MONEY IN TIN HARES.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXIV, Issue 19778, 27 October 1927, Page 8

MONEY IN TIN HARES.

DUTIES FROM DOG RACING. A CHANCELLOR'S WINDFALL. MORE TRACKS IN BRITAIN. POPULARITY AMONG PUBLIC. |>BOM OTTB OWN COKSESPOWDKNT.J LONDON, Sept. 31. Ten thousand pounds a week, it is estimated, is being received by the Treasury as a result of the greyhound racing boom in Britain. Mr. Winston Churchill, Chancellor of the Exchequer, must smile his broadest smile when at breakfast time he reads of thG hundreds of thousands ■who attend greyhound race meetings throughout the country. When he compiled his Budget in April greyhound racing had not begun, and, therefore, the whole of this revenue is " baksheesh." The figure quoted was arrived at on the basis that at eight well-known meetings in the various towns and cities the average attendance was 410,000 people per week. Assuming that 75 per cent, patronise the " popular" side at an entrance fee of Is 2d, this produces in entertainment tax £5550 each week. The remaining 25 per cent, are catered for in the higher-priced seats, which means another £3650 from the same tax. Revenue From Betting. It is almost impossible to estimate the amount of money laid out in bets by the public, but as there are seven races each night, a well-known authority calculates that at the very least each person speculated 5s during the week. In some instances bets run into hundreds of pounds, but it is mainly small wagering. At 5s a head, the bookmakers would receive considerably over £IOO,OOO a week in stakes, and, as they pay a bets tax of 2 per cent., the Treasury would be entitled to £2OOO a week. The following attendance statistics were Obtained from press correspondents on the spot:— Per Week. White City n» «r. 200,000 Manchester sza ra r.s 58,000 Leeds .. es» sea bw £O,OOO Birmingrhain KM fB*«S BfJ 36.000 Blackpool {ss isra kjs 85,000 Sheffield .. rai isra 20,000 Burnley «ss r.s is® |,OOO Southend sv v.- w i.QOO 'At Harringay one night the attendance was estimated at 35,000. Mr. Churchill budgeted for a revenue of £5,800,000 from the entertainment duty this financial year, as against £5,714,000 received in the preceding year, and £600,000 from betting _ as compared with £835,000 received in 1926-27. Greyhound racing should help to exceed the figures contemplated last j !ApriL Another Company Formed. Another greyhound racing company has to be added to the already long list. The Warwickshire and International Racing Company was formed as a private company, on September 13, with a capital of £IO,OCX) in £1 shares. Objects are to use electric hares for a system of racing greyhounds and other animals; to acquire land I and premises or a lease thereof upon which to build a course for greyhound racing and other purposes, etc. Birmingham, which already has two greyhound racing tracks, is to have a third. Of course, as one writer points out, the revenue is not all pure increase. People who pay to see greyhounds rice would in many cases nave paid for admission to some other taxed entertainment, and many of the bets made on dogs might otherwise have been made on horses. That the new sport will draw money and attendance from others longer-established must be taken for granted; and Lord Lonsdale's proposal about evening horse races, impracticable though everyone else seems to find it, at least suggests that the Turf may feel a draught. Still, there is room for all, and on balance Mr. Churchill should gain. Kapjng oa a Carpeted Track. Greyhound racing on a carpeted track at Stamford Bridge is the latest sporting attraction for London. Mr. J. A. Meats, owner of the ground, and one of the directors of Chelsea Football Club, is promoting the venture, and hopes to start it at the beginning of next May, when jfche football season has finished. "We are going to have a carpeted track," he said, " because the dogs run much better on that than on a cinder track. It will be easier for them, and will probably produce faster running. It will be a special kind o! carpeting that can be laid down or taken up in a few hours. Neither the playing pitch nor the cinder track ■will be touched. The project, which is Btill largely in the air, is being promoted by a private syndicate." At a meeting of the Racing Committee of the Greyhound Racing Association, a full inquiry was made into the question of the administration of tonics to greyhounds by the trainers. It was decided to draw the attention of all trainers to the rule, which reads as follows: " If any person shall administer or cause to be administered for the purpose of affecting the speed of a dog, drugs or stimulants, internally, by hypodermic, or other methods, they shall be warned off all recognised tracks." An inquiry was held at Manchester by the Racing Committee of the Greyhound Racing Association on September 10 following the illness of six oogs trained by T. Fear, one of whom, Tall died, aa it, was stated, owing to having been given so overdose of tonic. As a result of their investigation, the committee decided to suspend X. Fear from holding a licence lander its rules.