TROTTING Nelson Club Had Most Successful Meeting

Press, Volume C, Issue 29540, 15 June 1961, Page 4

TROTTING Nelson Club Had Most Successful Meeting

The Nelson Trotting Club held its most successful winter meeting ever at the week-end. Totalisator turnover, both on and off-course, showed a substantial increase over the figures for the previous season, and attendance figures were also above average.

On-course totalisator figures for the two days amounted to £57,259 10s, an increase of £4150 over last year. Off-course, the increase was even more significant. The total for the two days was £66,068, an increase of £14,537 15s.

The Nelson club, along with most other trotting and racing dubs in New Zealand, has reviewed the question of privileges. At this meeting no free admission tickets were distributed other than to members, officials and owners with horses engaged at the meeting. As a result gate receipts on the first day amounted to £4BB, compared with £344 on the corresponding day last year. There was also a substantial increase on Monday. The club should show a substantial profit on the meeting and there are prospects that many improvements will be carried out before next season. In addition there is a chance that there will be increases in stakes. Catering at the Nelson meeting was among the poorest at any trotting meeting in the South Island. This will be reviewed before the next meeting and it is intended to make improvements. Nelson meetings are popular with owners and trainers, but increased travelling and accommodation costs are becoming a serious problem. The fare for a horse to travel from Christchurch to Nelson and return is about £25, and by the time accommodation, nomination and acceptance fees and other charges are paid the owfeer of the winner of a division race has little to show. Nelson is an isolated city and the great proportion of horses racing at Richmond Park travel from Christchurch. A subsidy of about £lO paid to owners whose horses fail to win that amount on the trip, could assist in maintaining support for the dub.

Other clubs are at present considering paying a subsidy to visiting owners. The Marlborough Racing Club pays a subsidy of £lO to the owners of horses failing to win that amount in stakes, provided the horses, other than two-year-olds, start three times at the meeting. Such subsidies, particularly as far as country clubs are concerned, go a small way towards offsetting the many increased costs which must be met by owners today. One Race Left One pacing event remains to be run this season. It will be a race for maiden pacers at the Waimate District Hunt Club’s annual meeting on July 15. Poor Standard The standard of driving by some persons granted driving licences in the last few months by the New Zealand Trotting Conference left much to be desired at the Nelson Trotting Club’s winter meeting. The conference appoints advisory licensing committees which are supposed to investigate every new application for a licence. The recommendations of the committees are usually accepted without question by the conference licensing commit-

tee. Incompetent displays of reinsmanship have been common in the South Island this season and it appears that some other method of granting driving licences will have to be found. A longer probationary period during which prospective drivers are restricted to trials and matinees under the supervision of stipendiary stewards could go some way towards solving the problem. Likely Improver Milngavie made a promising race debut when he finished second to the more experienced Quantrill in the first division of the Arrow Handicap at Nelson on Saturday. Solidly suported in his race on Monday, he was slow away and made no impression in the straight. Milngavie is a four-year-old gelding by Garrison Hanover from Bonny Heather, a sister to Highland Fling and Highland Kilt. He is a halfbrother by John Scott, an impressive winner on the second day of the recent Ashburton meeting. Milngavie is raced by his breeder, Mr W. J. Murray, of Spring Creek, and is trained at Blenheim by F. F. Scott, who enjoyed a successful run a few years ago with Tehana. Milngavie has been given every chance to mature and should be a useful winner next season.