Racing Past And Present In New South Wales

Press, Volume XCI, Issue 27563, 21 January 1955, Page 6

Racing Past And Present In New South Wales

[Specially Written for "The Press”!

especially wn. [By

R. W. BISMAN]

Horse racing has often been said to be New Zealand’s “main industry,” but in New South Wales the sport is flourishing on a much more extensive scale than in the Dominion. After a long and colourful history, which began in Sydney, Australian racing has now attained a very high standard. New South Wales could rightly be termed “racing headquarters,” for the extensive programme .of meetings throughout the season is unparalleled elsewhere in the Commonwealth. The Australian Jockey Club and the Sydney Turf Club alone race on 80 days each season, while the many smaller clubs bring the total of race meetings in the State each year to a phenomenal figure. The first record of racing in Australia is found in a report in the “Sydney Gazette” of a sports meeting held at Paramatta on April 30, 1810, at which several racing and trotting con-* tests were held. Regular racing was begun by the Australian 73rd Regiment on the northern portion of what is now Hyde Park, in the heart of Sydney. The first regtilar meeting was held by the regiment on October 15, 17 and 19, 1810. Fatigue parties formed the track. Most events were over distances ranging from three to four miles. The regiment held meetings annually, but its departure to Ceylon in March, 1814, put a stop to racing until April 17, 1819, when the Governor gave permission for a day’s racing. From 1882 to, 1824 there is no record of racing in the metropolitan area of Sydney, but on March 17, 1825, the Hibernians held the first St. Patrick’s Day races in Australia. The next day marked the formation of the first race club in Australia—the Sydney Turf Club—and racing under regular club management was first held on April 25, 1825. The second event that day introduced a horse destined to become one of the most notable performers on the Australian turf —Mr W. Nash’s bay gelding, Junius. From this time onward horse racing became established. The Sydney Turf Club held its second meeting in Hyde Park on September 23, 24 and 25, 1825. Junius won on two days, and fell at his other attempt. First Brisbane Cup Early in 1826 the Turf Club secured a new site, about four miles from Sydney on a piece of land in Paramatta road named Grose Farm. At the first meeting 2000 persons watched Junius win the first event, the Brisbane Cup, run in heats, twice round, weight-for-age. On the second day Junius, at* 2 to 1 on, easily won the Town Plate. At this meeting in 1827 Junius again won the Brisbane Cup and Town Plate His legs, however, were not sound, and condition failed him in the Brisbane Cup of 1828, in which he was beaten by a black horse, Scratch. But the race so improved Junius that he beat < Scratch a week later. The grand old champion died in a stable fire in 1831. The Brisbane Cup was first run at Eagle Farm in 1871. . At a dinner after the Sydney Turf Club’s 1928 Brisbane Cup meeting, remarks were made that so offended Governor Darling that he withdrew his patronage; and members of the public service not „ only resigned from the Turf Club, but decided to form another club. Thus began the Australian Racing and Jockey Club, with the Governor as. patron. The new club raced on the local track at Paramatta. Early in 1932 the Sydney Turf Club also decided to race at Paramatta because of the wretched state of the Grose Farm' 1 track. 1 Forfeit for Last Horse In the 1830’s steeplechase racing 1 came into favour. A ’chase over five : miles, between Coogee and Botany Bay, was run on August 25, 1832. One 1 condition of this event was that the ; owner of the last horse should -forfeit ■ £5 to the winner. Though not then considered import- ' ant, the sanctioning by the Governor - of a reserve on what was then termed the Botany road was one of the most 4 important events in Australian racing. < The “Sydney Morning Herald” of 1 January 28, 1832, stated that this re- 1 ®® rv ® was f° r a new racecourse, and " the Governor had authorised the lend- 1 mg of 20 labourers to assist in its for- i mation. So well was the work per- i formed that a match for £3O a side i was run off on April 15 of that year. IJis was the first race held on what 1 afterwards became known as “the old i sandy track,” and which eventually developed into Randwick racecourse. ; ..®®V y * n 1834 both race clubs were < dissolved, and racing in Sydney was ’ earned on by subscription. As the 1 country districts became populated , rating spread to them. i Birth of the AJ.C. 1 In 1840 the old order of racing 1 passed away; an Australian Race Committee was formed and its first meeting was held on March 16 and 18, 1 1841, on the Homebush course. The 1 Australian Race Committee held three J meetings at Homebush and was then 1 merged m the Australian Jockey 1 Club, whose first meeting was held ’ on the same course on September 20, 1 21 and 22, 1842. The main race at ‘ this fixture, the Metropolitan Stakes, 1 was won by a nine-year-old, Jorrocks. ’ Jorrocks must have been a really { tough campaigner. During his 11 1 years of racing he started 88 times for 58 wins, 20 seconds and four tlurds -. - won £3lds stakes—a i remarkable figure in those days. r „The A.J.C. continued racing at t Homebush until 1859, and held its ] first meeting at Randwick on May 29, i 30 and 31, 1860. On the first day ] Veno won the Australian Plate from ( a New Zealand horse. Strop (John r Cutts). The added money for the three-day fixture was £1335. From the very beginning, the A.J.C. i enjoyed outstanding success. It estab- , lished the Sydney Cup in 1866, with , an added stake of £444. This race is - now the leading event of the club’s , autumn meeting with a stake of ‘ £12.500. As far back as 1925 the club’s .• Australian Derby Stakes was the t richest classic race in the Common- { h ’ rece i v .i n 8 i n added money t £BOOO, and this event now carries a 2 stake of £ll.OOO.

