TANGLE DEVELOPS INTO A SCREAMING FARCE.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 18063, 25 January 1927, Page 4

TANGLE DEVELOPS INTO A SCREAMING FARCE.

IMPASSE REACHED REGARDING HOLDING OF ROYAL RACE MEETING. The Royal race meeting tangle continues to develop along the lines of a screaming farce, no solution of the difficulty having yet been suggested. Both the New Brighton Trotting Club and the Canterbury Jockey,Club claim to be on the “box seat,” and official declarations are being made to the effect that neither will give way to the other. The position in a nutshell is that the Trotting Club has definitely been allotted racing dates for Saturday, March 12, and Tuesday, March 15 (the latter being the date set aside for the Royal race meeting), and the Jockey Club has received an assurance that there will be no further objections from the Wellington Racing Club and the Waimate Racing Club to its holding a meeting on March 15. In. these circumstances it is expected that the Racing Conference will agree to the club postponing its February meeting till March 15, and that the issue of the totalisator permit by the Minister of Internal Affairs will follow as a mere matter of form. It is regarded as quite out of the question to hold two Royal race meetings—one of trotting events at Addington and the other of galloping events at Riccarton —on the same day. Should such a position arise it is probable that the Royal party would attend neither meeting. A wav out of the difficulty must be found, but tip to the present there has been no movement in the direction of a compromise between the two sporting bodies, and the Royal Reception Committee, vghich meets to-morrow afternoon. will be faced with a tough problem if it attempts to come to a dccisScveral suggestions with the idea of settling the matter were made to a reporter this morning. They may. be summarised as follows: That the trots should be held on the Saturday and Monday, and the gallop# on the Tuesday, as originally intended. That Monday’s and Tuesday’s programmes should be transposed, enabling the Royal race meeting to be held on the Monday instead of the Tuesday. That the Trotting Club and the Jockey Club should hold a conference and discuss the matter in a friendlj* way with a view to one side giving way to the other. That, as originally intended, the Royal Reception Committee should wash its hands of the whole business, and not recognise any race meeting held dining the period of the Royal visit. Mr W. E. Leadlcy, secretary of the Roval Visit* Reception Committee, expressed the opinion this morning that three days’ racing in Christchurch while the* Duke and Duchess were here was far too much. In his opinion cither one or the other of the clubs would have to give way. A conference should be held between the two clubs in order that a decision as to who should give way might be reached. Mr Leadley mentioned that the Trotting Club had offered to donate to the Reception Committee 10 per cent of its profits at the meeting if the Royal visitors attended, and the Jockey Club had promised to donate the first profits up to £IOOO if it held the Royal race meeting. When the matter was to Mr F. 'C. Cother, secretary of the Canterbury Tockev Club, he stated that the Jockey Club was first in the field in applving for the meeting, and it intended to go on with its arrangements. The club had been working for months with the idea of holding the meeting and now that the Wellington Racing Club and the Waimate Club, which had meetings in the same week, had withdrawn their objections, it intended to go ahead and apply for permission to postpone its February meeting til! March 15. The monthly meeting of tfic committee of the club would take place next Tuesday, but it was not unlikely that a special meeting would be held to discuss the matter before that date. The club had no inteution of backing out because the New Brighton Trotting Club had already got its dates fixed for March 12 and 15. Among a number of racing people with whom the reporter discussed the matter, the opinion was freely expressed that the Minister of Internal Affairs was mainly responsible for the present tangle in connection with the matter.