TROTTING Metropolitan Club Stakes £l00,000

Press, Volume CVI, Issue 31247, 20 December 1966, Page 4

TROTTING Metropolitan Club Stakes £l00,000

The New Zealand Metropolitan Trotting Club will top the £lOO,OOO mark in stakes for the first time this season. The previous best was £97,325 in 1950-51, when the club raced nine permits, against 10 this season.

Stakes have been increased at all the clubs’ meetings this season. Yesterday the club announced that stakes had been increased by £2lOO for its Easter meeting, to be run on March 11,18 and 25. The total for this meeting will now be £31,600.

Much of the increase has been applied to races for two-year-old pacers. The races on the first two nights, restricted to maiden two-year-olds, will now carry a stake of £5OO, against £3OO.

The stake for the New Zealand Welcome Stakes, on the final day, will now carry a stake of £l5OO, an increase of £5OO.

Two other events certain to arouse interest are for three-year-old pacers. Each race will carry a stake of £lOOO and will be governed by conditions which are new to trotting in New Zealand. The basic handicaps will be fillies on' the limit and colts and geldings on 12 yards. Winners of two or more races will be penalised an additional 12 yards. The club has retained heats, a final and a consolation race for its Easter Cup.

The final will again carry a stake of £5OOO, the same as the Royal Easter Cup last season and £2OOO more than the 1965 Easter Cup. The heats and consolation race will carry stakes of £1250. There will be £lOOO heats, a £2OOO final and a £lOOO consolation race for trotters. Stakes and conditions for most of the other races are unchanged from last season.