TOTAIISATOR TRENDS

Evening Post, Volume CXVIII, Issue 102, 27 October 1934, Page 23

TOTAIISATOR TRENDS

RACING CLUB DIFFICULTIES

DECREASES AGAIN COMMON

Totalisator investments at racing and trotting meetings held during the lirst quarter of the present season in the Dominion have fluctuated continuously between increases and decreases on last year's figures for corresponding meetings, and it is therefore really very difficult yet to gauge what is the actual trend. ]n tho sport of racing the movement appears to be towards a very slight improvement, but unfortunately this cannot be said of the sport of trotting. The joint trend, judged by the iiguros, has again become regressive. One thing is clear and that is that Ihe improvement noted at this time last year is not being maintained, or even iipproached. The various systems do not appear to have any particular effect one way or the other, for decreases and increases occur whether clubs keep to win-nnd-place, revert to single pool, or go back again to" win-and-place. The weather lias been a much more decisive factor affecting turnovers during the last three months. But above all the factor of greatest influence, as it always has been and always will be, is the size of the public purse, as modified by its treatment at the hands of the authorities when its strings are opened. "Many meetings during the past quarter have been seriously affected by the weather. Early in the season the Metropolitan Trots and Grand National Meeting would each probably have had slightly increased turnovers if rain had not come during the week. The first Auckland Trots also had very bad weather, causing the dub to go buck to win-and-place betting against the general advice of trotting people for' its second meeting last week, but the decline last weekend in better weather, particularly on the holiday, was one o£ the most serious reverses any club has experienced in the last year or so.

The following table sets out the turnovers at the various meetings held to ihite this season, with a comparison where )>os<siblo of the turnovers at the eorre*ponding meetings (hiring (he previous two seasons: —

From this table it will be seen that elub.s generally made a bad start for the reason. Practically every racing and ti/otling club was recording a decline in turnover, and although the Taranaki Hunt Club was an exception, its case was more apparent than real, as the meeting this year was combined with the EginontWanganui Hunt and only the second day's (Saturday's) figures are given in the comparative table. Towards the end of September and in the beginning of October the first real increases reappeared, but there was another lapse back to decreases prior to the Labour Day holiday. The_ trotting clubs all along have been finding it most difficult to reach last year's turnovers, only the Waikato Club succeeding prior to the holiday, and last year the weather was wet for this club's meeting, whereas it was line this season. It was therefore with considerable treliidation that most clubs must have faced the recent holiday fixtures, but for one of the very few occasions in many years ihe weather was generally fine on Labour Day, and increases in turnovers were very generally registered. What might have happened had the weather been indifferent is shown by the result of the first day's racing at Trentham, when the turnever was nearly £3000 down, though this iliiy cannot really be safely accepted as a line, for the fields were very small for a Wellington Meeting. As the result turned out the only meeting over the holiday to record a decline was the Auckland Trots. The originally telegraphed North Canterbury figures also appeared to show a slight drop, but the otlicial return reveals that the sets or ficrures were given for the wrong years, and that actually the result was a slight increase.

The North Canterbury Club's steady increases during the last three years are interesting, as this i« one club that has never operated wiu-and-plaee betting. An isolated case can never prove anything, but at least it must be evident by now that systems of betting in the loug run have little to do with the ups and downs in the totalisator barometer.

The one really big thing that counts in building up turnovers is the amount of free money that potential racegoers have for investment. If money is "scarce," there is no hope of large turnovers, however much race executives may exploit ihe systems. The size of tho public purse regulates very accurately the sum of, the investments, with minor local variations due to weather, eize of fields, success of favourites, and such. There is one important modifying factor, however, that in the long run has ;i i'airly definite influence, and that is the burden of the deductions, in other words taxation. There is a point above which the rate of taxation defeats its own end, iind the present rate is above that point. Recognition of this fact has been given by the Minister of Finance (the Kt. Hon. ,1. (I. CoatcH) only duriiiji the present week with Inn welcome announcement that the Government is going to civc a measure of mlief 1o racing and trotting clubs m the way of the totalisator tax.

RACE MEETINGS. 1932. iu:ss. 1934. s. & & Tuvcrty Bay Hum 3,7!Mi 2,901 i,r>12 'Canterbury G9.G7S 01,381 83,973 ■M'akuranga Hunt . 20,337 21,517 17,-117 Taranakl Hunt .. '1,702 0,34:1 7,192 "Otago Hunt S.S1.S 10,371 !l, IS7 "Marlon 4,937 11,751 5,100 Asliburlon <i,422 0.104 7,713 Ceralrtlne 14,736 14,52:1 15,319 Wanganul 10,234 15,531 18,611 Kiirnw, (Oamani) (i,27ii 0.003 0,224 Tnincdln 17,634 19.315 21,432 Koxton — y.sm «.oo8 Taumarunui ... — 19.01'i 20,113 ♦Xapler Park ... 5.037 4.9S8 4,771 ♦ OtaW Ki.lilM 12,3!!S 10,807 ♦South Canterbury 8,244 8,079 G.463 *Masterton 0,064 7,011 5,952 Auckland 40,848 33,583 44,131 Wellington .. 40,381! 02,299 62,052 Gore 16.0S9 18,320 21,864 Waverley 4,627 6,195 7,351 Waikato Hunt .. 12,314 16,730 17,928 Waipawa 5,548 3,816 4,451 -North Canterbury 5,335 8,437 9,048 Totals £33S,558 £102,211 £417,281 •Decrease this year, TROTTING MEETINGS. 1932. 19.".;;. 1931. & £ S •Metropolitan ... 02,02S 75,157 72,20!) "Auckland 21,101 21,932 13,7S7 *\cw BrlEhton .. 11,320 311,132 11,182 •WclllnKtou 12,127 13,431 11,025 •Methven T.SUI! 9,297 8,010 "New Brighton .. 11.0S9 11.723 13,101 Walkato 9,752 7.12S 9,292 "Auckland 37.SS3 41,107 30,013 Oamaru 13,709 15,707 19.0-19 lircymoiitll 13,1120 11,591 -14,807 ♦Totals £200,801 £232,805 £213,128 "Decrease this year.