Inquiry Will Consider Female Jockeys

Press, Volume CIX, Issue 32035, 9 July 1969, Page 5

Inquiry Will Consider Female Jockeys

(N.Z. Press Association) ROTORUA. Licensing of female Jockeys would be among matters to be considered by the Commission of Inquiry into Racing and Trotting, the Minister of Internal Affairs (Mr Seath) said yesterday. Mr Seath, who was opening the annual meeting of the New Zealand Trotting Conference in Rotorua, said the Government felt nothing but good could come out of examinations of the problems facing the industry at present

Among the matters which the inquiry would consider were quinella betting, taxation, the prohibition of certain persons from courses, making up dividends to the value of the unit of investment, licensing female jockeys, legalising jackpots, Sunday barrier and qualifying trials, the age it which persons may legally place bets on a racecourse, the possibility of introducing a 50c unit for win and place betting, trotting events on racing programmes, and retention of fractions by racing and trotting clubs. **l have been asked to pnt all these and more to a commission of inquiry, and I think all of these subjects merit examination by a completely impartial body.” he said. ‘‘l sincerely believe only good can result from this commission of inquiry. *7 am sure you gentlemen will look upon it as an opportunity to place before the commission all of the problems facing your code today and, as equally important, endeavour to give a projection of future developments in the industry.” Mr Seath had said earlier that some people did not consider the Inquiry necessary at present. “To those who hold this view may I say that the record of implementation of decisions reached by the inquiry recently held under the direction of your counterpart, the New Zealand Racing Conference, indicates the difficulty of solving major firoblems within the industry tself,” he said. Mr Seath sai.d that while the Trotting Conference had not found it necessary to hold such an inquiry, he had no doubt if it did there would be the same difficulty in trying to implement decisions.