RULES CHANGES CONFIRMED

Press, Volume CVIII, Issue 31726, 9 July 1968, Page 5

RULES CHANGES CONFIRMED

<N.Z. Press Association) WELLINGTON. The withdrawal of stipendiary stewards from the judicial committee room while the committee reached Its verdict at a racing inquiry was confirmed at yesterday’s special general meeting of the New Zealand Racing Conference. Attended by some 20 delegates, the meeting had before it approximately 180 proposed alterations to the Rules of Racing. The revision, which took a year to draft, is the first since 1031. The meeting found it necessary to debate fewer than 40 of the proposed changes. The balance were either minor alterations, which required no debate, or measures which had already been approved by all clubs.

Mr R. H. Whyte, the chairman of the meeting and president of the conference, told the delegates that amendments passed yesterday would come into force on October 1, when the reprinted rules would be available. Amendments made at Friday’s annual general meeting will be included in the reprint.

Since a conference directive in 1943, stipendiary stewards have customarily withdrawn during the judicial committee's deliberations, but the meeting was told that the 25-year-old directive had been out of order when it was issued. Deterioration Mr A. Mac Nab, who raised the matter, pointed out that the last 20 years had seen a deterioration in penalties for interference. Where suspension of a month or two months had once been imposed, jockeys could now expect two days or a week for interference. Mr Mac Nab said stipendiary stewards had been criticising this trend for years. He suggested that if the stipendiary steward stayed in the room during the committee's deliberations, it would provide "a little bit of stiffening” for judicial committees.

Mr Mac Nab was concerned that stipendiary stewards should be present and that there was a clash between the 1943 directive and the rule which gave the stipendiary steward the right to remain. The majority feeling was, however, that the stipendiary steward, as prosecutor, could not also take the role of judge.

The meeting adopted an amendment, suggested by Mr P. G. Vercoe, that stipendiary stewards should not be entitled to be present '‘during the deliberations of the stewards.” Rule Unaltered Mr Mac Nab later questioned the rule permitting veterinary surgeons to race horses. Doping was the most serious matter racing had to contend with. Mr Mac Nab said, and the veterinarian was most important in fighting it. It was suggested that veterinary surgeons at least be restricted from racing horses at meetings where they are employed. The meeting decided, however. that such a measure would be an unjust slur on the veterinary profession and the rule remained unaltered.

The principle of prohibiting some club officials from owning horses was again reversed when Mr H. H. Smith requested this move for clerks of the course. He said that since the introduction of the starting gate, the clerk of the course was not in a position to help a horse at the start, and his own club had been forced to "sack” its clerk. Mr H. Thompson, the trainer of the steeplechaser, Running Bear, because of this rule. DlsMtisfactlan

Another rule on which Mr Mac Nab expressed dissatisfaction was that concerning the number of apprentices employed by trainers. Not all trainers, he said, complied with the rule. The lack of apprentices was becoming serious in some districts, he said.

Mr Whyte said the executive committee had looked at the situation a year ago and was preparing a brochure on apprentice employment. ’The rule governing the issue of amateur riders’ licences was liberalised, giving the executive power to licence applicants who would formerly not have been eligible.

The liberalisation drew fire, because it can permit former professionals to be licensed, but criticism stopped when it was explained that the executive retains discretion.

Mr Whyte said the liberalisation was designed to cater partly for schoolboys who had been paid for holiday work in stables and later wanted to obtain an amateur licence.