TROTTING 1965 Series May Be At Auckland Or Forbury

Press, Volume CII, Issue 30168, 27 June 1963, Page 5

TROTTING 1965 Series May Be At Auckland Or Forbury

Auckland or Dunedin will probably be the venue of the Inter-Dominion Championship series when next it is held in New Zealand in the late summer or early autumn of 1965. The Forbury Park Club has already announced that it will apply to run the series, while the Auckland Club is also expected to appjy.

When the series was last run in New Zealand in 1961, Addington was the venue. None of the three Christchurch trotting clubs has given serious thought to applying for the series, and it is unlikely that any will do so.

Five of the 22 championship series have been run in New Zealand—three at Addington and two at Auckland. Until the advent of night trotting, the New Zealand Metropolitan and Auckland clubs were the only ones strong enough to provide sufficient stakes for the series, and at times they have had difficulty making the series pay.

When the Wellington club changed to night trotting it seemed likely that it would be one of the clubs seeking an early championship series. However, night trotting has not prospered in Wellington and there is no chance of that club seeking the championships for many years. The Forbury Park Club has flourished since it introduced night trotting. Many improvements are planned for the next 18 months at Forbury Park and the* plant will be comparable with any

others in New Zealand by 1965. The Forbury Park Club could probably run the series on a successful financial basis in spite of the high stakes which would have to be offered.

The president of the Auckland Club (Mr P. R. Bridgens) says he is confident his club could provide better facilities for the 1965 championships than any other New Zealand club.

No approach for the series would be made until the executive of the New Zealand Trotting Conference had called officially for applications, he said. As far as Auckland was concerned, it had received no notification of the 1965 series being staged in New Zealand other than what had appeared jn newspapers. He thought the proper procedure would be for the conference to call for applications. Once the Auckland club had received official notice, the committee would then make a decision, he added. Mr Bridgens pointed out that by 1965 there would be under-cover seeting for 11,000 at Alexandra Park Raceway. Fifth Win

The former Auckland pacer, Great Reveller, gained his fifth win in the United States this year at Roosevelt Raceway, New York. It was his first start since he contracted

a virus complaint that affected a large number of horses throughout the country. Great Reveller finished gamely and paced his mile in 2:4 4-5. The stake for the race was 3500 dollars. For Wales z The former Auckland reinsman, T. Payne, has accepted an offer to drive at night trotting meetings in Wales. He will be employed by the Prestatyn Night Trotting Company, which plans to hold Its first night meeting within the next six weeks. Payne a few years ago drove several winners in New Zealand, but more recently he has been in New South Wales, where he has driven 16 winners. Not For N.Z. The American sire. H.D Hanover (1:58), which has left a number of good winners in the United States, will remain in Melbourne for the next stud season. Negotiations to bring him to Southland were under way a short time ago, but these have fallen through. H.D. Handver's oldest Australian stock are now rising two-year-olds. H.D. Hanover first stood at a fee of 200 guineas in Melbourne and last season his fee was 150 guineas. World Record

The first change in the world record table this year in the United States was credited to Countess Adios, when she won the 13,100 dollars Mayfield Trotting Derby last month recording a modest 2:5 1-5 for the mile. She is now the fastest double-gaited mare on a half-mile track. She recorded 1:59 1-5 pacing as a three-year-old. Her pacing and trotting marks give her a total of 4:4 2-5, compared with 4:5 by Calumet Evelyn, which held the record for 27 years. Calumet Evelyn recorded 2:314 pacing and 2:1% trotting.