FAVOURABLE AUSPICE

Evening Post, Volume CXIV, Issue 18, 21 July 1932, Page 8

FAVOURABLE AUSPICE

RACING, OUT OF SLOUGH?

It may go down on the records that the iiadir of the depression in the sport of racing in the Dominion was reached between the 1932 Great Northern Meeting and the 1032 Wellington Winter Meeting. The .future will test the forecast. The 'auspices'are undoubtedly, as bright as they have been at any period during the last two years. , The Wellington Meeting was much more successful, from whatever point it is viewed, than the mos> bptiniistic of the club's officials anticipated.'. The totalisator turnover, lost relatively very little ground, and the 'club's share of the investments much more, than covered the sum paid out in stakes.' ",-.; : .•'.;' '■'■'' ". ■. . '. It'was gratifying to witness Bucn-satis-fabtpry attendances', "particularly on the first and final 7 days,land there was an air of '■ returning (confidence'iabout the investing public. People were on the course who. have not been at a Trentham meeting for along time.'? ~ ■' ~ . ■ -. . . ■ ' The renewal of . enthusiasm was noted prior to the meeting. The attendance of spectators, to witness the schooling trials on the two or three mornings preceding the meeting was very much larger, than it has been for any meeting during the last couple of years. With the public's again taking'such active interest in the horses and their preparation it may reasonably be expected to follow that the sport will shortly be showing in unequivocal fashion that it is beginning to climb sl6wly out of the slough of its recent despond. * The pulse of the sport may not noticeably quicken for several .months yet. Recovery is very certain to be slow, and at times it may almost seem that a decline is setting ia again. The general health of the sport, as well as that of trotting, has been dangerously undermined during the last two or there years, and convalescence must be a leisurely process. Twelve months hence it may be possible to note what,the tendency has been., FACTOR OF CONFIDENCE. It ina'y be argued that the recent meeting at Trentham cannot bo accepted as giving any 'real indication as to what the future' prospects ofl racing in the Dominion are at, present, because the weather v was so much better on'the whole than it usually, in for a Wellington Winter Meetjn». / The factor of weather was of undoubted assistance in building up. the unexpectedly large. totalisator turnover, Tjut it is believed that it was not the only nor even the principal factor at work. Them seemed to be another and intangible factor that was playing its part too, and that was the factor of "returning confidence. The prosperity 'of the Sport generally must follow the-prosperity-of the Dominion as a whole. -Until the .Dominion is on its way to.b'etteirdays again racing and trotting will be bearing-part of the brunt of tlie community's reduced Spending ability. But when the tide turns, when the ilow towards prosperity, begms again, the wports of racing and' trotting should be among the first to indicate the change, for they are foremost in importance among the country's recreations', and they provide one of the surest indexes of the.recreationspending ability of a very important section of the community. ' It is perhaps rather a remarkable coincidence that Wellington's successful meeting should have followed so closely on the heels on the almost Unanimous rebuff given to advocates for the relicensing of bookmakers by the Racing and Trotting Conferences and other subsidiary associations that met last week. The death knell of the bookmaker was rung again, louder than ever .previously, and it is unlikely now that the corpse will ever stir again in its grave. The racing and trotting parliaments spoke without equivocation, and it may be the confidence they so restored that was in a degree reflected at Trentham last week. j ASSISTANCE FOR RECOVERY. ' It must hot be understood by what has been \vi itten .that the, clubs, that conduct the sport' are all .now "pit: the threshold of the rfbad' t6 prosperity again. > .'Some' of the clubs have been *o severely ■buflfetct:.. that they may never recover, at least iiioi without assistance. The sports are fighting hard to hold their ground, but. they; must have other help than has yet been given them.■'.. ■'• ".■ \.ii -.": :- " ; .-'-■:

It is not an opportune time at present to ask for further relief from the added taxation they have bceu asked to bear, m leccnt years, but there are facilities for improving their turnovers that might reasonably be conceded in the near future. The facilities arc the re-establishment ot the doubles totalisator, but under a wholly different.organisation than previously, and the right to ha\e investments telegiaphed to courses

The more (important of the facilities sought is the doubles totalisator. Double* betting on totalisatorg is .gaining iv popularity in, all countries in the world wheie it ia conducted, and in same countries, such, as South Africa and South' Australia, it accounts for a very important part of the groas turnovers. The modern method of such betting ii by the "exchange system" of tickets, which, has previously been fully explained in these columns. This is the system that the Dominion authorities are desirous ot, establishing. There is difference of opinion whether the. telegraphing of investments to;courses yronld prove, successful, ibut it is believed in the-highest quarters that it would.. Moreover, it would provide much incidental revenue foi- the Government. ' Legislation grant-ng the privilege would require to amend the, law that at present forbids the publication of dividends, for, if people were permitted to telegraph (or post) investments, they should also be allowed to ascertain the prices horses paid through the agency of the JPrp«s. The one amendment to the law would be consequential lon the other.

If telegraphing of investments were petmitted, the sport would receive a furthei impetus towards recovery through the removal of the present bar preventing the wireless broadcast of running descriptions of races. The authorities were compelled to forbid such broadcasts some years back because of obvious reasons, but it is known through reliable sources of information that this ban would be lifted immediately means were gtanted for having investments wired to the courses. It would then be in the interests of lacing and trotting clubs, to have their racing broadcast, so that the racing public not m attendance would nevertheless bo infoimed to' the minute about what was going on, and would be able to telegraph theii investments with ns full knowledge an possible of the conditions, horses, riders (or drivers), and other factors at present known only to those people attending the meeting.