SPORTING ITEMS.

Press, Volume LIII, Issue 9432, 2 June 1896, Page 2

SPORTING ITEMS.

"Weekly Prees and Referee," May 28th.

What in England would be termed the close season is the time of year when wet, and frosty weather makes il pr.ivtieally impossible for racing to be curried on. A milder climate in New Zealand makes it possible to race throughout the whole year. Though the tracks are rendered heavy, and by no means good to work horses upon in many parts of the colony, there- are really few gallops thai arc specially laid down for winter training operations, and it has often been suggested that there should be a cessation from racing for two or throe months in the year. An arrangement of this sort might ho welcomed by sori , . , owners and trainers, but others again would be adverse to such a course, and no doubt a large section of the lovers of racing would not be at all pleased at a lensthj- interval from following their favo-irito pastime. The majority of race-goers like to take their pleasures in line weather, but the more ardent of sportsmen and sportswomen look forward to the winter j meetings, in which jumping contests are the \ chief attraction, with as much interest as others do to tho spring, summer, and autumnal gatherings. Indeed, the steeplechase meeting* are really very popular with lovors of racing in this colony, and this is evidenced by the way in which the leading meetings, as woll as the hunting fixtures, J are patronised. Though the attendances & the JKgmont Racing Club's winter reun-on i and the Napier IV.; , !: Racing Club's steeple- j chasy meeting, have been reported as no* "P j to previous records, various reasons have been assigned as to the caue»t a "d there r«ed be no apprehension that it is due to a waning s interest in aport. The size of th" fields d' not point to any want of appre" at ' on ° pJ , t part of those who have to' oofc tll e ulls tor y twining, and quality o- the who* ha f Men , fairly represented. too, is pro- * nounced in the caries for the events as yet ° to be decided v* Ellerelte. These como on j on tho 6th «nd Bth of next month, and a * little later tollowa the Hawke's Bay Jockey Club's Winter Meeting. The Glsbome Park t Steeplechase MeeHng brings us to the end of * the calendar for the season of 1895-96, but ' the Now Zealand Grand National Meeting, which is near the middle of the month of August, i» the one looked forward to with the greatest amount of interest of all meet- 1 ings at which jumping events are the chief * attraction. It is rather early, perhaps, to j make a forecast of what this meeting islikely ] to prove; but if from the large fields en- ' tered in the North Island do not come some J likely candidates for the meeting, it will be « passing strange. (

Last week we were in a poeition to present to our readers the annual report and balance ebeet of the Canterbury Jockey Club, and at the same time took the opportunity of congratulating that body on the very successful year of operations it has just emerged from. On Friday last at the annual meeting of members the chairman placed before those present fiome very interenting statistics which chow fthe great progress the club has made. From this point of view they ate exceedingly interesting to sportsmen ; and indeed to all who have the "sport of kings" at heart and who like to see a well-conducted institution flourish, the Hon. Mr Parker'a remarks will no doubt be most welcome. The great ■tridee in the march of progress the club ha» made are mainly, of coarse, owing to the tatalieator, which, while it enables the club to provide such attractive prizes and at the same time so complete a tryeting ground, supplies its patrons with a means of indulging their speculative tendencies under the fairest and safest possible system. In our las t issue we alluded to the satisfactory results secured to the okb as an outcome of the altered working of the totalisators. The chairman's remarks on this head at the annual meeting do not, however, appear to be altogether agreed with, if we are to judg« by the amount of correspondence that has taken place in the daily papers. Since the club found it necessary to add to their totalisator conveniences bo as to cope with the increased speculation, it has been no easy matter to Wktisfy the requirements of investors. It ie held by some that the odds are much more easily ascertained on race days at other centres than is the case at Riccarton. This is the one phase of the working of th« 0.J.0.'s machines that backers find fault with, and we by no means agree that in this respect the totalieators at RiccartOn are yet perfect. But it should be borne in mind that the executive of the club has always sought to make improvements where possible, and would, we feel sure, gladly adopt any scheme that would bring the working of the machines to the perfection ihey arc striving for. Those oritics whe contend that ten years ago the working of the machine* gave more satisfaction, should piruse carefully the statement made at the annual meeting by the chairman. What was possible under the arrangements of the time we refer to would of course be impossible now, and we feel sure that the difficulties that surround the securing of a system that would please all in these days of big figures will be readily recognised. At the same time, the club may be relied upon not to fail to accept any opportunity that occurs tof urthorimprove not only the working of the totalisators, but the general carrying out of their meetIngs. That the club may be said to be marching with the times in other directions is evidenced by the election of a lady to membership, which will no doubt be the forerunner of many similar elections. In expressing a wish that the Canterbury Jockey Club mar be enabled to long continue to provide high class racing under such happy surroundings as has characterised its operations in the past, we hope, as forthcoming annual meetings of members take place, to be in a position to congratulate many more of our racing bodies on a successful past year.

