The Press Monday, July 25, 1921. The Racing Commission's Report

Press, Volume LVII, Issue 17206, 25 July 1921, Page 6

The Press Monday, July 25, 1921. The Racing Commission's Report

The report of the Racing Commission " appointed -in November last is now dvailable, attd appears in, another part ' of to-day's paper. It is not to be eoc--1 ■ pect^d ■* thai * its, redooimendataons inspecting the number of totalisator ■ licensesv3li jo mjonticised. Indeed) •"v it is quite certain that we>shall shortly hear : a vgreat : deal v concerning "the " failure, the Commission •to curb M tho gambling evil,"... and. since the •■■■■"■ enemies of Taoing w3l abstain from going* the- repoit, we go? ihto them,briefly here. ■ When the Act of 1910 was passed the number >-' of - covered v by 'totalisator iicenaes waa aW, inchiding62. days of •; r trotting clubs'' meetings. Following ifiie Act of I§lo jthe number of days was re- ■ " ducecl from 304 to 250. As a result of = the? Act and Commission, of .1914 this : increased to 281, (including eight days.'for hunt • clubs). The Minister was aiithorised to issue licenses to hunt 'clitbs for eight more days. The ' ■ -'' Commission which-- now issued its 1 reporfe Tecommends aa addition of ninedayf tji ttfi racing clubs' allowance and of'l9 dayß to the allowance of the trotting clubs. [.The first of the conclusions iometo by the Commission is that "it "is highly undesirable* either by> *e- • V- granted; or by th&'issue of additional . at otherwise; to materially " increase volume of totalisator ■ ■ beating mthe Dominion." With this .i -'r bonclukdn all'will agree, and it'would 7-- . lie no more. thaii reasonable to ask the . >6nenuea of racing to concede that in 'this conclusion ihe Comshown its unprejudiced. !«> ' interest. But how* have quoted With the ffQ \ teoomniendation that V?, m(, W^totaliMktor;licenses', be granted? %C , withat theincrease is a more*se> and represents the excess

of new licenses for small clubs over the extinguished licenses hitherto granted to large clubs. The days of racing and trotting in Christcfrurch, Auckland, and Napier are reduced by twelve —by four days in eadh With the exception of one day for the Wellington Racing Club and three days for the Wellington Trotting Club the new licenses will go to country clubs, some in remoto districts, where the total betting is a fraction of the total at, say, Avondalo or Canterbury Park. If anything, conditions remaining equal, tho totalisator turnover will be decreased by the readjustments recommended by the Commission. It is just and reasonable that the people living in tlhe country should have facilities for enjoying their sport in their own districts, and it is necessary, in the interests of tho sport, that the chief metropolitan clubs should not be interfered with. There are some people, as we all know, who will, not allow either that tlho rural community's deeire for this kind of recreation should be satisfied or that the sport of racing should be preserved. But the majority of the people are not abolitionists, and they will agree that the Commission has succeeded very well in recognising the interests both of the cities and of tlhe country districts without recommending the raising of the number of totalisator licenses to more than twelve above the number issued in 1910. Since 1910 the population has grown very substantially, and the facilities for the holding of totalisator meetings will not bo relatively greater, but less, than Vhey were eleven years ago. These are tho facts that must bo borne in mind when the enemies of racing complain, as they may be depended upon to do,' that the Commission did fiot think it was its duty to cieal a severe blow to what a majority of the people regard as a legitimate and praiseworthy sport, and one wSiich it is demonstrably to the advantage of tho nation to maintain.