EARLY RACE MEETINGS

Greymouth Evening Star, 21 December 1934, Page 18

EARLY RACE MEETINGS

The earliest devotion to tjie sport of horse-racing was confined in 1865 to pack-horse events on the sea beach.

generally from Three-Mile Creek to the Town Belt. William Smith, still re- • siding in Hokitika, hale and hearty, can recount his experiences as a youth riding in one of such races, and enjoying the excitement of it all. The Westland Racing Club, ranking as one of the oldest clubs in New Zealand, came into being at the end of 1866. The first race meeting was held on January 1, 1867, and extended over four days, £6OO being given in stakes} Many leading citizens constituted the management. The meeting was held in a paddock across the river, where the necessary buildings were erected. Patrons and horses crossed by ferry boat, the horses swimming behind. All the contestants were either local hacks or visiting horses from Christchurch? A special event at the meeting was the "Corinthian Cup, donated by Mr. Bartlett, the owner of a local threatre. This was won by a Canterbury owner, and the trophy is still in existence, being retained at Palmerston North. The cup will be on exhibition at Hokitika during the Jubilee, and should prove an interesting relic of the early days. The Racing Club has passed through many vicissitudes since the early beginning. Both and first and second courses formed were washed away by the river, but in 1884 the present site was vested as a racecourse. In |S97 a considerable improvement scheme was carried out, and fine appointments were provided. Wind storms and two devastating fires brought disaster in their train for the Club, which has had its share of difficulty and trouble, but it provides a race meeting as usual which will be the central fixture of the programme for the Jubilee celebrations.