NEGLECTED RUNNER

Taranaki Daily News, 28 December 1934, Page 9

NEGLECTED RUNNER

NO TICKET ON WIN MACHINE. INCIDENT AT NEW PLYMOUTH. It is unusual for a horse to start in a race without support on the totalisator, as usually the. owner or some one closely connected with the horse will risk a small bet on it. However, such proved the case at New Plymouth yesterday. In the Fitzroy Hack Handicap, the opening race of the day, in which there were 11 starters, a four-year-old gelding, New Leaf, trained by its owner, Mr. W. Porter, at Hawera, did not carry even a ten shilling ticket on the “win” machine, though there was a total of 672 such tickets on the machine, invested on the other ten horses in numbers varying from 13 to 162. On the place machine, however, New Leaf carried 43 tickets of a total of 950. The fact that the totalisator did not indicate the number of tickets on the horse prevented the man who is on the look-out for sensational dividends from “plonking” his 10s on the horse, “in case of an accident.” New Leaf, however, was hopelessly left at the post and played no part in the decision of the race. Had he won, however, or dead-heated for first place, a peculiar position would have resulted. The dividend would have been paid on the horse that finished second. Had he dead-heated the dividend would have gone to the backers of the horse that dead-heated with him. The rule states that: “In respect of the win pool, where no ticket is taken on the first horse, the next placed horse on which tickets have been taken being not farther back than third shall be deemed the first horse for dividend computing purposes. In computing •■’dividends no account shall .be taken of any horse dead-heating on which no tickets have been taken.” Had there . been no tickets on the horse on the place machine and he had run into a place the money would have been divided between the other two horses in the event on their being three dividends, and in the event of their being only two dividends the money should be divided between the other horse that was backed and the horse placed third, as the rule states that “in. respect of the place pool no account shall be taken for dividend computing purposes of any horse in any dividend-bearing place on which no tickets have been taken, and the pool shall be divided into as many equal parts as there are horses in such places on which tickets have been taken. Provided that where the dividend bearing places are first and second only, and by reason of the operation of this condition there is left in those places not. more than one horse in respect of which a dividend can' be computed a horse or dead-heating horses placed third shall be deemed to be in a dividend bearing place, save that nothing in this proviso shall operate to allot for division between such dead-heating horses any greater share of the pool than the amount that would be allotted to one horse running third." STRATFORD RE-HANDICAPS. ACCEPTANCES CLOSE TO-NIGHT. Re-handicaps for the first day of the Stratford Racing Club’s New Year meeting, acceptances for which close at 9 p.m. to-day are:— Olfura Hurdles: Ythan 9.8, Beau Star 9.6. Tariki Hack Handicap: Tahurangi 9.0, Courtega 8.12. Stratford Cup: Davistock 8.6, Bugle Call 8.5. Eltham Hack Handicap: Friesland 8.6, Onewhetu 8.0. Midhirst Handicap: Lucidus 8.13, Bugle Call 8.7. Juvenile Handicap: Friesland 8.11, Onewhetu 8.5. Railway Hack Handicap: Lucidus 10.5, Courtega 8.13, .Dancing Lady 8.6, Harvest Moon 8.3.