A PLEA FOR TROTTERS

NZ Truth, Issue 1173, 24 May 1928, Page 12

A PLEA FOR TROTTERS

New Zealand Cup Class Reduced And Stakes Increased (By "The Toff.") QWNEBS will appreciate the increase m stake money by the New Zealand Metropolitan Trotting Club next season.

T\EIE events that will be increased are 1 the Midsummer Handicap, from £700 to £1000, and each of die im--1 portant trotters' races, except the Dominion Handicap, will be increased to 500 soys. ■■ • . In addition to the, extra prize money, which will total £36,000 for the seaspn, a judicious tightening-up of the classics his taken place. The New Zealand Trotting Cup, ', of £3000, to be decided m Novem- , ber, will be for horses that have done— or been handicapped to do — 4.26 or faster. Last year horses that had Idone 4.28 — or being assessed to do that time or better — were admitted to the contest.. The Dominion ' Trotters' Thousand, which this .season was for horses that had done 4.38, will m future be only

. ». for horses that have done 4.34 or have been handicapped to go two miles at that speed. The curtailment of the limits of both events will meet with general approval, for during the year the slackness of the classes for unhoppled .trotters has been freely commented upon. The example set by the premier club is one that the Auckland, Fdrbury, Wellington and. Canterbury Park clubs would do well to imitate. The unhoppled trotters are going to triumph over the pacer m public estimation. In the course of a few years trotters will have pushed their way into a position that will compel the metropolitan clubs to give them priority over the horses that race with their legs tied together. ,