SIXTY-FIVE YEAR OLD RACING CLUB.

Horowhenua Chronicle, 17 August 1921, Page 4

SIXTY-FIVE YEAR OLD RACING CLUB.

—ff PROTESTS AGAINST COMMISSION’S ACTION. In the course oi a statement iu regard to' the proposed cancellation of tite Rangitikei Racing Club's permit, the stewards say; The Rangitikei Racing Club has, for the past sixty-five years, upheld the best traditions of sport in the Rangitikei district, and has supplied clean, first-class racing fur many thousands ot country folk in Bulls, Sanson, and the surrounding districts. As shelving the popularity of the Club’s gatherings, it may be mentioned that at the last annual meeting about 4500 persons paid for admission. The central position of the club's fine course enables the Rangitikei Racing Club to cater for thousands of farming people who would never otherwise enjoy even an annual day's sport, and it is not surprising, therefore, that intense indignation has been stirred up in Rangitikei by the recommendation of the Racing Commission that this and other country clubs should be deprived of their annual meetings in order to grant additional permits to larger clubs which are already surfeited with racing. The Press of the Dominion has lent a sympathetic ear to the just protests of the little country clubs, and it seems probable that when Parliament meets the findings oi the Racing Commission will be vetoed. Nevertheless, the Rangitikei Racing Club has been actively engaged marshalling its forces, and at the forthcoming meeting oi the club’s members, a monster petition will he prepared for presentation to Parliament. The club’s supporters have Included the leading breeders, horse owners, hunting and polo enthusiasts in the Rangitikei district, and the facilities of racing at> home, and the splendid training tracks provided by the Rangitikei Racing, Club, have been a big factor in promoting the sport in. (he distrirt. During the past twenty-four years, the Rangitikei Racing Club has contributed £18,815 to the New Zealand Government in lotalisafor tax alone, of which £12,473 lias been paid in the last six years, showing the progress the Club lhas made in recent years.