TROTTING CONFERENCE

New Zealand Mail, Issue 1847, 31 July 1907, Page 45

TROTTING CONFERENCE

THU ANNUAL CON FERENCE. The annual conference of delegatee of clubs affiliated to the New' Trotting Association . was held at tne Fire 'Underwriters’ Association Rooms on Thnrsdav. The delegates present were Mr G. Payling (New Zealand Metropolitan Club) chairman, Mr H. 1. Nh»4 (Ashburton), Mr J. Rowe (Auckland), Mr J. Latham (Gore), Mr J. Petrie (Greymouth), Mr R. Short (Hutt Valley), Mr C Hood-Williams (Inangahua), Mr A. Hathaway (Masterton), Mr W Coleman (Nelson), Mr F. T. Pannell (New Brighton), Mr A. Selby (Otahuhu), Mr R. Wallace (Plumpton Park), Mr W. Armstrong (South Wairarapa Charitable Trotting Club), Mr W. J. Gore (Tahuna Park); Mr J. H. Scott (Wairau), Mr J. Colvin, M.H.R. (Westport) Mr P. Selig represented the New Zealand Trotting Association. Mr J. B. Norris acted as secretary of the conference. THE PRESIDENT’S ADDRESS.'" The president (Mr George Payling) delivered the following address ***?&*«!■■■ Gentlemen, —Reviewing the racing season now' draiving to a close, there does not appear to me anything that calls for more than ordinary notice, except another year’s successful, sport, for which I think the clubs generally deserve congratulation for the excellent results obtained. . , 'The season onened with a fresh set of Rules, passed by the last Conference, and for which w T e are indebted to tiiose gentlemen of the Rules Revision Committee, Messrs P. Selig, H. _W. Kitchingham, C. F. Mark, and A. I. Rattray, who devoted much time and labour in framing the new codr* which, ft is universally admitted, is consolidated ana simplified. The Rules as revised have stood the test of their first year, and so far as I can S2O have proved fiignly satisfactory. Steady progress has been the leading characteristic of the year s sport, and those clubs affiliated to the Association, taken all round, are in a flourishing condition and on a sound financial footing. The following are some rough statistics dealing with the operations of those clubs during the past twelve months, but as the figures are before you would perhaps save you valuaole time were I not to read them:

*lnc’u' i jgpony flat racos. Note —Heats counted as races. Tho operations of the various clubs as av whole show an increase of <£3500 in prize /money; and of - .£51,000 m totalizator revenue, as compared with •cue previous year. *■*, •The unusual increase of totalisator receipts over, past years may he accounted for to a large extent, so far as Canterbury is .concerned, to the fact that the New ( Zealand International Exhibition was held in Christchurch during five months ob the racing season. Those visitors who. patronised the different trotting meetings, as well as the followers of the sport in New Zealand and from other parts, were well catered for, both as regards high-class trotting and valuable prize money. The general question of allotment of totalisator permits will, of course, come up as usual for consideration. Experience in the past has shown that berore recommending a permit, the proper conduct of each club and its claim for the use of the machine, should be carefully considered, in other words, each cluta should be on probation, and should any club holding a permit show that it has not used it to the best advantage, and the Conference sees very little prospect of it having a better claim to it the following season, such permit should be given to, some other club more justly entitled to it. You will, remember at the last Conference that the allocation of the permit held by the Hutt Valley Trotting Club was left in the hands ot the Executive with a view of bringing about amalgamation with the proposed Wellington Trotting Club. Ting amalgamation did not come about, and the Executive, for good reasons, abstained from recommending the permit held in abeyance until the club took some action, somewhat late in the season to put its house in order. This they did, and I ®lad to say held a, very successful nmetfng on the Petone Kecreation yon are aware that in Oc,X°r laS- Sir Joseph Ward introduced fober last Bill to make better into th ; fb e regulation and supprovisiott wn/ttlhTuw" ot become law when some very necessary amendments have bo® made. Unfortunately the framers of the Bill inadvertently trotting, but