Apropos our remarks on the totalisator •we might mention that a well known citizen of Chriatchurch, Mr R. M. Macdonald, has been for some time engaged on the working out of the details of a new machine, for which he has taken out letters patent. Borne reference was made in this journal to the machine when Mr Macdonald exhibited a working model of his invention. Since this time the patentee has been studying out improvements wherever he considered they could be secured, until now ha claims to have perfected a totalisator that should meet the requirements of any part of the world. We were enabled a few days ago to inspect the internal mechanism of a full size machine recently set up by Mr Macdonald, who proposes to enable the public to see,- by means of a glass front, the whole of the arrangements while the totalisator is at work on a racecourse. One invaluable feature claimed by Mr McDonald for hie machine is that the ticket seller in stamping a ticket or any number of ticket 3 applied for, registers the sales on the tota.'isator, on which with the same action he shows the total sum invested. It is not possible for an unstamped ticket to be registered. Though investments on any number of horses may be goin« on simultaneously the total of invesvoia is always shown, which is, of course, a great desideratum. Macdona'll states that the total of investments on two machines can be shown as the registering goes on just as if one totalisator were at work, while ha claims

that his process is by far the fastest y< invented. The patentee is now malci arrangements for the manufacture .Kngliind of a complete full-size mac , ' and it is therefore hardly neo3S3ary to 3;; that he has great confidante in its s R j f | J Thera is no doabl that, if Mr Mo' w jjj j can satisfy clubs that the macl nd y . p ! perform all that he claims for \" ,' see no reason to suppose that he. j n I able to-there must be a gre^ Bator is i store for it, especially if the j legalised in Victoria.

! .., ~ , . . , ~ -otalisator we ] ! wmu: on tiis subject of tl' . „ laa , '■ . , . „ . .t?r in our !**•- ---' ni'iv just omflv rert*r to a , , A . . • J , • ,t wno, had he ( ;ss;i« from a. curresiianr. c ,-„„'„ . , .. .lion of a simpie ■ i . . , '. been saved from ;cn.',,i,,-y would »*v^ ament tUat J. was : n J :j * in our I ,'"' ' '•'. '' it one side of an imcohtmr.s anytinng v _ con^ ! !)>i " L , 1,, V! Island Bay," who, j I \ Ond " nl ■"!' over two columns of ! since w<3 have r , . t \ "U2f of his on one subject, our spates to f" x , , , 1 will probal,' * ller his mlml - J" 11 " 11 ' P 5: j exp^ener^" l * uot ,14VS led , ° Ur C ° r to. j po.ident »™« u a ooncluaion as he car Howev'. we f " eJ y for S u * 3 n,m com- ; on t , the subject matter ot disinisgetl I louP cation, which can h We in very few word,. Rae| Idle tilt in at the enjoy> but 1 Jlnb-which he seem* fco di , jcuS3 here _ which there is no on tQ fche „ toUli . j our con-espon.lent r< T , iay Mf)m tQ be h j R sator odds " jK r lh2 mo3t parfc hi 3 lettep iB j bate noire, lhe;r manner 3 an( | customs. . fWa a /int of illegal betting that has , r goin«' on through the agency i 'f vriiat are known as ,: WAlking totaliators" and totalisator betting shops, has . teen pointed out orer and ovsr again in ] hese columns. Probably "Island Bay vill admit that we have peraistently called he attention of the authorities to this state if things. And we think the most effective ■eply we can give now to "Island Bay" is his—that if the authorities were to do their luty, his bile noire would cease to exist, his 'round of complaint agaiu3t the legalisation >f the totalisator quickly vanish. Sir Elobert Stout's Gaming Act, passed in 1894, vas framed for tho special purpose of dealing vith what he termed "tho3e fungus growths,' ihs totalisator odds' layer and betting shop proprietor. And we would call' { Island Bay's " ittentiou, particularly, to Section 11. of clause 3 and clause 4. Fine and imprisonment is the penalty for betting totalisator odds, and if "Island Bay" would direct, say, the Premier's attention to this Act, and at the same time give him the information which he evidently possesses in reference to the " totalisator odds'" betting, of which he so loudly complains, he would be doing horse racing a much greater benefit probably than all the letters he could possibly write and secure space for in the papers. The totalisator is the most acceptable means of speculation on horse racing that has been provided for those who choose to bet, and while the system is not abused we hope to sco it in existence for many years to come. Let the laW3 of the land be enforced, and the totalisator put under the control of a nonpolitical board, comprised of men who know their subject, and we feel sure "Island Bay " will once more change his opinions.

