AT THE BARRIER.

NZ Truth, Issue 240, 12 February 1910, Page 2

AT THE BARRIER.

It has often puzzled this scribe why starters who have to deal ;with fractious horses do not exercise their prerogative and effect a' despatch without the unruly animals. No. doubt the reason that those officiating at the barrier go to su<;h a lot of trouble and lose a great deal of time \s to try and give those who invest on the horses referred to a run for their money: Of. course, the public who invest their money on such horses do so m good faith, and : they ..are /.entitled to a run or a refund, but 7 here is .the difficulty. The greedy, grasping Shylocks who control the racing clubs do not like to see a penny piece go back from their clutches once it has got to them, and they could not bring themselves to return all money invested on a horse that a starter would not despatch. This is a matter that the Racing Oonferonce requires to take up, and until the rules of racing' are amended m the direction indicated; a repetition of the trouble- .cannot be avoided, but, on the contrary, we will have the spectacle, as at Trentham m the final event last meeting, 6t one horses upsetting the whole field, and causing a long delay. The unfairness, of fthis is 'very apparent, as sometimes m sheer desperation, the starter pulls the lever when the unruly one is galloping up to the barrier, and thus obtains such a big advantage that he is not again caught. On the other hand, horses who arc carrying big weights have to shoulder their burdens for an unnecessarily long time and their chances are jeopardised m consequence. In the past, hundreds of horses have been spoilt by jocUcys pretending that they are unable to control their mounts, and by galloping through tapes m the hope of getting a flying; start. When a starter detects anything of this sort he should report the offender at once, so that an example can be made o£ hiir. Another thing very noticeable at the gate is that hosts of animals arc so badly mouthed that they can be made to turn one way only. This is due to the i fact that their riders always turn them away from the barrier, on the near side, so that they can always keep an eye on the starter. How common is it to sec a horse put up to the starting gate and 'then immediately turned round. Starters require to exercise more firmness with the boys, and good results tVTII quic ! ly ensue,