it is hoped that provision will be made shortly so that trotting will be placed on the same footing as racing, i understand the governing body of the sport set up a committee to deal with the rail, should there be any, rules of procedure in the House such as to prevent the matter being touched upon if left at a <ate stage, 1 would suggest some united action being taken'with a view °f introducing some alteration m the Bill as ,ooh as practicable. I would like to ask you before tne close of tho meeting to pass a vote of congratulation to Sir Joseph Ward on the fu'rther honours conferred upon him, during liis recent visit to liiigicind, y his Majesty the King, and on his safe return to the colony. . Tho question recently has been raised >s to the advisableness of appointing stipendiary stewards to attend race-meet-ings. The need undoubtedly appears to be°grow'ing stronger every day. A number of cases of inconsistent running have been overlooked from time to time by dilatory stewards, and some cases of malpractice could have been prevented if seeretaiies of clubs had exercised more care and vigilance. The whole question s of grave inmortance to the future of trotting, and should not be decided withal due consideration. Regarding the matter of trotter versus pacer, there appears to be a great tendency towards the total extinction oi the former, ivhile the pacer is gradually crowding his moie attractive gaited rival out of rhe list:; If this evil is to bo remedied some steps should be taken a the direction indicated in a notice >f motion by the Association to prevent the wholesale conversion of the good utility horse into the hoppled pacer. In America, where there is a strong feeling i.gainst the hoppled pacer, and mixed races of trotters and pacers are unknown, the largest proportion of the •.oney in all their classic races is given to -the trotter. For tile sake of the sport i this colony it behoves us to encourage nd to stir the production of the hignlass trotter, and, as is done in America, recognise the necessity of protecting it against invasion by the hoppled pacer, in connection with this matter a notice ~f motion by the New Zealand Trotting Anr.oc.iaton will come up for consideraLon later, and is a step in the right direction. In glancing over the order paper there foes not appear a great amount _of business to transact, the bulk of which ae governing body is responsible for. Tho rest is introduced by the two Auckland clubs. The fact of these threa ,-odies seeking to alter the rules regarding registration of horses shows tnat some alteration is deemed necessary, particularly to Rule 125. The proposal of the Association regarding tnis rule v S a very important one, and intended o reinstate the rule into its position -j originally framed by the Rules Revision Committee, makii/g registration of horses necessary before nomination in-v-ad of acceptance.

he question Avas debated at length last year, when it was urged that as an argument against the alteration vere wero amongst trotting horse owners a number of those who knew nothing about tho rules at the time they took un the sport. I contend that aIJ rhose “entering into any sport should make themselves conversant with the ules governing it, otherwise, for any 'transgression of the law, they would be solely responsible and liable to any penalty that might be inflicted. 1 do not remember at the last Conference if any arguments for or against the alteration were adduced from a ham; capper’s point of view. In the correspondence to be laid before you is a letter from on? of our popular handicappers, also one from a Northern Club, both strongly urging that no horse should be eligible for nomination besfore being duly registered, and cite recent ■ases where the present rale ha b. taken advantage ot for corrupt practices. The rule as it stands at present affords so many loopholes for all kinds .if fraud, that I think in the best interests of the sport the suggestion should .08 strongly supoorted. The Association will, no doubt, be able to bring forward sound arguments on the matter, and by reason of it having to administer the ules, and continually working under hem, Ave should in a great measure be guided by its experience when it comes to a question of . this kind on trotting -w. _ The suggestion of the Otahuhu Irot:ug Club to give power to clubs to issue interim s certificates of registration of •orses, should he very carefully considered before being In connection with the notice of motion by this club, I might point out that at the time the last Conference was sitting, inquiries were being made into a certain case in which a person Avell known to the police, was successful in getting his mare registered on the strength of the endorsement of his registration form by a secretary of one of the clubs. He also duped another secretary into endorsing his application for a license, and Avon a race - not many miles from this city. It Avas then discovered that the mar© Avas fraudulently run, and the case was one of the most clever frauds ever perpetrated on a trotting course. It is someAvhat remarkable that twelve months afterAvards one of the secretaries referred to was again duped _ into signing his name, and that of his club, to an. application for registration, presented to him by a very designing member ot the undesirable class. It Avas his intention to fraudulently trot his horse at a meeting recently held, and having got his application passed by the club, therefore probably thought his course Avas clear on the road to corrupt practices. On the application reaching headquarters suspicions were immediately aroused, and as the form was not in order registration was not granted, and the horse did not start. It transpired that the supposed owner is disqualified, for me, and'the horse was already registered m another name. This case is one of the most imipudent and bold attempts at fraud ever prevented. While I think ae much power as possible should be allowed to clubs, I have mentioned these two instances m support of my contention, that we should not come to any resolution to aaa to or

