RACING CONTROL

Dominion, Volume 14, Issue 257, 25 July 1921, Page 6

RACING CONTROL

RECOMMENDATIONS OF TH& COMMISSION THE DUTIES OF THE CLUBS WORKING OF THE TOTALISATOR Soma general recommendation* for the control of racing are included in the report of the Racing Commission. "We desire/* states the commissioners, “to place upon record our complete acceptance of ths principle laid down by. the report of the Gaming Commission of 1910 —namely, that any proprietary element In racing clubs or the courses controlled bv them is entirely objectionable, . and should be rigorously eliminated, in so far as clubs enjoying totalizator privileges are concerned. “We hold the view that racing clubs ■re, in a sense, trustees, as regards the proceeds of their race meetings, for that farge section of the public commonly called the racing public, and while no dub should be interfered with, as to the manner in which such proceeds are applied, so long as it is reasonably clear such application is for the furtherance of the legitimate purposes of such club, it should be vigilantly seen to by the governing authorities of. the sport that no profit-sharing by individuals be allowed to creep in. No better recognition of this quasi-trusteeship can be quoted than what has been done and is being done at Ellerslie by the Auckland Racing Club for the public of Auckland—indeed, for the publio of New Zealand. "In this connection we recommend that no club shall be entitled to maintain its totalisator privileges unless it. has acquired the freehold, or a substantial leasehold, of the course upon which It races, nr unless such course is part of a publio domain or reserve for recreation purposes. Further, it is desired to direct attention' to a matter which appears to have hitherto received no consideration, but which seems to bo of importance. Wo refer to the application of the funds and properties of a club upon the happening of its dissolution. As matters stand, some clubs have no rules on the subject; others have a rule that the question is to be decided by a meeting of members; others have boldly provided that the funds shall be divided among the members for the time being; others again have spedfled some worthy object. Where a club has a small membership and. large assets nnd no satisfactory rule, it is.not. difficult to imagine what, in certain circumstances, may be brought about. "We are strongly of opinion that all clubs should be compelled, as a condition of their totalisator licenses, to sell IDs. tickets in the outside enclosure.. We consider it desirable that 10s- ticketsshould be sold in the inside as well as the outside enclosure. "£ll clubs, but especially those enjoying totalisator privileges for more than one day in the year, should be compelled to provide reasonable comfort, in the matter of accommodation, for the public of the outside enclosure. In some of the country racecourses we observed, with regret, a marked neglect of the outside publio. “Whore a totalisator license is authorised, by the finding of this Commission or otherwise, covering a stated, number of days—whether one or more —it should be permitted, the club to which the same has been allotted, upon good grounds shown, to exchange the same for other licenses, but always so 'that the aggregate number of days allotted to such club for the year be not exceeded. "No license should be granted to any club which fails to provide and maintain properly-constructed training-tracks suitable to, and adequate for, the requirements of the district it serves. "It is most desirable in every case, where to do so is reasonably possible, that the club should itself undertake the working of the totalisator. The practice, which at present largely prevails, of contracting with the machine proprietors on percentage of turnover basis is, to our mind, often wasteful andobjectionable in many ways. "Only in excentional circumstances should a club be allowed to race on any course other than its own, and in no circumstances should a license granted to a country club ’be permitted to be exercised on a city or suburban racecourse.