THE TURF IN OTAGO.

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume VI, Issue 650, 14 March 1879, Page 2

THE TURF IN OTAGO.

We are'sowy (iays th? Timarti Herald) to be obligeflSto; admit thrtt 1 ' th 6 l»t© race meeting at Dimedinis not calculatod to raise the character of the frerr Zealand turf. Fair racing, for the. pleasure of seeing highly-trained thoroughbred horses run at their utmost speed, really rarely enters yery little into these shorts, which are rapidly degenerating into a degrading species fit . gambling swindle. What with handicaps, and sweepstalteji, and professional bookmakers, the mere running is altogether a minor consideration, add the real business of : the races is to arrrange matters beforehand so that a large sum ,of money may bo made by^ the knowing ones. Luckily, these people are such utter scoundrels that they have not . that, sorry apology of honour which is said to exist among; thieves. They cheat each other as readily aa they cheat the public, and

the best ofcj:i;hent» neither believe what their " pajllip tel£them, nor are themsieves belia|ed. Jjßut for this all-pre wiling tricfery£pd distrust among the 6pOTtihg^ratajsn;y, as these blacklegs are called/there would never be any honest racing at all, but the public would go to the races merely to watch a number of horses placed m the order which «rould enable " the talent" to score most heavily. It is grevious to see such a noble, animal, as »-r-aoeh«m» mwdo-ihe «» instrument of a worthless, biped -m every pbßsiblA respect hfe frnoral and physical inferior. The scratching of Titariia is said by facing men* to naye '""" been justifiable according to their code, though the common opinion is that either the cpde must be a? very 'shady one, or else the public 'mus* be very credulous and rohg^uffertne. ; A* Ml ' ,' events, if Titatifa-wa* not ratehded toO. win, it was better to Bewitch her than to run her only to i be : roped,' jostled or humbugged m some way on the course. Thai was' ant ingenious- accident, by*the» bye, of the jockey catching his spur m i the bridle of the horse that was pressing' liim ; and considering how tightly the : Jockey Club shut their eyes to all sorts ■■<>■ of rascality ,of a much worse character, we must say., their sentence was -a Very :.' harsh one.