North Island interest in C.J.C. jackpot

Press, 2 April 1980, Page 31

North Island interest in C.J.C. jackpot

The Canterbury Jockey Club’s decision to reintroduce jackpots at its Easter meeting next week has aroused considerable interest in far« away places.

North Island interest in the . five-race jackpot planned, for ; thef.jclub’s Easter Monday ' was reflected in ; requests for more infd'rrria- ; Xiori, from the C.J.C. ’secre- 1 tary, Mr Malcolm Aim, yes- , terday. i The Minister of Internal 1 Affairs, Mr Highet, gave his I approval to the scheme last ' month, but New Zealand < racecourses will not see a ; repetition of the scenes of

January 25, 1971, on the Awapuni racecourse, when 30,000 people spent $370,140 to swell a pool to $652,255.50. Under new regulations the jackpot must terminate after it reaches $50,000. “But if the jackpot is not struck on the first day and the pool has got to $40,000 by then, there could be $60,000 in the pot when it continues on the second day of the meeting,” Mr Aim said yesterday. Jackpot' tickets will be sold

i from eight windows on the i main totalisator house at l Riccarton next Monday. Tickets will be sold on the : first two jackpot races in one : operation, then race by race for the other three events. : The first of the jackpot i races next Monday is the I First Courtenay Handicap, ! which starts at-11.40 a.m. Selling windows will open ' for the jackpot at 10.15. I Other jackpot races are the Autumn Nursery, the I Prebb'.eton Handicap, the

South Island Three-year-old Stakes, and the Merivale Handicap. The regulations governing the jackpot were drawn up by Mr Don Jones, of the Palmerston North firm, Portable Electronic Totalisators, in conjunction with the racing and trotting conferences. The regulations were submitted through the Racing Authority and were scrutinised as well by Internal Affairs.