Driving engagements can be fulfilled

Press, 9 July 1986, Page 43

Driving engagements can be fulfilled

PA Wellington Trotting drivers incurring suspensions will be allowed to fulfil engagements confirmed before the penalty. A motion to that effect, forwarded by the executive, was unanimously passed at the annual meeting of the Trotting Conference yesterday.

Such a move would ease difficulties caused by the suspension of drivers with commitments the following day or night and help reduce the increasing occurrence of appeals intended to allow the drivers to meet such commitments.

The chief stipendiary steward, Mr Peter MacKenzie, said in his report presented yesterday that frivolous appeals “lodged simply to allow a horseman to drive in a particular race must be stamped out.

“It is somewhat disturbing to note that some appellants’ solicitors are arguing technicalities rather than that their clients did not commit the offences.

“Hopefully we will not be put in the position that raceday enquiries have to be run under the same rules which prevail in the District or High Court.” Late scratchings — after 7.30 a.m. for a day meeting, noon for a

twilight meeting, and 2.30 p.m. for a night meeting — will now no longer promote second line runners to the front line, it was decided yesterday. Only one delegate opposed the motion that the inside runner on the second line retain his place even if there were late defections from the front line.

Syndicates will need to reregister annually, the meeting decided. In the past, syndicates have registered only once and been eliminated from official files on advice of termination.

However, sometimes this was not forthcoming and syndicates had remained on file long after the end of their involvement in racing. The annual registration was set at $25.

The Conference’s Equine Research Fund will in future need to apply for funds rather than be paid automatically. The Conference will continue to levy on behalf of the fund and has assumed discretion of the fund’s use.

In other business, the Conference recommended that the Racing Authority be further pressured toreconsider the two-tier stakes subsidy scheme that operates because of racecourse gradings.

Mr Robertshaw said in his president’s address that the executive would continue to apply such pressure. He said a recommendation that the executive also ask the T.A.B. to reconsider opening on Thursdays would be pursued, as it had so often in the past by both the trotting and galloping codes. He expected, with the introduction of Lotto, that the T.A.B. would need to reconsider. Historical and practical financial reasons had kept T.A.B. branches shut on raceless Thursdays. He said the executive would also make strong submissions opposing the Authority’s decision to stage a racing club meeting on New Zealand Trotting Cup day, and the conversion of the Roxburgh Trotting Club to an on-course betting only club.

An equally stem rebuttal of the transposition of the Morrinsville and Auckland club dates in early November — designed to avoid a clash of the New Zealand and Waikato galloping cups — would go to the Authority before it met on July 31. Morrinsville and Auckland were dissatisfied with the change of dates, expecting a drop in both attendance and turnover.