Trotting Penalties

Press, Volume XCVI, Issue 28415, 23 October 1957, Page 3

Trotting Penalties

Sir. —Since the beginning of the present season the trotting handicapper has been giving horses in the Inoser-class races a 36 yards penalty for winning instead of the customary 48. This concession would be all right if clubs co-operated and arranged their programmes to suit. They are still catering for limits for horses on lines 10 and 14 while the handicapper is assessing new winners on lines 9 and 13 respectively. I Owners can nominate (where the | clause, “assessed at or faster.”] does not apply) for these line 10; and 14 classes, but should they ; finish in the money they are | penalising themselves 12 yards—• the concession granted them by I the handicapper. Then, again, if, starters are balloted for these ; horses would be eliminated first 1 because they would be nominated out of their class. This is a matter the conference should give some publicity to.—Yours, etc., PACING PETER. October 17, 1957. [As from December all duos had been asked to adopt standard l fronts of line nine and line la so that horses taken to those marks would not have to give away time, said the chief handicapper to the New Zealand Trotting Conference (Mr R. C. R. Mor-i ton) when this letter was referred to him.] v