COAST CLUBS WIN BATTLE OVER TROTS

Press, Volume CVIII, Issue 31730, 13 July 1968, Page 6

COAST CLUBS WIN BATTLE OVER TROTS

(From Our Own Reporter) WELLINGTON. By two votes delegates to the New Zealand Racing Conference yesterday empowered clubs in the Greymouth district to restore trots to galloping programmes. This was one of the major surprises of the annual meeting of the conference held in Wellington. The announcement of the voting figures, 91 for and 89 against a resolution brought forward by the Greymouth district clubs, was greeted with clapping and cheers. The resolution sought the re-introduction of maiden trotting events on racing pro. grammes should the clubs desire to do so because of the special difficulties experienced by clubs on the West Coast. A few minutes before the Greymouth resolution was passed the meeting defeated an amendment submitted by Mr D. F. Thomas, of Amberley, seeking for a maximum of two trotting events on racing club programmes in any district. This amendment was lost by 104 to 76 votes. Each time the voting was taken, Mr A. C. Bruhn, one of two delegates from the Greymouth Jockey Club, said he had been instructed not to vote. “Please allow us to do what we have been doing for 100 years,” said Mr J. B. Hood, of the Westland Racing Club, in moving the resolution. Mr Hood said that after the conference had decided last year that trotting events musl be taken off all galloping programmes representatives oi West Coast clubs had approached the Minister ol Internal Affairs. MINISTER'S APPEAL The Minister had written to the conference making a case for the West Coast to be classed as a special area. Mr Hood said West Coast clubs could not stage successful eight-

race programmes without trotting events, and they could not attract as much Interest. In asking for other districts to be considered Mr Thomas said that in parts of Canterbury country clubs faced two problems—sparse populations and strong competition from trotting. In the last 20 years or so the two trotting events on the Amberley programme had been in the first four for profitability, but after last year’s conference decision the club had an immediate setback. At its last race meeting Amberley’s turnover had dropped by 40 per cent. Club’s unable to stage trotting events in parts of Canterbury faced the prospect of bankruptcy, Mr Thomas claimed. Mr Thomas’s amendment was seconded by Mr W. Bulman, of the Banks Peninsula Racing Club. “I feel very sympathetic towards the West Coast clubs in their efforts to retain their identity ... in fact to stay alive,” Mr Bulman said. He represented a club which in the mid-19505, when it was staging trots on its programmes, had a turnover on the course which averaged about $40,000. Since they had deleted

the trots turnover had dropped to about $23,000. “I don’t hold any particular brief for trotting but we want to attract as many people as possible to our courses and putting on perhaps even one trotting event as a ninth race would attract bigger attendances.” MANY TROTTERS Mr Bulman said that nearly every "cockle” in the Banks Peninsula district had a trotter around the back yard and it was not uncommon to see 20 trotters being worked at Motukarara at week-ends but it was a rare thing to see a galloper. The Banks Peninsula Trotting Club staged the most successful one-day meeting in New Zealand with turnover of from $57,000 to $59,000 in recent years. Others who spoke in support of the move to restore trotting events were Messrs W. H. Jolly (Cromwell), F. J. Donnelly (Vincent), K. Laidlaw (Wairoa), and R. W. P. Cameron (Kurow). Mr P. C. Vercoe (Waikato) offered what he felt was a "simple solution.” "Put on two trots at the galloping meetings if the trotting clubs will agree to put on two i races for gallopers on their ; programmes,” Mr Vercoe sugl gested.