Pressure on Franklin

Press, 14 August 1978, Page 20

Pressure on Franklin

Special correspondent Auckland The Franklin Racing Club, not without a protest, will almost, 1 certainly abandon as regular’ policy the waiving of gate, charges at its meetings. The anticipated pressure oq Franklin to resume charging for admission has come in a letter from the executive committee of the New Zealand Racing Conference. The committee,, asking that Franklin make no departure from the “standard charge” into the course, claimed that a policy of free admission would appear contrary to the claim that clubs are doing everything possible to obtain revenue. If one club introduced free admission, the letter claimed, the public would feel that all other clubs should do the same. Franklin, in reply, is bound to point out that rather than having reduced revenue the waiving of gate charges at Pukekohe last Saturday week brought a considerable increase through the bigger attendance and resultant rise in course betting. The club’s secretary, Mr A. C. Enting, said he could not agree that Franklin’s doing away with gate charges would lead to a general belief that all other clubs should do the same.

The larger metropolitan clubs could not be expected to give up their returns from the gates. Obviously they could not recover such large amounts on the course totalisator. Gate returns at country meetings were trilling by comparison.