RACING COLOURS

Dominion, Volume 13, Issue 8, 4 October 1919, Page 3

RACING COLOURS

THE DIFFICULTY OF PICKING THEM OUT

A REMEDY PROPOSED

, Mr, A. E. Whyto, secretary of the- Wellington Racing Club, is .giving attention to a now iili'u respecting racing cvlours, which embodies a method of rider's Colours that should enhance tho pleasure of watching racing by nearly everyono who favours' the "spo:'t of kings." Basing his calculations on tho, fact that perhaps not one in a hundred can pick the colour.* in their miscellaneous and often baffling combinations when tho horses arc any distance away from tho stands, Mr. Whyto w-neludes that a certain interest in the actual racing is deprived tho public. Even by thosy who are well ablo to sen tho horses, one hem's from a hundred, a thousand mouths, even after the horses have entered tho (straight, tho question: "What's in front?" And when the horses are running along the far back stretch, those with gtnaes are seldom able to placo tho position' of the horses correctly from the stand. Indeed, there are many backers unable to pick out their colours when the horses are flashing past them lo tho finishing post, and hare to wait for tho numbers to go up before they are quito sure- which horso camo in first. Mr. Whyto states that even the judges havo to make a study of owners' colours before each toco to be quite certain that they will bo able to pick the placed horses without error, and that, he maintains, is due to-the lack of distinction in tho colours worn by tho. riders. Mr. Whyto would change all this, and his idea would, he is- quito certain, add enormously to the pleasure of witnessing the actual racing, apart from any other consideration. The now system, in brief, is to have atovnys tho same definite colour (or colours) for tho same number (of tho horse) in the rac*. Thus, for oxample, he would have the colours Of horso No. 1 (in tho book and on tho totalisator) all whito; No. 2, all black: No. 3, all red; No. 4, all green, No. 5, all blue; No.; 6, all yef/.ow; and so on. Then when the.single primary, colours were exhausted, other colours could be black and white (in upper and lower halves), black and red, rod and whits, white and blue, black and blue, and so on in practically endless combinations, according to tho number of horses, but all fairly easily distinguishable, because- tho colours would bo dhown quite distinctly, and the Bonio colour or combination of colours would always represent the same number of tho horse in any race. If that system were adopted, the public would very quickly learn, without any reference, what colours the numbers represented, and knowing the numlwrs they had backed would be .able to pick their horses nil tho way round, which cannot very wii'.l bo done now (owing to the many tints and shades of colours used by owners), oxce.pt. by a few who make a study of the gauio and use powerful glasses, methods of identification beyond the means of tho average member of the public, Mr. AYhyte. realises t.hat the idea may not bo favoured by some of tho owners, .purely on the sentimental ground associated, with their colours, but in the interest of the public and racing generally he believes that the system would greatly increase, the plea-sure of a day at the races'. If such a system wore adopted, it would he for tho clubs to keep a fuf.l set of the standard colours for tho use of the jockeys, and ownera would not be called upon to provide colours as they do at present.