THE RACING CONFERENCE.

Otago Witness, Volume 26, Issue 2419, 26 July 1900, Page 38

THE RACING CONFERENCE.

At the outset of the proceedings at the Racing Conference last week the Dunedin Jockey Club's effort to exclude from the operation oi the rule 3 the -small meetings that do not give over £25 in stakes resulted in failure. Some sound reasons were given for the change, but it appeared on inquiry that the 'reasons on the other side were also substantial, and 1 am not sure that a good case was made out for the proposed reform. Anyway, the rules of trotting and the rules of racing now agree, and it would have been a pity to carry the change in racing after the trotting folk had withdrawn it. One very important question taken up by the conference was that of having jockeys apprenticed. The necessity for the suppression of " the spurious jockey — maybe tout, spieler, or general rogue" — was referred to pointedly by the chairman, who presented figures on the subject that are positively startling. We have always seen and realised the difficulty of the position from one side — from the side of the trainer and owner, who, forced to employ boys so as to get lightweight riders for the horsep, is entirely at the mercy of a lad who chooses to be cheeky. If a lad could ride, he was practically the boss of the stable, and could dictate to a large extent his riding, also to a lesser degree propound his own terms for the work. The employer, fearing to use the only weapon to- his hand — namely, dismissal — because he knew that the giving of the sack would mean the same trouble over again with the next boy, usually ate humble pie, and accepted the despotism of the maiinikin with as good a grace as possible. That vexation is the familiar phase of the bo;y difficulty. Sir Georg-e Clifford, rising to higher ground, pointed to another cvil — namely, that boys who eventually become intolerable in any stable at last drift into the position of unwelcome hangers-on, thereby discrediting the profession. I call attention to Sir George's remarks on the subject. The conference, evidently impressed by what he said, took the bull by the horns, and determined to go in for the apprenticeship system. Some doubt whether that will work. They say that boys will not come forward to be apprentices ; that they only come to stables now because of the opportunity of soon getting to 1 aceriding on terms of their own making. It seems to me that this objection is not a very serious one. The turf can well afford to do without* those hare-brained youngsters who rafuse to settle down to leasonable apprenticeship conditions. Under the new system we may occasionally miss the chance of-a clever recruit ; but, on the other hand, we s>?ll have a fairer charca of securing well-be-haved lads who are inclined to soberly address themselves to the thorough learning of their business, and from these there will "ka a fair pere'enta^e of riders coming on year by year. A great deal, of course, depends upon the regulations governing the system, and a deal more on the way these regulations are administered. For one- thing, T am anxious to see what &orfe of obligation trainers will be under to teach the boys properly. This, however, should not be a great difficulty, and I rejoice to think that the reign of terror established by the boys is nearly over, while at the same time the jockeys who don't ride, and don't wish to ride, but merely call themselves jockeys for the sake of a chance to hang on to the skirts of the turf, will be separated, and thereby, perchance, forced away to honest work of some sort or the other. "Whether th^ conference's action will put all

these troubles to rights can hardly be prophesied just yet; but I am highly pleased that something which promises to be a cure is to be applied, One matter in which I think the conference has tnade a grave mistake is in declaring that country clubs having trotting races on their programmes must give the full amount of stakes required by the rules apart from the trotting races ; in other words, if I understand the message aright, trotting races are not to count. I shall wait till next week in order to make sure that this is the meaning. If it is, the conference has done a most unwise and unjust act, and one for which the motive is not apparent. My comments on this and other conference questions will, however, stand postponed until the official report is to hand. There are several matters that want clearing up a bit.