WYiEEL AND TRACK NOTES.

(By ORION.)

SEASON'S FIXTURES. March I"—Wrndliatn T.C. jhinii i::—.Mimuwmu T.C. JJnreli lti—Now Brighton T.C. March -::—Thames T.C. Miiri-h '.'■'>— Xakitka T.C. Jlnrch o< l , April I—Hawera T.C. Marc-U o(.», Aitril 3—X.Z. Metropolitan T.C. In the Puriri Handicap, to be run at tlio Thames Trotting Club's meeting O n Jianh 2-i. Ursuline's handicap is 24yds bcliiiiflj not 12yds, as previously published. A mixture of ]iony and trotting races >t Richmond (N.W.W.) this week brought varic<l opinions about tlie relative merits of the two branches of "sport," says a Sydney exchange. Tlie trotting men classed the ponies as '"hot," and the pony people wont home convinced that the trotting fraternity could run rings around them. Jt is still an open question.

What an easy time a three-year-old galloper has in its preparation for a Derby, when compared with the arduous tasks allotted a pacer or trotter in training for a classic, says a Sydney writer. Florrie Lucy, whose performance at Richmond brought disqualification for six months, would probably have started favourite for the trotters' division of the Melbourne Derby, but, despite the prospect of success in that event, she was not kept in cotton wool like her galloping brothers. She won at Richmond on January 7, ran unplaced at Victoria Park on January 21, unplaced at Epping on January 28, and won the trotters' division of the Goulbnrn Derby on February 2. Produced on February 18, she was unplaced at Epping, and performed similarly at Victoria Park. As though she had not had enough hard work, the filly wae taken to Richmond on the following day. and that run proved disastrous.

Among the correspondence before the board of the New Zealand Trotting Association on Friday, was a report from the Waikato Club advising that it had received a protest from C. G. Lee, the owner-driver of Nelson Dillon, who had run third in the Visitors' Handicap, against the placing of Anselm, who ran second in the same race. After hearing evidence the committee had found T. Allen, the owner-driver of Anselm, guilty of starting off 72 yards behind, instead of 84 yards behind, when he had been notified that his correct mark was 84 yards behind. It was also decided that Anselm be placed behind the placed horses and that Allen be fined £5. The finding of the committee was submitted to the association for confirmation. A copy of the evidence was enclosed. The protest was referred back to the club ■with the recommendation that no fine thould be inflicted, as Allen was not Charged with any offence under the rules.

THE THAMES MEETING. • .JL, - Everything is in oi'derfor the Thafnes, Trotting Club enjoying a successful gathering at Parawai on Saturday week. Although more than one owner is complaining of the treatment of his horse, this sort of thing is met with every time handicaps appear. The fact that the Thames meeting -caters specially for horses just a remove below, first-class is * big incentive to the majority of owners and it can be predicted that when acceptances close there will be a aitisfactory response. Ov.-ners should ljcar in mind that acceptances close on Friday of this ■week with the secretary, Mr. E. O. 3rownlee, Thames, or Mr. R. X. Absolum, secretary of the Otahuhu Trotting Club, O'Connell Street, at 5 p.m.

TROTTING ON SATURDAYS.

The move made by the committee of tine Wellington Trotting Club in deciding to have one-day fixtures and holding -trotting only on Saturdays is a particulajly good one from the club's point of view, and if the club can arrange the dates for Saturdays only for a season or two, then it will not be surprising to find it on a solid financial footing. Everyone recognises that any club to show a profit must do so on the Saturday and few second days of a meeting are run without a loss. Possibly the Conference, which body has to approve of dates, would not coneent to clubs like the Auckland or Otahuhu Clubs holding one-day fixtures and confining them to Saturdays, but if it could be brought at>out the trotting •port would boom in this province. The position now is that the breaks are too big between the meetings; especially is this so between the Otahuhu meeting in February and the Auckland winter meeting in June. Up till two seasons ago there was no meeting at Epsom between February and October, and though there was a country fixture or two there was really no inducement for an owner to keep a good horse in training, and muCn less a bad one. To-day, with the winter meeting, the position is not quite so bad, but compared with Christchurch owners •re not well catered for at all. But il the Auckland Trotting Club could hold four Saturday meetings instead of the two two-days' spring and winter gatherings, and the Otahuhu Club have its spring meeting extending to two Saturdays, there would be plenty of *™ o ™*g?nient for men to race horses. The Auckland and Otahuhu Cup meetings could stand as they are, and, allowing for this, if all other days were confined to Saturdays and spread over a season, it wouia mean there would be a trotting meeting at either Alexandra Park or in the country every fourth week-end. All told, there are 17 days' trotting in the Auckland province. It may be said that such an arrangement wVild not get the support ot tne Southerners, but Auckland is Auckland and the position would soon be that there were enough horses in training t« do without the visitors from the South Island. In any case, while the etakes are good the visitors will come along, but if they did not think it worth while to come up for a one-day w**" , the prize money would go to loca I,owners and if they got fixtures may not appeal t?, *** and Otahuhu Clubs, but they 6o to the Wellington Club, ami bnng Iβ • conei* tent profit. It is certain they would be welcomed by local owners and trainers and horses owned in Auckland and trained in the South would be trained here..