RACING CONFERENCE.

Hawera & Normanby Star, Volume XLII, Issue XLII, 12 July 1923, Page 7

RACING CONFERENCE.

STIPENDIARY STEWARDS' REPORT. ifiY TELEGBAPH —PRESS ASSOCIATION.) WELLINGTON, July 12. *Fk& New Zealand Racing Conference 'opened to-day. The president (Sir >Geo. Clifford) opened with, an address. The- balance-sheet of the general accident fund was adopted. The . conference approved of the concessions given to certain clubs in reference to stakes. \ The ■ stipendiary stewards' report /stated that the management and con- . Tirol of race meetings during the'past "season, had not shown the improvement .i.j-,shat might have been expected. Ex- ; jpept in a few cases the control of '."jockeys' rooms was still lax. The con- j . trol of the birdcage, however, has improved to a very marked extent in very ! anany eases. A better system for the ■weighing out of horses should be in- - jsisted upon. An official clerk should %& placed in the weighing rooms on all courses under the control of the confer- > ence. , Stricter compliance with the -conditions laid down in part 23, rule 11, should be enforced. Wires under tt© inner rails on race trades should . iiot be allowed, as they were a source ©f danger, and barb ware should not be tolerated on a boundary fence or on any part of a racecourse. Starters in many cases are still very lax in carrying out the conditions of part 14, rule f>. with regard to unruly horses, and -stipendiary stewards should be given some control over vicious or unruly torses at the starting posts. There is need for a uniform code of flag signals. "Punctuality in starting times and the closing of the totalisator, etc., has been . -decidedly on the up grade. The racing has maintained a good standard, 'but in many instances the fields have 4»een too large. Many cases of corrupt practices have occurred, but the conduct »f jockeys generally has shown a marked improvement since the inauguration of licensing. The returns from the tote have been well maintained, despite rfcie financial stringency, and the returns would be vastly increased if more energetic measures were taken to suppress the inordinate amount of betting 'with bookmakers. The attention of dabs in many cases should be drawn "to the flimsy nature and construction: x>f the hurdles, and steps should be -^ taken to again purge the list of registered colours. The rules as regards gentlemen riders will "bear amending, tho designation of riders under this Ireading being quite a misnomer.