TROTTING Banks Peninsula Wants To Stay Independent

Press, Volume CIII, Issue 30542, 10 September 1964, Page 4

TROTTING Banks Peninsula Wants To Stay Independent

Opposition to centralisation as far as his club was concerned was expressed by the president (Mr C. E. Gray) at the annual meeting of the Banks Peninsula Trotting Club last night. Mr Gray mentioned how successful his club had become in the short time it had been operating and pointed out that no case could be made out in support of a suggestion that his club should shift.

When he had opened the annual meeting of the New Zealand Trotting Conference in Dunedin in July, the Minister of Internal Affairs (Mr Seath) had indicated that he expected the struggling clubs to put their houses in order before he would entertain the suggestion that relief should be granted through taxation, said Mr Gray. The Minister had suggested centralisation and members would have seen that “his comments have been taken up by a number of speakers at annual meetings who have been offering advice to country clubs, such as our own, as to what they should do and where they should race.

“Reference to our accounts will show that although we only started racing in 1956, our accumulated funds now exceed £10,000,” continued Mr Gray. The increase under that heading in the last 12 months had been more than £2OOO after providing £4Bl for taxation. The club owned 7150 fully paid shares in Motukarara Race Course, Ltd., the company which owned the course where they raced jointly with the Banks Peninsula Racing Club, the other shareholder.

“At our first race meeting in 1956 we gave stakes amounting to £2lOO, which were then about average for our classes,” said Mr Gray' “Our stakes for 1963 were £3175, with no tightening of classes. “Our course was as well appointed as any- outside the cities, and horsemen tell me that our track is the best they drive on,” he added. The club last season had enjoyed its most successful season since its formation in 1956. The club’s on-course turn-over of £46,006 had been exceeded only in 1960 when £47,335 had been handled. The off-course turn-over of £39,871 was about £lOOO less than for the previous year, but the combined total, of £84,733 was a record for the club.

Full Stakes

Following the club’s policy of giving as many horses as possible a chance to race, two races last year,had been

divided and full stakes had been paid for all divisions, said Mr Gray. The advent of the ninth race had come at about the same time as the club’s meeting last season, but there had not been sufficient notice to enable the committee to make one of the divisions a separate race. However, if the response from owners was as generous again this year, one of those races would be made the ninth race. The club had continued its policy of doing everything possible for maiden and improving horses in the slower classes and the limit for the main event had been kept to 2min 16sec class, said Mr Gray. The club was well aware that classes could be tightened in order to attract a better class of horse, which would result in increases in attendance and on-course totalisator turn-over.

If that were done, it would break faith with one or more of the slower classes, in which there were such large numbers of horses seeking the chance to race. “It would also mean a conflict with the Forbury Park Trotting Club, which races in the evening on the Saturday on which we race,” said Mr Gray. As so many horses in those classes were trained locally, it was reasonable to assume that provided the stakes were about the same, their meeting would attract more entries as owners and trainers would avoid high travelling costs. The committee did not favour such action, which would only be to the detriment of the Forbury Park club. “Furthermore, the committee believes that the smaller country clubs have a clear duty to provide opportunities for the more looselyassessed horses to graduate through the classes.” Training Track The provision of a training track at Motukarara was being examined, said Mr Gray. This year, mainly because of the mild winter, it had been possible for trainers to work their horses on the race track throughout the year. Because of the heavy cost of establishing a training track, which might not be very much used, it seemed to the committee better to allow trainers the use of the main course, he said. The club’s operations for the year showed a profit of £lB5l. Time Decision On Monday A decision on whether the New Brighton Trotting Club’s September meeting next Saturday week will be held at night, as originally intended, or changed back to a day meeting will be made by the committee of the club next Monday. METHVEN TROTTING CLUB NOMINATIONS NOMINATIONS for the Club’s Spring Meeting to be held on September 26, 1964, will CLOSE with the Secretary, Ashburton, TODAY (Thursday), SEPTEMBER 10, at 4 P.M. J. B. NICOLL, Secretary. P.O. Box 54. Phone 6794. —Advt.