Thb sport of trotting in New Zealand has had much to contend with since ifc was firat inaugurated. A wrong class of people at its head, in soma instances, looaely-conducted oluba and, above all, what is known as "ringing in," have tended very greatly to make trotting as a pastime unpopular with the masses who love spbrfc for its own sweet sake. But changes have come about in some quarters of the colony at least. The questionable offioial has been got rid of and his place filled with the clean-handed, with the result that the conduct of clubs and their meetings has improved. The "ringing" class has of late had a lively time of it. The avenging Nemesis has been on the trail of some arch scoundrels with a result not altogether pleasant to them. Trotting will grow in favour so long as the public can rely upon the authorities carrying out their dutiee in a fearless manner without favour to any person. For Canterbury we can speak particularly when we aay that during the past few years trotting has gone ahead with leaps and bounds. In Christchurch there are clubs that are entitled to take rank with the best of such institutions in the Colony. The Canterbury Trotting Club— whose meeting on Thursday and Monday last was such an unqualified success from all points of view—may well.be congratulated on their efforts to popularise the sport. The conduct of their recent meeting was an improvement on all previous efforts, and now that the club is in such an eminently satisfactory position, to cater for lovers of the pastime, we confidently look forward to many more eucoe3sful reunions on the commodious grounds at Addington.

It is a thousand pities for the sake of the sport that there should be such a breach between the authorities in parks of tho North and South Islands. Though it was no fault of the southerners, perhaps in the interests of trotting they might do worse than hold out the olive branch and forgive and forget. The Canterbury Metropolitan Association worked hard to improve the surroundings of the sport in this colony, though lately we are bound to say they do not seem to have been quite so alert as they might have been. Wβ are afraid that the absence of Mr C. Hood-Williams —who was such a hard worker and is so well informed on all matters pertaining to the sport—from the counoil board of the controlling body has not tended to further matters. We are glad to know theugh that Mr Williams has readily lent his assistance recently to those who have been pursuing enquiries as to recent cases of wrong-doing. What, however, is now wanted, and what we should like to see established, is one strong controlling body, I for the whole of the colony—an association, tkoroughly representative, set up on a sound basis, commanding the confidence of trotting men and the general public alike. One set of rules for the colony would come as a boon and a blessing to all concerned. There are no doubt many men in the colony fit for official positions of a New Zealand Association, but if for a start Mr C. Hood Williams wore at the head with Mr A. I. Rattray carrying out the secretarial duties, such a body if formed would we feel sure be certain of a successful launching. It is principally owing to Mr Rattray, who has recently devoted much time, energy and tact in his peregrinations into the mysteries of the " ringer," that several of this class have been brought to book. If the North Island will join hands with the South and agree to go in for cleansing their Augean stable, then perhaps vre may hope to see trotting in New Zealand being governed by one body under one set of rules.