alter Rule 126 without serious consideration. . ~ , Regarding the suggestion to add to the Foreign Horse rules, the object ox the Association, i take it, is to reduce the lees hitherto paid and further encourage the importation of fresh bloot, into the colony in such cases where horses have been registered by those authorities with which the Association reciprocates. The fee of FI Is for each horse over and above the usual registration fee seems somewhat hard, particularly where an owner brings a team of horses to the colony, the risk of which is by no means small, and the charges for bringing horses oversea are never very light. Rule 83 is unworkable, and necessarily requires come alteration. Should the proposed alteration be adopted, clubs will not be compelled to pay any more in stakes than ’ hitherto, provided in such cases Avhere clubs retain the odd sixpence of a dividend, the net amount derived from the use ox the machine .s determined after deducting such odd

.oneys. There are several other suggestions on ho Order Paper of minor importance, ut at the same time' which appear necessary, and no doubt Avill receive tue consideration in their order. Taken altogether, I think those Avho lave gteen up their time iu the interests of trotting as a sport can fairly claim to have secured very satisfactory results during the season. Notwithstanding the high efficiency to which the sport of trotting has attained, thero is still room for improvement, -;.g I have already hinted, m the direction of regulating and controlling it. No doubt Ave all ha\'e an ideal before us A a great sport, and if Ave in authority, and those officials of clubs, on whom depends the conduct and success of the gatherings throughout the year, encour;o high-class trotting from a purely sporting standpoint, there is no doubt shall continue to gain the confidence of all those interested in trotting and the support of the general, public. On the motion of Mr Selig, seconded by Mr Hood-Williams, it was resolved that the be thanked for his addreos, the earn© to be printed and circulated among clubs. The statement of' accounts showed, that receipts amounted to .£228. The sum was made up of .£59 lbs, balance from last year, and Fl6B life, levies on clubs. The principal items of expenditure Avere fee for neAV code of rules (paid to Mr Kitcluugham) FlO5, secretary’s salary FSO. The credit balance on May 31st was £3O 12s Id. PERMITS. The Waimate Plains Trotting Club applied for a totalisator permit. The Ohira Trotting Club applied for registration. The . WestpoTt Trotting Club applied for an additional permit recommended at the conference held in 1906. The Hutt "Valley Trotting Club applied for an additional permit. F. H. Tuck, secretary pro tern. Hamilton, wrote applying for totalisator permit. The correspondence Avas received.