For many years the A.J.C. has been the controlling body in New South Wales, and although there are now four or five separate racing associations in the State, with their own

3 stewards and handicappers, all racing > is carried on under the A.J.C.’s set ot rules. , The A.J.C. also holds meetings on - the Warwick Farm course, but Randi wick holds pride ot place among the - courses in the State. And, Indeed, it s is a course which befits this honour. Situated about two miles from the ; city, on the dividing line of the sub- ? urbs of Randwick and Kensington, 3 Randwick is the ideal course. Crowds 1 of more than 40.000 attend the main ; meetings, and race-day at this track ' P r 2y ides an unforgettable spectacle, 3 The track, 11 furlongs in circumr ference, carries a fine sole of bril--3 liantly green grass, and provides very 1 fast footing. Because of this sandy nature of the soil it drains swiftly - and seldom becomes soft The fastest - times recorded at Randwick for the I main distances are:—Five furlongs, t 58j sec: six furlongs, Imin »isec; seven r furlongs, Imin. 22seci one mile, Imin 341 sec; one mile and a quarter, 2min ! one mile and a half, 2min ’ 2L isec: and two “ties, 3min 20{sec. , These times are outstanding when it ■ is considered that there is a very t perceptible incline starting near the i two-furlong post, which the horses s have to negotiate early in their long ! run down the straight to the post. Races at Randwick are run clock- , wise, and all flat events are started , from a mobile gate. The starting I system appears to have only one dis- - advantage. If a fractious horse manages to get down in its starting stall, it is liable to damage itself or the t rider. Betting Facilities i The many totalisators and bookmakers scattered around the course i at first glimpse provide a rather con- • scene to the unenlightened visitor, but the various indicators soon ; become understood. The bookmakers I do far more business than the totali isators, although totalisator doubles ' with a large section of the public. Throughout the day doubles , are operated on each two successive races,. and for the last race (and, ; sometimes, the main event) Quinella betting is provided. To win a • Quinella an investor has to support . the combination which finishes first . and second in the race, regardless of which of his selections beats the other. Inter-State bookmakers operate on the course, and betting on the main ‘ meetings throughout Australia is taken. Separate speaker systems have been installed to give broadcasts of racing from further afield, and interest in outside meetings is intense. Big punters” in the inside enclosure have at their disposal an agency of the Bank of New South Wales. However, most of the biff wagering is done without the showing of money, just a nod from a wellknown better being enough to put a four-figure amount at stake. Among the jockeys the names of Sellwood, Cook, Ward, Selkrig and Lamer figure prominently. These and a few others monopolise the riding at mW-h’- mer ’ fourth on the list of leading riders, was suspended for two months a fortnight ago “for insulting an owner." In all respects control is very strict. F The A.J.C. conducts a school for apprentices and annual awards are made for knowledge, ability, courtesy, and impressiveness. More than £4OO worth of prizes, mainly in the form of saddles, was given to the successful apprentices at the recent annual meeting. Attendances Dropping Randwick attendances are dropping, i as are the attendances at all other race meetings in New South Wales, as well as in the other racing States. However, the main clubs have no apparent fears for the future. Nearly £250,000 in stakes will be distributed during the autumn racing (February to. April) m Sydney and Melbourne. Of this amount the A.J.C. will give a total of £65,850 for five days’ racing in April—one day at Warwick Farm, the rest at Randwick. One reason for the drop in attendances at Randwick could be that the club adheres to 40-minute intervals between races. The Sydney public like their races run off as quickly as possible with a reasonable time for betting. When races are run at 30-minute intervals at the Sydney Turf Club’s mid-week meetings the tempo never relaxes. Racing speed records timed by the hand of man are barred under a new regulation of the principal clubs in Australia. Under the new rule record? are recognised only when tinned by an electric clock, or chronograph. Randwick is Sydney’s only track with this appliance. The chronograph is set off with the release of the starting barrier. Warwick Farm is soon to have a similar timing apparatus, and its introduction is also being considered for Rosehill and Canterbury. Under another comparatively new ruling the A.J.C. fixes a “minimum top weight of Bst 121 b for all flat handicap races. If, when the acceptances close, the highest-weighted horse is on a handicap below Bst 121 b, the scale is raised to that weight. This ensures that the best available riders can be obtained, and is a counter to the shortage of good light-weight riders. For some events at Randwick over Christmas and New Year the weights had tp be raised as much as 121 b. Training Tracks | Randwick is equipped with four main training tracks-—the course proper, the “A” grass, the tan, and the sand. The facilities are faultless. For the use of these tracks trainers within a 10-mile radius of the Sydney Post Office pay 10s a month, and those cutside this radius pay 7s 6d a fortnight. Many trainers live near the course. Their horses are accommodated in loose boxes, and the only occasions on which they have more than a few square yards to move in are when they are working on the track or roads or at race meetings. On race day, Randwick is divided into three enclosures. For admission to the saddling paddock the price is 13s 3d for men and 7s for women. To the St. Leger section it is 4s, and to the “flat,” is 3d. The “flat,” which is the inside of the race track, is very popular. It accommodates two large totalisators and about 50 bookmakers, and it also serves as a public car park. An official programme coffts 2s, but it is a mine of information. Items from the stewards’ reports, issued at race meetings of the previous few weeks, are condensed to give a concise summary of what transpires in “the inner sanctum.” Of the New Zealand horses which raced in Sydney over Christmas and New Year, Knave was the most impressive. He was produced only once during this period, and was narrowly beaten by New Slipper in the Decern; ber Stakes (five furlongs) on December 27. This event was run in the Australian record time of 581 sec. A two-year-old chestnut colt by Faux Tirage from Trick, Knave is trained by M. McCarten for Mr T. C. Lowry, of Okawa.