FEILDING JOCKEY CLUB

Manawatu Standard, Volume XLIX, Issue 203, 27 July 1929, Page 10

FEILDING JOCKEY CLUB

ANNUAL MEETING. (Special to “Standard.”) FEILDING,. July 27. The 50th annual general meeting of members of the Feilding Jockey Club was held last night, the president, Mr A. E. Sandford, presiding ovor a large attendance of members. In commenting on the report and bal-ance-sheet (already published) the chairman dealt fully with the financial position of the club. Members’ fees had increased by £ll6, but unfortunately tho entry and acceptance fees had shown a decrease, this being cauebd .by the fact that another club had raced two days prior to tho last Fcilding meeting, and the result could not have been expected to be .otherwise. The gross receipts of the club had been £17,156 7s 6d. and out of this tho club had paid £7280 in stakes; course maintenance had cost £1760 14s 3d; race meeting expenses had been £1392 10s 4d, and general expenses £869 5s Id. On the receipts sido the total returns from totalisator investments had been £10,507, the gross receipts amounting to £17,156 7s 6d. Mr Sandford then proceeded to deal with the work of the committee during the past year. Prior to the November meeting, he said, the club went into a big scheme of works; it had built tho stalls, public conveniences and iron fences, together with doing other work. In other directions the club had also extended itself and had placed its grounds at the disposal of the New Zealand Polp Association, tho Hockey Association and the Manawatu Hockey Association, so that as far as sports bodies were concerned the club had done its utmost, THE JUBILEE YEAR. Dealing .then with tho coming jubilee year, Mr Sandford said that it givo him great pleasure to announce that two club members —Messrs R. L. Levin and C. F. Johnston —had donated gold cups valued at £IOO and, in the case of Mr Levin’s donation the president thought it was unique in tho annals of racing seeing that the same donor had also generously given a gold cup to each the trainer and the jockey of the winning horse in tho race that carried the £IOO gold cup as part of the stake. For the coining year the club had increased the stakes by £3OO, and as the result) of a vigorous campaign the entries had already almost doubled. Mr Sandford then formally moved the adoption of the report and balance-sheet. GENERAL DISCUSSION.

In seconding the motion, Mr E. E. Short thought that the club could look back on the past year with satisfaction. It had been one of great progress, and perhaps only one matter in which the club could for the present embark upon was that of increasing its membership. There were many racing patrons who were extremely desirous of becoming members, and Mr Short hoped that the coming year would see an effort made in the direction ho had intimated.

Mr J. H. Pcrrett congratulated the club on the financial position, but felt that he could not agree with tho president that the totalisator taxation was of no great moment. The club, perhaps, was not greatly affected, but to racing clubs as a whole it was a different matter. Every pound that went through the totalisator was taxed 14i per cent, and to the speaker such taxation seemed too high. Mr B. N. Sandilands agreed with the previous speaker in regard to tho taxation, but thought that, instead of being entirely due to taxation, the burden of some of the clubs could bo traced to errors of judgment made in the past in regard to the clubs’ liabilities. The Feilding Club last year had had a total totalisator turnover, of approximately £IIO,OOO and from this sum 2£ per cent, of the 4* per cent, allowed to the club had to be paid back to the Government, and that was tho only tax that the club paid. It certainly paid amusement tax, land tax and dividend tax, and the speaker went on to point out that, roughly speaking, the Government and the clubs were taking about ono-third of the money which passed through the machino. Trainers and ownors were* faced with heavy oxpense in travelling from one meeting to another, and with the upkeep of their stables, and, taking a basis of £IOO for the average stake of all raijes in New Zealand, Mr Sandilands thought that a little investigation of tho position would show that horse owners were losing all the time. The tax was a serious drain on the racing public, representing as it did about 30 per cent, of tho money that was taken on to the course.

Replying to the points raised, tho president said it was quite true that all taxes were heavy and serious, but’ members must not lose sight of the fact that racing clubs were entirely non-productive, and the speaker feared that if too much stress was laid on the oft-repeated pharso “the clubs aro groaning beneath the burden of heavy taxation,” 1 the complaints would have a boomerang effect for, as non-producers, racing clubs must expect to be taxed accordingly. The report was then adopted. Election of officers. The election of officers resulted as follows President, Mr A. E. Sandford (reelected unopposed); vice-president, Mr L. T. McLean; committee, Messrs L. Gorton, A. H. Sutton, J. Parsons and T. O’Neill; treasurer, Mr W. J. Shannon; auditors, Messrs A. H. Maguire and E. J. Wackrill. Mr McLean and the members of the committee who were elected returned thanks to the members for the honour conferred on them. Mr E. E. Short also thanked all those who had supported his unsuccessful-.candi-dature to tho vice-presidency. LIFE MEMBERS. On tho motion of the president and Mr McLean, it was unanimously decided that Messrs H. Burrell, H. J. Booth, B. N. Sandilands and J. H. Perrett be elected life members of the club. In putting forward the motion, Mr Sandford eulogised the work these gentlemen had done in the interest of the Feilding Jockey Club over a long period of years and considered it only fitting that the club should recognise in tho highest manner possible the efforts of those who had given many, years’ service to raiso tho club to the proud' position it held in tho racing world to-day. Mr Burrell had joined tho club in 1886 and, except for a slight break, had had continuous membership. Mr Booth was elected a member in 1890, Mr Sandilands in 1905 and Mr Ferrott in 1912. All of them had held executive positions on the club, Mr Sandilands being tho president when he was called upon to act in an official position in tho governing of racing in New Zealand. Mr Perrett also had achieved the signal honour pi being elected to tho New Zealand Racing s Conference, and Mr Bandford felt bound to say that thoro were few people in Now Zealand who had better knowledge of racing than Mr Perrett, Later ’ln the evening, lyir Edmund Goodbehere, in propping the toast of the four life members, traced the history of their association with ths club, ftfld stated that with one exception—himself— Mr Burrejl had more years of membership of the club to his credit than anyone ska, He recalled that all of the gentlemen had helped with the spade work of the early days when racing in -New Zealand was )n Its jnfaney, and considered that Ihey thoroughly deserved the honour accorded them, In reply, Messrs Burreij, Booth, @andtlands and Perrett sincerely thanked tha members for the honour accorded th«n and traced their history with the clip; the time they had joined. A)} pf them extremely appreciate/! the honour and hoped that they would be able to aervs the clpb still further, RACE BALL, On the motion of the president, it was unanimously decided to hob} ft ball, fhe date to be decided Jater, The thanks of the ciuij were accorded Mr A.- Q: McGodflndale, hom time-keeper, and j\ir R. Meade, hon, veterinary rurgeen, for their ' services over a Jong period of years,