TOTALISATOR PROBLEM

Taranaki Daily News, 22 November 1929, Page 5

TOTALISATOR PROBLEM

MOOT POINTS IN ENGLAND SERVICE FAR FROM PERFECTION. AGA KHAN’S BLENHEIM, 4 (From Our Own Correspondent.) . London, October 3. The fact that tho electric totalisator was not working at Newmarket, as had been generally expected all through the summer, brought soome ridicule on the unheeding heads of the racecourse betting control board, writes Centaur. Then came the news that it need not be expected for tho second October meeting—and that, of course, “brought down the house.” Everybody wants to know now whether they will really see a machine of the up-to-date sort operated on any racecourse this year. First Hurst Park and then Newbury let us down; then Newmarket defaulted twice—so you can imagine what has been said about it on the racecourse! The R.B.C. board must have received about £30,0D0 in pool dividend deductions since July It possibly onetwentieth of the amount it has had to pay. Up to now the totalisator (for such we must call the pari-mutuel service we enjoy) has been an abject failure in nearly all departments, and those responsible for its furtherment have made a sorry mess of the whole business. Will they never get out of it? The first move, in Centaur’s opinion, will come about in the raising of the percentage taken by the board—and in the end he will not be surprised if racecourse executives are left to operate their own machines with a perfectly free hand. Reading between the lines, Centaur gathers that the jockey club and the R.B, control board have not seen eye to eye on certain matters, and if any serious disagreement on questions of policy arises one can rest assured that the ruling body will have its way. It must be understood that Centaur is only speaking from observation. In several previous notes Centaur has spoken about Blenheim, a 2-year-old son of Blandford-Malva, owned by the Aga Khan, He comes back to this youngster

once more because of the way he dealt with Lady Abbess — about the second best filly of the year—in an engagement at tho first October meeting at Newmarket. Blenheim “slammed” this young lady on weight for sex terms and he has again worked his way back into the writer’s esteem. At this moment he must be the best “long shot” for one of the classic races of next season. We have had to abandon a N.H. (jumping) meeting because of the hard ground—in October, too! Never before can Centaur remember such a thing.

A MISSED OPPORTUNITY. CHIDE AND HIS ODD FEET. It not infrequently happens that an owner has been the fortunate one in having a horse under offer for sale being left on his hands, and from a story related by a southern writer in regard to Chide Mr. G. Murray-Aynsley, the breeder and owner of the New Zealand Cup winner, has been placed in the happy position. When two years old Chide, it is stated, was placed under offer at SOO guineas and the would-be buyer was prepared to take the gelding at the price named provided he passed the necessary examination by a veterinary surgeon. Chide failed to pass, the reason assigned being that the gelding had odd feet. So it comes about that Chide was left to race under the colours of his breeder, and, with the New Zealand Cup, Canterbury Cup and G.G. Stead Memorial Gold Cup entered up his credit and a good prospect of carrying his record higher, Mr. Murray-Aynsley has very good reason to rejoice over Chide being ruled out on the score of odd feet.