BROADCASTING RACING

Evening Post, Volume CVII, Issue 36, 14 February 1929, Page 9

BROADCASTING RACING

A CRITICISM FROM VICTORIA

The different- States in Australia have different laws and regulations in regard to the broadcasting of races, but it is quite obvious that the question is an acute one, and the authorities will be obliged, despite protests from a certain section, to ban the broadcaster and restrict racing news to a summary of the eveuts during the evening session. After all, the busy man iv the country, who is interested ih racing has not the time to waste sitting at home during an afternoon to listen to a racing broadcast, aud ho would receive all- he required in the evening when the > day's work was done. "The Leader" goes on to describe the position in Victoria, which is on.all fours with what the conditions were in New Zealand when the authorities decided to take a firm stand.

When the practice of broadcasting from race meetings was first introduced about three years ago the racing clubs welcomed the innovation,. as they were under the impression, it would stimulate interest in racing and result in increased attendances, says the newspaper named. Such, however, has not been the case. Latterly crowds have been decreasing, and some of the racing clubs are viewing the situation with something akin to alarm. The shortage of money due to so many men being out of employment as the result of strikes and.other causes no doubt has been a contributing factor, but the broadcasting of the fullest details of the racing has been th 6 principal cause. Those who aro listening in are often much better informed than the people who are actually on the course, as they are able to listen to a detailed account of the race as it is being rum« The average-person-.who attends a race meeting knows the colours of a few of the horses, and is able to follow them through a race, but to most rneegoers the majority of the starters are unknown to them. The man who is broadcasting is supposed to bo ablo to identify every, horse, and he is enabled to describe any clmuges and incidents which might occur in v race. Then the names of all the starters and their riders are broadcast, and a good deal of betting information.is also given out. With all these facts so easily made known people often decide to save the money it would cost them to get to the race meeting nnd for admission to' the course, and remain in town and bet on the racing with starting price bookmakers. Jt is in that. way.

the attendances are being affected at raco meetings. ■

AN EVASION OF THE LAW,

Although the suburban clubs are being seriously affected they are much better olf than many of the country clubs. Every race meeting o£ any importance outside the metropolitan radius is visited by the wireless people, and full details of the racing broadcast. Many people who used to ni»ke a practice of visiting these meetings, particularly if they happened to be within motoring distance of ' Melbourne, now remain in the city and do their betting there. The result has been a great falling oil in the attendances at the race meetings. Another objection to broadcasting is that it stimulates illegal betting. It is no uncommon thing for the bookmakers operating at some country meetings in New South Wales to 'carry with them a portable wireless set. If there should be a meeting in the metropolitan area on the same day many of them do not operate on the country meeting, but do business at starting prices 'on the metropolitan meeting. The wireless enables them to do that, and although starting price betting away from a race: course is illegal it enables them to keep within the law, as betting on racecourses is not an offence against the law. In short, it permits a starting price bookmaker to circumvent the law by doing something on a racecourse which would be unlawful away from it. That is likely to happen here. The broadcasting of the full details of the racing is of the greatest assistance to the starting price ■ bookmakers in the city, as they are able-to get all the information they require almost as soon as a race is over. ONE-SIDED. When the new legislation which is contemplated to govern racing is being drafted the question of prohibiting the broadcasting of racing results should be seriously considered. There is no urgent need for people away from the racecourses to know the results, and all the necessary details would be put in the air after the last race. Then the wireless would not be of quite so much Use to the starting price bookmaker. Illegal betting away from racecourses is doing tremendous harm to the sport of racing. The efforts of the police to suppress it have not met. with any great measure of success, but they cannot achieve much more than they do under existing legislation. The weakness in the law now lies in the fact that the bookmaker is the only man who can be penalised. It takes two men to make a bet, and if both parties ran the risk of fine or imprisonment many people who now cheerfully break the law would hesitate and consider the risk before they ventured to make a bet with a'bookmaker away from a racecourse. The broadcasting of racing has been.of the greatest assistance to the illegal bookmaker, and as people can now make bets on a race meeting in town just as easily as they can on the racecourse it naturally follows that racing attendances must decrease. The clubs in their own interests should combine and have the wireless apparatus removed from their racecourses, instead of giving the best facilities for broadcasting as they now do. By doing so they will render the lot of the starting price bookmaker a little harder, and there will probably be a marked increase in attendances.