TROTTING AND PACING. On behalf of the' Trotting Association Mr P. Selig moved to add to part VII.— “That in all programmes of clubs there shall be at least one race per day for trotting horses only.” He said the pacer Avas gradually crowding out the trotter, and the governing body considered that the time had arrived when the trotter should be protected. Hobbles were barred in America, the home of the trotter, and in the interests of the utility hoTse, the clubs and the totalisator, they should support the trotter against the pacer. Mr Hood-Williams supported the motion. Mr Col\'in did not think the conference had any right to interfere with the clubs. There Avas little difference betAveen trotting and pacing. Mr Petrie supported the trotter against the pacer. What use were the pacers after the days of racing were over? They could neither gallop nor trot, and were no use in a buggy. The totalisator was a secondary consideration The motion was lost by nine A’otes to eight. THE RULES. On behalf of the Trotting Association Mr Selig moved to add to the rule governing asumed names, the following:—“No assumed name shall be registered by any partnership or association of owners, provided that nothing herein contained shall be deemed to prevent a company, incorporated under the Companies Acts in force in NeAv Zealand or the States of the Commonwealth of Australia, from registering its corporate name as an assumed name.”— Carried. Rule 125, registration of horses, Avas amended in the direction of making the registration of horses compulsory before time of nomination, instead of before acceptance, as at present.—Agreed to On behalf of the Otahuhu Trotting Club Mr Selby moved to add to rule 126 — “Any club on receiving an application to register a horse, with all details as herein provided, and being satisfied as to the bona fides of such application, may issue an interim certificate, which shall hold good for twenty-one days, and the horse shall be allowed to start under such certificate. In such case the club shall forward all documents, papers, and description to the association within ten days of the issue of the interim certificate.”— Negatived. , . On behalf of the Auckland Trotting Club, Mr RoAve moved—“ The association shall have poAver to appoint a club m any district as agent for the registrar on of horses. Such club, on being satisfied as to the bona fides of an application to register, shall have power to grant an interim certificate, which shall hold, good for twenty-one days, and the horse shall be allowed to start under such certificate. In all such cases all papers in connection with such registration shall be forwarded to the association within rnw:teen days.”—Negatived. _ ... Mr Selig, on behalf of the Trotting Association, moved to delete rule 128,

rnd substitute the following—“ Should my unregistered horse or" pony, other than proA'ided for in Rule 137, be nominated for any race held under these rules, he shall be disqualified, and the OAvner, and eA r ery person having any interest in such horse, may be fined a svm not exceeding «£2O.” —Carried. A new rule, affecting foreign horses, was moved by Mr Selig, on behalf ot the New Zealand Trotting Association, as follows : —“Any horse duly registered with the New South Wales Trotting Club or the Victorian Breeders’ and Owners’ Trotting Horse Association, or the National Trotting Association of America, must, befort. competing at any race meeting held under the iurisdiction of the New Zealand Trotting Association, be registered with the New Zealand Trotting Association, by depositing with such association the certificate of registration of such horse, or a duplicate thereof, and supplying such other i widence of identity, and the performances of the said horse, as the association may in each case require, and paying a fee of ss. Nothing herein contained shall be deemed to amend the rules relating to foreign horses, except in the case of a horse duly registered Avith one of the above-named bodies, ana, notwithstanding that such horse is so registered, as aforesaid, the association may, if it think fit, insist upon the provisions relating to foreign horses being complied Avith, except so far as regards the amount of the fee for registration. • —Carried. Mr Selig moved to substitute for rule 132—“ Every seller, purchaser, bailor, bailee, transferor, and transferee of a registered trotting horse must notify the association of such sale, bailment, or transfer, and give the name of the purchaser, bailee, or transferee, within fourteen days of the date of the transaction} •my such seller, purchaser, bailor, bailee, transferor, or transferee failing to comply herewith shall be liable to be disqualified for such term as the association shall think fit, or to a penalty to be inflicted by the association, not exceeding F2O. The association may decline to recognise any transaction or dealing v itb a registered trotting horse; and may at any time cancel the registration of any horse registered under these rules, and without being in any way whatever responsible or liable in damages for such cancellation.” —Carried. The following addition to rule j 52 (e), moved by Mr Selig, was agreed to —"In the case of a registered horse going out of the colony and returning, the performances, if any, done by such horse out of New Zealand must be given at time of nomination.” It was agreed to add to rule 204 the following : —A person training his oavh horse or horses, and who does not require to ride or drive, may obtain an amateur trainers’ license, provided he can comply with the conditions ur der rule 197.

