FORBURY TROTTING CLUB

Evening Star, Issue 16823, 27 August 1918, Page 6

FORBURY TROTTING CLUB

ANNUAL MEET!NO LAST NIGHT. A SUCCESSFUL YEAR. Only 12 members of the Forhury Pa-rW r Frotting Club attended the animal m»t« ing Last night—-a sign of ■‘all's well’’ an 4 ooiite-iit-meii-t with, the management. A« Mr Gabriel Hodges (president) Ins been unwell, and dared not come, out for fear of a, chsH, the chair was taken by Air T. Elliott (vice-president). snpm-rtod by Mtf H. L., James (.secretary). The report showed that Hie einb commenced the season with £255 ds 2d in hand, and after paying £250 for aiddit-ional ground, £250 insialmont of. (original pur-* chase money, and donating £lOl Us to war funds, etc., finish up with a credit al £UJ4 Us 4d, The Chairman said he was sorry thrir worthy pi-csident, Air Hodge?, was not irr his usual place that night. Ho was com lined to Ins bouse through illness. Tli< club bad a fairly satisfactory year, bo til from a racing and a finsmoial jxvir.t o| view. If they bad bad their usual rtutm txr of days' racing, they would- certainly bare been in a position- to give mom liberally to patriotic funds; but, unfortunately, with only four days’ racing in a large centre like Dunedin, they could not expect to have much, surplus funds considering -the enormous amount to I> B paid for rates and taxes for Fcvlrurv Park, tr\ addition to upkeep, -etc.. With such a limited, number of days, the committee had to -offer good stakes to induce owners from a distend® to pa-tronis® the one-day* metings. However, lie was pleased to say that owners responded very libcrallv, tluj result being that lire usual highstarwiard nl trotting at, Forbury Park was fully maintained. Two yvaas ago the Forbury Qub decided to have, a race, for three-year-old Tinhopjiled trotters, ami Ivo-t-b races bad been thoroughly satisfactory, keen interest being taken in the result of tiles® classuV events. Next to.-iv. from all acrmmts. the New Zealand Trotting .Stakes should 1< even hotter than, (he last two, as ther* were. 48 entries, and already si number of good- young trotters were being trained for that event. Other clubs had their classic races, but tho Forbury Club was the only une. i'3ii-ring- for tho unhoppled trotter. The. liberal entries for tho New Zealand, 'Trotting Stakes, 1919, showed tlr-it owner.-* thought well of Hie rare, Ihe vexed fjnm--Inm ol .g-i rl.iug hv yards wits c-on.-ddered at Hie li.-.te Trotting (V.iifero.neo. and a dr-ri.siou post ported, for 12 month*. In tile meantime* clubs ha-d been rseomme-nded to give it n ti’il, 'l’he Forbiirv Chib were finite, sa-t-isfted that, the voids'svstern was the h-csl. !t-I re ■-1 .;; r:ri ho ihon-rh I that, would lie the go-r.-wal opiniriu in. time. < Aiming to (ho que-aion- of improvements, some peiViom? had said that the club ought l'i build a new stewards' staid. Well, it would 1.0 nice- to do o>, i.r,: the ccmmitltexj deemed it their duty to ea l n r for tho ntibh-. by giving tiwmx good stand.', and to also fipend money cm the track. These wero lirst < -i-,-1 ----a- auvs ni. the interest,.-; of itecng, Tho -leH-.-ujtr coni .l get along ad rigill. ill the Urea,ul lino. I Inc thing that) wa.s a. necessity was a. n,»-.v lutalisati.rbonso. ;n,d th.-it work was rio-.v going on, ko as to have tin- new building readv fop tho nest race meeting. He bad noticed a .‘•nggestioii that this building should b* in- wi.ml in .a cud of Trick, but as a fact they found on on Min -g tendon, that there was only a small ditTeiviu-o in the cost of brick and -.-..cal. and cnnsidermg the Having that brick would i-iTw.t in mn-inlenajie* amt irsiiran-'o tin- i-niiimittw mine to the . ori.Tiisiou that, tin'- ]n-rmnnerit- material would he elic.-iper. He. con-dtided by moving the adoption «.f the report <md balancesheet. Mr IV. .). C;,i e uecoudcd. IVJiilst tboy had increased ihc aiuonnt, of stakes pier day, tlie biihux-e,•sheet chewed that they bad come cut fairly well, for tliey lx>gain, tit® year v.-itii £255 in hand and wound up wit-li £4S I. A. a lor the. new 1- 'l-aiijw'ite.’C-3urii«>, ite erection could- not. 1m longer delayed. Paid of tho old building bud l-reen up for 40 yea.l* and more, and' At. did oot give enougli mom for tho staff to work in. Tho tirst iiilention. was to build tho new house of wood, but when thev saw that liri'k would very little more the commit,tec decided for the nerinanetifc material. A? soon as the club csiuAd afford it the proper thing would be .to build another stand that would give ■a-ec.on'mioda-tx-n for tho stewards ar.<l the execaitiv® officers. Questions were invited, but, nobody had anything further to say, aivl the motion was put- and ca.rrir-d. The Chairman declared the re-election of IMr C. Hodges as president, Mr T. Elliott as vice-president, end Messrs R. Conn. .1. Ooldsmid, L. C. Hazlett, and J. A. Sligo as committeemen. Mr Elliott returned thaadcs on behalf of Mr Hodges and himself, and added that Mr Hodges was really a splendid president and a good chairman. Mr Conn, said that he would continue to do Ids best for the elub and for the spirt of trotting. He felt pure that after tho war the dub’s returns would compare with those of any metropolitan, dub, and it wns a joy to know in the meantime they could give the Otago people ns good trotting as was to bo seen, in any other centre. Mr Sligo also returned thanks, and so did Mr Goldsmid. Mr R. A. Crawrihaw was re-elected auditor at a fee of 10 guineas.