$600,000 rake-off

Press, 17 July 1980, Page 17

$600,000 rake-off

Government taxes on betting and contributions to the Racing Authority’s amenities and stakes funds cost the Canterbury Park Trotting C-lub more than $600,000 this season.

'iThe respective amounts were $595,466 paid to the Government and $33,878 to the Racing Authority, said the club’s president, Mr F. R. Brebner, at its annual meeting last, evening. J Attendances at the club’s seven race meetings during |Jie season had been down marginally on last year’s, even allowing for an increase of 2000 patrons at

the postponed second night of the New Year meeting. Nevertheless the club had had a successful year. It had made a profit of $12,077, compared with a loss of $23,571 in the 1978/79 season, and both on-course and off-course turnovers were the highest recorded. Two new betting records had been established during the season: the $462,513 handled on-course at the postponed New Year meeting on January 7 was the greatest amount recorded by the club and the off-course turnover of $739,691.50 at the meeting on May 23 was also a record.

Mr Brebner made special mention of Tempest Tiger’s Imin 58.5 s win in the Canterbury Park Flying Mile, for four-year-olds, Delightful Lady’s win in the eighth New Zealand Standardbred Stakes in Imin 59.15, Lord Module’s Imin 58.3 s win in the New'Year Free-for-all, and Armalight’s win in the D.B. Flying Fillies Stakes in 2min 3.45. Other good performances had been Waipounamu’s 3min 28.7 s win in the Canterbury Park Trotting Cup and Hands Down’s 4min 9.3 s win in the Canterbury Park Winter Cup.