RACING CONTROL.

Auckland Star, Volume LXVI, Issue 164, 13 July 1935, Page 20

RACING CONTROL.

THE N.Z. CONFERENCE

THE ANNUAL MEETING. STIPENDIARY STEWARD'S SUGGESTIONS. (By Telegraph.— : PresS Association.) WELLINGTON, Friday. The annual inciting of the New 'Zealand Racing Conference was held to-day, Mr. J. S. McLeod, the president, being in the chair. Mr. A. Ward, chief racecourse inspector, in the course of his report said that a number of prohibited persons, especially in the larger centres, continued to loiter around the outside of the courses while meetings were being held, and undesirables of the "guesser-spieler" type still■ followed racing circuits, but with the certainty of detection should they venture inside and the consequent possibility of prosecution a deterrent. The ample provisions in the regulations for the relief of persons excluded from racecourses was well known and fully availed of. Mr. C. Gomer, chairman of the stipendiary stewards, reported that the management and control of meetings had been quite satisfactory. The most important suggestion he wished to. make and he thought the most; needed reform was in regard to the length of time horses were kept out on the course before the start of a race. The majority of clubs stipulated that horses must be in the birdcage 25 minutes prior to starting, which meant that if races were run to time the horses were out 20 minutes. He considered that wrong. Horses' should not be kept out that, length of time, often in cold, rough weather. The public could do their betting just as easily in ten minutes as 20. To bring the reform about it would be necessary for all clubs to adopt a system that horses must be in the birdcage 15 minutes before the start. He thought it should be made compulsory for clubs to include in their programmes a hurdle race or steeplechase each day from April 1 to November 30. Crosscountry riders, especially in the South Island, found it very difficult to earn a living, and high-weight handicaps, such as they had there, meant that soon very few hurdle or steeplechase riders would be qualified to ride in them. He again brought forward his suggestion in his 1933-34 report that the minimum weight in all flat races should be 8.0. At a number of meetings the starting barriers worked too slowly and it was common to see horses taking it with them. This was a matter to which clubs should give attention, with the object of procuring the best starting machine possible. He suggested that to save horses having sometimes to return to the birdcage, starters should be supplied with a pair of reins, stirrup leathers, girth, surcingle and a strip of greenhide. He also advocated the totalisator being closed to time, the xule to be strictly adhered to. The value of racing to New Zealand was shown indirectly "in a marked degree by the success of the yearling sales, which were well attended, with good prices, and Australian buyers were well to the fore. Fixtures and Amendments. The dates of race meetings were adopted subject to the following amendments: — Egmont-Wanganui Hunt, at New Plymouth, August 29; Tauniarunui, at Paeroa, September 28 and 30; Dunedin Jockey Club, October 10-12; Rangitikei, November 2, in lieu of October 19; Dargaville, December 7 and 9, in lieu of December 5 and 7; Otaki-Maori, December 14; Manawatu, December 26, 27 and 29, in lieu of December 26, 28 and 30; Thames, January 16 and 18; Takapuna, January 25 and 29; Wanganui, February 13 and 15, in lieu of January 30 and February 1; Clifden, January 25, in lieu of February 1; Rangitikei, -March 4, in lieu of March 7; Bay of Islands (at Pukekohe), November 23, in lieu of March 9; Hawke's Bay, April 18, in lieu of March 28; Paliiatua, March 31 and April 1, in lieu of April 1 and 2; Southland, November 23 and May 16, in lieu of May 15 and 16; Dannevirke. at Woodville, April 29 and 30, in lieu of May 22 and 27, or February 26 and 27; Waikato, May 23 and 25, in lien of the Te Kuiti Racing Club; Dannevirke, at Waipukurau, October 12, in lieu of June 3; Foxton, June 27, in lieu of June 3, or May 30. A recommendation was made that the Egmont-Wanganui and Taranaki Clubs should hold a conference to endeavour to arrange the February dates to their mutual advantage. A remit from the executive committee to reduce the qualification for hacks from winners of a race worth £250 or of races of an aggregate worth of £500, to £200 and £400 respectively, was adopted. It was decided to define a hack race as a race in which' any horse is debarred from entry by reason of his winnings, eyen though the word hack is used in the title of 'the race. The executive's remit recommending the reinstatement of 8.0 minimum in flat races other than the principal flat race on each day of any meeting, and the extension of the date of operation, making it June 1 to August 31, was adopted. Remits Considered. The -Wanganui " ' proposal, that the stipendiary stewards should not be entitled to remain at an inquiry while the stewards were considering their decision, was lost. The Auckland Racing Club proposed to strike out the following portion of rule 111, dealing with the right of appeal:— "Provided that no such decision imposing any penalty shall be dealt with under this paragraph until the time for lodging an appeal against the same has expired, and no such penalty shall be increased unless the district committee has given the person on whom it has been imposed an opportunity to' be heard by it." The proposal was amended by striking out the words "until the time for lodging an appeal against the same has expired, and no such penalty shall be increased," and in its altered form the remit was carried. A proposal by the executive committee was carried adding the following new sub-clause to rule 116, which provides that horses owned by certain persons could not be trained on any racecourse and were ineligible to race: Where a licensed person is the son or near relative of an owner, the executive committee, if satisfied that the case is such as to justify special exemption, may grant a permit to that owner and licensed trainer or jockey to reside together. Such permit shall be in writing and shall be expressed to be; effective only during the pleasure of the president, and may be cancelled at any time by the president. So long as the permit is effective the horses of the owner shall not be subject to disqualification by reason of the permitted joint residence. At the request of the Hawke's Bay district committee another new clause was added to rule 116, providing disabilities against'ownership, as follows: A person who at or in connection with any race meeting is appointed or acts as honorary secretary, liandicapper, clerk of the scales, starter or judge, provided that this restriction shall apply only to tli-2 race meeting for which such person shall be appointed or shall act in any of the abrCre-named honorary capacities and paragraph (a) of sub-clause (1) of this rule, shall not be applicable to any such horse." The Canterbury proposal was carried, making registration of a horse necessary before acceptance or final payment for a race.

