SPORTING NEWS

Hawke's Bay Herald, Volume XXI, Issue 5646, 25 March 1880, Page 2

SPORTING NEWS

THE DUTIES OF STEWARDS AT RAGE MEETING, (F£OM THE " AUSTRALASIAN.") It is remarkable how limited is the knowledge of stewards of race meetings' of those tales and regulation!) by which 'the-' Jfc business of lacing is presumed . td,. be dar**"^ He'd 'on. Nob very long ago" it was a common thing for .different clubs in this colony to adopt different laws and regulations; Latterly) however, 1 the Y.R.di rules have been generally adopted, though 1 :at the present time there are several "clubs possessing codes of. their own. But evetf the V.R.C. rules, though they have been given in the Turf Register iov niany years; are very imperfectly under* Btdod, apd we question if amons the six hundred and more members of tfie cliib a dozen csddld.be foiind who have dyer 'read the rules tlirdiigh frdm efld td eiid, d? • half a dozen who have ever studied -them. Even owners of horses are ever backward in this respect, and very ludicro'us'iblundera are frequently committed by them when arguing points of racing'- la\* It is ridt so Very long ago' that at a meeting olf stewards of a. provincial club no'tiKe* present could vouch for the number 2 pf yards in "a distance," 1 and we weir remember how a telegram was sent i'6\he office of this journal to solve the knotty point. Arid yet one or two of ' the committed'were men who had owned horses' for some time. The fsict .was,'. we suppqsej that no one present ddiilcl produce eithe'*' a Turf Register or a Buff's Quids. '■ fi. ~\ . The late case of. the Geelong Cup isian instance ia point to prove how little ae^quairited wit.h fche rules of raeW ar4 tlie stewards of nidst itteSfoigJ, fegpecMtf provincial ones. A member of the V. Rid • wrote to The Argus questioning the 00?---rectness of the ruling of the Geelorig .stewards,- respecting the placing of fiord Harry in tHe Cup.', TKe secretary of* the club had never seefi tfle ruW that a mem- 1 ber of the V.R.C. quoted, and.it is to.'be" presumed that nobody at, Geelong.cpuid produce an. English Ruff's Guide, and that Hdbody remembered the existence of such a rule. A coif esp'dtiaent from 1 Sydney* is also, we imagine, in the sameipTedica* ment, ashe follows exactly in the' footsteps of Mr Robinson, theG.R.O. Becretaryi relyih'gohthe- rule given in the V.R ; <X rules, and igriorriiit df %orie in the English Ruff, which doth theV.fl.ci. aha a!k.a t &$ adopted; The point in dispute, if dispilti there <sdn be} is ail irhpbrta'nt one: b'ecaijfes in ics present state the Ming df the Ge'ai long stewards may be. quoted as a prece£^> dent. If their ruling is correct, which wei^ question, ifc ghould ;be confirmed by the V.R.C. j if the contrary, the error should be exposed; and noted in the minutes of both Clubs for future guidance.. "The money at stake, is sd small (£2S) thaUfcS owner of Lord Harry would not take ftik trouble^ we presume; to test the master a* law. Had the case happened in the .ra'otf for the Melbourne Cup, and such' a decision" been given, pressure would scon have beeri brought to bear, ; supposing' the V.R.O. stewards had decided iri a' SahSM manner to those of the G.R.O. ' But with an eye to similar cases,. the legal .position of Lord Harry in the Geelong Gup should be satisfactorily decidedi Our plett, hdwover;is that stewards wh¥ undertake positions of great responsibility and whose decisions affect very btlext ti&. disposal df large sum's of money iii bets', 1 should be better acquainted than tlzey aW with racing law. We would hardly §ay that at provincial meetings the stewards are seleoted more for their position than for a knowledge of racing -laTfy but it is too true that in irfoVt qa's^S the majority are grossly incom'peWs/ Any one can act as a steward, it is'-sup-posed ; and so it is when it is solely the duty of stewards to grace the private stand with their presenoej receive : the Governor, or stroll about .flic saddling', : paddock or reserve with a ribbon oV-ba^d in their button-doles'. This is easy ; enough, and it is flattering 1 to one's. Vanity, :; to read the report of. tlie meeting ■; in. rf newspaper/ and see one's name in big type', at the head of it. But Ugly ejuestioiis pfc , racing law will crop up from time to tune, and it won't do then to look knowing and say nothing. Generally the unfortunate secretary is appealed to, and, unless he is well up in turf lore, there is usually a bungle and a muddle made of thVtyhqle affair unless some weli-knoWn racing "guide", philosopher,. aild;>frienfcJs a* hand with a Register or a Ruff' to get them out of their troubles. . At the head* quarters of racing things are v now differently managed, and some'of the 1 stewards could be relied on "td pa^s". ifexamined for a degree in " the laws 1 /' usages, and customs" of the turf, livitvjdtf^ country it is not so. That turf law is a subject that retires some study is well known to those who have had much to do with the practical part of racing. In Great Britain' no enicC of disputes occur, the latest example being. . the St. Augustine case, in which; on appeal to the Jockey Club, the ruling of the local stewards has been reversed by the superior court. Many bookmakers refused to pay a second time, and no wonder ; but. then Tattersall's stepped in, and they were compelled to . obey' the decision of that body. It was a very hard case, undoubtedly, and) we merely quote it to show how intricate the cases often are that stewards are ! called on' to adjudicate. The case of tlie Geelong Clip might, be that of the Melbourne Oup, and similar contingencies might;, at any time happen requiring an intimate knowledge' of the rules of racing on the, p^art. of | the stewards. . What is mo/st unlikely too frequently; takes place, .and the stewards should' be prepared- for any con* tingency. In ; country districts it: is no doubt very difficult to obtain the services i of competent parties as .stewards, but at ! ,the principal "centres of '"racing "there j, should be no difficulty, and as the V.R.O. j - have adopted the English : la wa of racing j wherever they do not clash with their \ own, it is well that ; all who undertake the duties of stewards should be. acquainted ' with them also. And as ttie;%R.C.is regarded as the leading'turf institution in I this colony, the committee of that body i should be recognised as a court of appeal ■ in all cases of importance, audits decreed Bould be registered for the guidance : especially of country stewards. The rac> : ing public look up : to ; it.much in the. same I light as ! 'cri'cketers at home regard the > committee of the Marylebone Club, and it ! should be to the turf here what the Jookey Club of England is to the racing community tlierc.