ACTION AT LAST.

Auckland Star, Volume LX, Issue 272, 16 November 1929, Page 19

ACTION AT LAST.

OFFENDING DRIVERS REPLACED,

The one bad feature of the trotting sport in America has been the annoying scoring up which takes place before a race starts, and recently when the barrier system of starting was tried on certain tracks some drivers deliberately went out of their-way to kill the innovation, and it was decided to revert to the old custom of scoring up. However, at Lexington a few weeks back the officials took a hand in the business and soon made it clear that they (the officials) were in charge of the meeting and not the drivers. Just before the races started on the opening afternoon the drivers were called to the judge's stand and when the officials told them that it was their purpose to penalise each and every reinsman who did not follow the instructions of the starting judge they readily agreed to cooperate; Habit is a thing of which some men find difficult/to rid themselves, and so it was that certain of the forgetful ones were found at their old tricks, scoring ahead of the pole horse and trying to "beat" the send-offs. They were immediately displaced by substitute reinsmen, and standing on the ground watching others drive their horses _ had a most salutary effect upon their subsequent ideas of how to behave. The judges backed up the starter, enforced discipline, and made the reinsmen understand that the" spectators paid their money to see them race rather than sit for indefinite periods while they tried to get away to an unfair advantage.