OLD ORDER CHANGETH

Evening Post, Volume CXV, Issue 11, 14 January 1933, Page 19

OLD ORDER CHANGETH

NEED OF MODERN RACING

CENTRALISED MEETINGS

In other days, when every man of account had his horse, and when districts 'separated by a few miles were as far apart as the ends o£ the islands are now, there was logical and sound reason for arguing- that every body with pretensions of being a racing (or trotting) club should be granted "a permit by the Government to conduct at least one day's racing during the .year. Conditions hare changed vastly shTce those days, however, and the arguments that were sound thirty years ago have now ceased to have more than the shadow of cogency. Racing was Dot a business at the beginning of the century as it is now. Every landed establishment had-its stables, and the'-keeping of a few thoroughbreds did not mean- the provision of something that would not otherwise have existed. Then came the-motor-car, and in its train foV lowed the displacement of the general stable' by the garage, and the drawing very much closer together of districts previously separated by quite appreciable journeys. THE 1910 COMMISSION. By the end of the first decade of the present century the trend had not been clearly recognised by the racing authorities, but the Government of that time was aware of the change that was taking place, and, by the Gaming Amendment Act, 1910, it reduced -the statutory number of days on which the totalisator might- be used, and appointed a Commission to consider what clubs should be deprived of racing days. The Commission consisted o£ Sir George Clifford and Messrs. R. H. Nolan, J. afcVay, JV Rove,-and A. E. Cohen. In its report, issued in 1911, it premised that it bad fulfilled the duty imposed upon it with regret, as it was unanimous in the opinion that some measure of redistribution would have been preferable to reduction, and also that the days of racing were not excessive in supplying the requirements of so scattered a population. The Commission, according to the terms of it 3 appointment, then went on to recommend the reduction of the days of racing by forty-three and of the days of trotting by eleven; In doing this it recommended the refusal of permits to seventeen racing clubs and the granting of permits to two new clubs. The recommendations were carried out in effect, except that the Rangitikei Racing Club later obtained its lost permit back at the expense of the Marton Jockey Club. As a result of the reductions the number of days in the racing year covered by totalisator licences became 10D for racing and JI for trotting, making a total of 250, instead of 304, as had been the position previously. No days were at that time allotted to hunt clubs.. THE 1914 COMMISSION. The attitude of the racing authorities does.not appear to have changed during the next few years, and there was no very definite opposition shown when, under the Gaming Amendment Act, 1914, provision was made for the granting of eight permits to hunt clubs, and for the granting of fifteen additional licences to racing clubs and of eight additional licences to trotting clubs. 'A Commission, consisting of Messrs G Hunter and T. H. Davey, was appointed under this Act to consider the several applications received for extra licences, and it issued its report the nest year. Under> the-order . -of;.reference- permits eould-.be recommended only for clubs that did ;• "not " possess totalisator licences. Licences were recommended for fifteen racing clubs and eight trotting clubs, many of the clubs being those that had Jost their permits in 1910. Sixteen hunt clubs were recommended for the -eight hunt club licences, to be: used by eight clubs one'season and eight the next in alternation. .■: ." ■ -.■■?.• That^the. feeb'ng was still general then tnat.;faciltties for racing should be expanded .rather than contracted is shown by the following paragraph in the report: •Wherever we went we were keenly impressed with the great enthusiasm displayed by the respective deputations, and in- making our recommendations we regret that owing to the limitations imposed by the Gaming Amendment Act 1914, -we are unable to satisfy the legitimate requests of those seeking licences. As a. result of these recommendations an increase in the number of days in the racing year covered.by totalisator licences was made from 250 days to 281 days divided as follows:—Racing clubs 214 days; trotting clubs, 59 days; and hunt clubs, 8 days. THE POST-WAR BOOM. In the immediate post-war years there was a boom in the sport,' and, although by this time there was a section of racing men who believed that any change that was made in the future should be toward the centralisation of racing and trotting, the Government of the day was moved to behove that the country would be served best by the issue of further totalisator permits. So, under, the Gaming Amendment Act. 1820, another Commission, consisting of Messrs. F. Ear], W. E. Bidwill, W° H Bef tta Moorhouse, J. H. Williams, and S. l?ice-, was appointed, and in its report issued m June, 1921, it recommended the allotment of twenty-eight days in excess ot the number then authorised, distributed as under:—Racing clubs, 223 days (formerly 214 days); trotting clubs, 78 days-(formerly 59 days); and hunt clubs 10. days (formerly 8 days each year alternately to 16 clubs). Among the general conclusions of this Commission were the following:— ■That it is highly undesirable, either - by a redistribution of the licences hith- ■ erto granted, .or by the issue of additional licences, or otherwise, materially to increase the volume of totalisator betting in the Dominion. -„ That, considering the configuration of the Dominion, and the scattered nature of the population, the number of race days now permitted each year is . not excessive. That there are anomalies and injustices in the present distribution of licences that clamour for removal and rectification. That outlying districts, and especially districts suffering under the disabilities of isolation, should receive special consideration. That to achieve any approach to accurate justice a certain measure o£ redistribution is imperative, and the issue of a certain number of additional licences is unavoidable.

A CHANGE TAKES PLACE.

So far all was well, and the sport continued along the high road of prosperity for a few years afterwards, because everyone was in spending mood. But then the first shadows of the depression passed over the Dominion, and turnovers began to decline. These shadows were not at first seriously regarded in the racing world, and the majority of clubs did not then realise that disastrous storms would shortly have to be weathered. The clouds gathered during 1930, and in the two years that have since passed the sports of racing and trotting have had the most woeful buffeting they have yet experienced in their iNew Zealand history. It is no exaggeration to assert that, even with the belated help they are receiving at present from the Government, many of these clubs will before long be unable to conduct ■ meetings. Even during the past week the irigns. pointing this way have gained in clarity. For the best part of the last decade the most foreseeing of racing men have been of opinion that the policy of the controlling bodies should definitely be turned toward the better centralisation of racing and trotting in the Dominion. The

arguments for a multiplicity of clubs and meetings have vanished, and any future Commission that inquires into the conduct ot the sister sports will undoubtedly recommend a drastic reduction in the number of licensed clubs, also probably a reduction in the number of days' racing, because if fifty or less clubs, say, were to cany on the sport, instead of over a hundred as at present, the localities where racing and trotting would be held could be fully served with much less than double the number of days they have at present. In Australia there has during the last year or so been a constant trend toward lopping oft' the decaying branches that have begun needlessly to weigh down the trunk stems of the sports, and the days ot racing have been steadily reduced without_ depriving the masses of the people of tneir legitimate recreation. Perhaps such a policy applied here, especially as by the amalgamation of neighbouring clubs, would initiate the process of raising the sports out of their, present very serious straits. '