The following new rules, moved by tie delegate of the Auckland Club, were agreed to * Rule 208 a any jockey, rider, or driver shall, after weighing-out, or notifying the clerk of the scales, change from saddle to harness, or harness to saddle, w'ithout permission from the stewards, he-< shall be disqualified for the race, and shall be subj ect to such other penalties as the stewards may inflict.” Rule 226. —“Every horse shall be ou the course at least fifteen minutes, and at the post ready to start ten minutes before the time appointed for starting. A horse shall be considered to be under the starter’s orders when it is on the race-track, and has been weighed-out in saddle, or notified to compete in harness. No horse, Avhen once under the starter’s orders, shall be allowed to leave the track, except Avith the consent of the starter or a steward.” Rule 235 was amended, ordering the starter to report any rider or' driver starting before his time to the_ judge instead of the steAvards, as at present. The folloAving words were added to the rule: —“Should the judge be notified before the finish of a race that a horse has been disqualified, the judge shall have power to place anj 7 other horse Avithm the distance entitled to be placed.” TOTALISATOR PERMITS. Mr T. M. Wilford, M.H.R., and Mr T. Edwards appeared on behalf of the Hutt Valley Trotting Club foT an additional permit. They pointed out the disadvantages the Wellington district laboured under compared .-with other districts in the number of permits. Mr Hughes appeared as a deputation on behalf of the Waimate Plains Trotting Club, asking for a totalisator permit.

Mr Parnell moved that the permits be allocated the same as last year. Mr Petrie seconded. _ ~ Mr Short spoke on behalf of the Hutt Valley Trotting Club. Mr Payling said the Hutt Club was fortunate in getting one permit, Avincli Avas held in abeyance on account ot tne way the club was “run” in the past. The motion Avas carried, permits i heir g allotted as follows :-New Zealand Metropolitan four. Auckland three, Plumpton Park tAVO, Tahuna Park three, NeAV Brighton tAvo, Greymouth tAvo, Otahuhu two, Westport tAvo, Ashburton*. J;ayo, Inangahua one, South Wairarapa one, Gore one, Hutt Valley one, Masterton one - , Wairau one, Nelson one. It was decided to inform the Hutt Valley, Waimate Plains, and Hamilton Clubs that there Avere no permits available. The application of the Ahaura Club for affiliation Avas referred to the association for consideration. On the motion of the chairman, seconded by Mr Selig, the association passed a resolution congratulating Sir Joseph Ward on the high honours conferred tlpon him, and on his safe return to the colony. , A vote of thanks to the Trotting Association for the manner in which it had .conducted the clubs’ affairs during the year was carried on the motion ot Mr Petrie. ... : Mr G. Payling Avas re-elected prend.ent of the conference. Mr Petrie was elected a vice-president. It was resolved to recommend to the association the advisability of compiling a Trotting Stud Book.

Messrs . Pannell, Rowe, £>hor«, and Gore-were elected membm of the exeentire ’ f It was decided tliat the next conference ■be Reid in Wellington.

tk> -5 o o Club & £ a Pm g X o Ij o s 3 21 < < * . £ s. s. N.Z. Metropolitan 4; 12 T6 12,115 0 123,274 0 ♦Auckland 3; 6 02 H,*2 > 0 3 ,933 10 Plumpton Park 2 ! 6 48 2,305 0 33 833 0 Tahuna i aik 3 G 46 2,535 0 2i,324 0 New Brighten .2 4 32 i 3,760 0 18 895 0 Greynaouth ♦Otahuhu 2 2 5 .5 44 44 1,495 0, 15,330 | 3,48-* Oj 13,931 0 10 \Yestport Ashburton 2 o 3 2 20 15 625 0 440 0 5,312 3 10'. 0 0 Inangabua 2 2 14 3 10 0 2,753 0 South NYair-rapa i 1 7 iSrVO r . i 1 7 250 0 1,494 0 Hutt Valley i 1 7 23 1 (> 2,1.01 0 Masterton i 1 7 200 0 3,787 0 "Wairau ... i 1 7 165 0 977 0 Nelson ' i 1 7 15715 1,440 0 AVaimatePlains 2 2 13 £20 0] Central Otago 1 1 0 13210: Winton 3 1 7 1 « 0 Palmerston 1 1 0 100 0 Charleston 2 2 12 96 0j 78 01 Malvern 1 1 7 Methven ■' ... 1 1 7 76 0 - Peninsula 3 3 6 03 0j Grauity 3 1 6 GO 0 - Wairaangaroa 1 1 6 50 0 41 71 535 29,023 5 280,338 0