Auckland Proposal Carried. The Auckland proposal was carried extending to the employee of an owner training "his own horses the same facility as was enjoyed by the employee of a licensed trainejr to train any horses, in his employer's' stable during the hitter's absence at a race meeting or to take charge of his employer's horse at a race meeting. / An addition to rule 182, proposed • by the executive committee, was agreed to. It provided for a fine on any person found responsible by the stewards for using unsound or unsuitable gear on a horse in a race. The Auckland remit to amend rule 191 (S) was withdrawn, as was that of the Canterbury District Clubs (North) regarding steeplechases. A proposal by the Manawatu Racing Club was carried as follows: — "The stewards may provide a man mounted oil a quiet hack to stand in first position on the rail to assist the starter in lining up iho horses." The Wanganui remit, permitting the use of blinkers on a horse in a race, was lost on a division. The Hawke's Bay Jockey Club wished to provide that 110 penalty imposed by the judges Should be varied except by special resolution (in place of the present rule simply by resolution). The remit was defeated 011 a division. The Manawatu proposal to give a lean of 12in to hurdles, in place of 2in, was lost. The proposal of the executive committee to rescind the resolution passed last year: "That clubs have the option of installing one machine for win betting and one machine for betting on the 75-25 per cent basis." was lost on a division. The voting was 31 for, 14 against, but the voting fell short of the necessary three-fourths majority. Brush Hurdles. At the request of the Canterbury Jockey Club, the executive committee was instructed to approve the specifications for brush hurdles. The remit of the. Canterbury District Clubs, that no person should be permitted to register a jacket with the same design and combination of colours already registered by another person, was lost. The Wanganui District Clubs brought forward a remit, that no totalisator clubs should provide free accommodation for horses or attendants during the progress of a race meeting, or provide such accommodation for less than an ordinary and reasonable charge; nor should a club payany freight on the carriage of horses or contribute toward the expenses of horses or attendants. If any club failed to observe this direction, its certificate of registration might be cancelled. The remit was lost. The Dunedin District Clubs' proposal that racing clubs be permitted to include three trotting events on each day's prowork was lost. A proposal by the Wanganui District Clubs, that the executive committee should frame a scheme which would permit some payment to gentlemen riders for injuries occurring while riding in races or riding work, wast lost. Remits by Southland District Clubs and the Dunedin Jockey Club, giving clubs the option, in addition to the existing systems of totalisator betting, to install one machine for betting on the 75-25 per cent basis and one machine for place betting, were taken together. The proposal was lost. The proposal of the Wanganui District Clubs, that a committee be set up to consider and report on a scheme to improve the riding of apprentices in New Zealand, failed to find a seconder. The Auckland District Clubs (North) proposed that as the Rules of Racing had been annually revised during the past 40 years, and as the conference charges 011 clubs were heavy, the- conference should take into consideration the advisability of holding its conferences once in two years, instead of annually. The remit was lost. Election of Officers. Mr. J. S. McLeod was re-elected the president and Mr. 0. Nicholson vice-pre-sident. The following were elected to be the executive committee:—Messrs. L. W. Nelson (Auckland), D. E. Wanklyn (Canterbury), A. C. Hanlon, K.C. (Dunedin), T. E. Coates (Greymouth), G. D. Beatson (Hawke's Bay), W. T. Hazlett (Southland), Hon. J. McLeod (Taranaki), J. H. Perrett (Wanganui) and C. W. Tringham (Wellington). Mr, C. W. Tringham was elected to fill a vacancy as one of the trustees of the provident fund.