QUALIFYING TESTS

Press, Volume CX, Issue 32396, 8 September 1970, Page 6

QUALIFYING TESTS

Two-year-olds Eligible Two-year-old pacers may qualify in future by recording placings at non-totafisator meetings at which qualifying trials are held or in non-penaltv-J bearing races at totalisator! meetings. However, before be-i ing qualified, they will have to race over distances of one! mile or more and record a! time equal to or better than* the mile rale for qualifying ; test races on the course. A recommendation along those lines was approved at the annual meeting of the conference in Wellington in July, and: the new scheme was approved at a meeting of the executive of the conference in Christ-1 church last Friday. The executive retains the* right to decline to qualify four horses in any race in which; there are fewer than eight' starters. A school for trotting starters will be held as soon as it can be arranged, possibly during the course of the InterDominion Championship series in Christchurch next February when officials from overseas will be in attendance. The executive hopes that uniform starting procedure will ibe adopted throughout New Zealand, and that starters will use similar terms when bringing fields into line. The Banks Peninsula Trotting Club was given permission to race on the. Motukarara course on October 10 after a report from the chief stipendiary steward (Mr L. A. Butterfield) had been considered. The Auckland club applied to change the date of its meeting on October 17 and 24 to October 1'24 and 28. The executive approved the change, which is subject to ratification by the Minister of Internal Affairs (Mr Seath).