TROTTING NOTES

Otago Daily Times, Issue 25444, 27 January 1944, Page 3

TROTTING NOTES

By Sentinel

The light-harness events on the Gore Racing Club’s programme will help to bridge the gap to the Forbury Park meeting. The, programme for the Timaru Trotting Club’s meeting provides £3200 in stakes The Timaru Trotting Cup has a stake of £750 for a 4min 31sec class. The postponement of the Forbury Park Trotting Club’s meeting has left a. void in the list of fixtures that trainers are finding hard to fill. A cessation of racing from January 3, the second day of the/ Canterbury ' Park meeting, to February 19, when the New Brighton meeting will be held, leaves a long period of inactivity •for horses that are ready to race. The Forbury Park Club, however, had no option but to postpone its meeting (says the Christchurch Press), for it depends almost entirely on Canterbury stables to provide the material for its principal events. The curtailment made necessary in railway transport and a shortage of petrol made it almost impossible for horses to be taken south. The club was wise in deciding to call for fresh nominations instead of accepting those already made. By the time the Forbury Park meeting is held there will be more, horses eligible for some of the classes and a number already entered will not be available. In unusual circumstances, the Dunedin club appears to have done the best thing possible in postponing its meet ir> A London reader of the Harness Horse, in a letter to the great writer, John Hervev, had the following to say m regard to the sport in Great Britain: — As you are well aware, the war has curtailed many sports, and trotting has suffered in England. At the present time no trotting tracks are open in England; but even before the war all trotting tracks had closed down through lack of public interest. It is very hard to say what the reasons were, but trotting, as perhaps you are aware, never really took a grip, of the English public. Perhaps the lack of prominent owners had something to do with it It is different in thoroughbred racing here - • ■ However, I shall not dwell on the black side of trotting m England, but will take you to my native country, Scotland, where this season trotting has never been better. The season in Scotland opens in April and ends in September, and this year has been one of the most successful it has ever had. A new trotting track was opened at Stepps, near Glasgow, last April, and meetings were held once every two weeks. The stakes vary from 300 dollars to 600 dollars m value, and are mostly at a mile and a-quarter distance. Some races are one mile, while others are one mile and a-half. All over the country, cattle shows and fairs have their trotting races at various country towns. There is no doubt that it is the trotting races which attract the large crowds of spectators that attend them. . .