NEWS AND VIEWS

Evening Star, Issue 25593, 20 September 1945, Page 3

NEWS AND VIEWS

[By Watcher.]

Acceptances for the Otago Hunt Club's meeting will close on Monday next at 5 p.m.: Plutocrat, Banco and Knight Crusader left Wingatui last night to fulfil engagements at the Geraldine meeting.

, An announcement as to which racing clubs have been allotted extra -days should be made either to-day or tomorrow.

The Otago Hunt Club's meeting in 1939 fell the day before the outbreak of war. This year's meeting will be the first held in Otago since peace was declared. .

Nominations for the Dunedin Jockey Club's meeting, and forfeits for the Dunedin Guineas and McLean Stakes are due by 5 p.m. to-day. /The Forbury Park Trotting Club is still below its pre-restriction racing days. .'ln the offing, however, is the likelihood of the lifting of the wartime measures.

Strip , won the Dunedin Steeplechase with 10.12 from Shadow Boy 10.3 and

Pink Clover 9.0. In the Otago Hunt. Cup Steeplechase Strip has 11.13 and Pinlk Clover 10.0. Pink Clover will meet Strip on lib better terms, but the scale of weights is much higher. Double Cross is more likely to run in the Ruakapuka Handicap at Geraldine, „ and Nightstalk in the Belfiekl Hack.

A E. Didham's team, while he is away; will be in charge of R. McLennan, who was training horses at Riccarton some time ago. The acceptors for the Ohapi Handicap at Geraldine _exceed the safety margin by seven. .John Gay is among those in work at Wingatui. He is a bit lusty in condition at present. The' Oamaru Trotting Club is now back on a pre-war footing, and will be able to hold its regular meeting in May During the restrictions it held meetings on Labour Day only. Authentic, though the fruits of victory were later taken away, won in his final appearance last season He ran 10 furlongs in 2.5 1-5, and if ready, would be dangerous in the Geraldine Cun, his first start m open company. Filibeg is receiving a judicious preparation for the Otago Hunt Cup Steeplechase. He does not now adopt the tear-away tactics displayed when he commenced jumping the big fences. Immediate was not mentioned by the A.B.C. broadcaster in summing up the night before the Camellia Stakes. As a consequence the New Zealander started at 15 to 1, but before the rerun he was at about a quarter of that price.

The Ashburton racecourse has been equipped with a new jockey's board, which at the moment is the best in the South Island, and probably the best in the Dominion* (says the ' Timaru Herald'). It is roomy, and the names and numbers are large and plain, and easily read from all parts of the enclosures. Entries for the 1946 national thoroughbred yearling sales total 382, which is a Dominion record, the previous best being 274. This year they represent 67 sires and nearly 200 vendors. The large entry .will mean a three-day sale for the yearlings, and there will be an additional day for the sale of mixed stock. The auctioneers have been advised that the full range of boxes will be made available. For the past three sales only half of the boxes could fee used, the other half being required for military purposes. The question of the payment of compensation for racing and trotting accidents, which was raised recently in the Legislative Council by the Hon. G. R. Hunter (Christchureli), was answered yesterday afternoon by the leader of the council, the Hon. A. McLagan, who _ said it was understood that the provision of compensation was already covered in the case of race meetings by the general trust fund of the New Zealand Racing Conference, and in the case of trotting meetings by the provident fund of the New Zealand Trotting Conference.