FOR RACING CONFERENCE

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume 74, Issue 148, 25 June 1931, Page 4

FOR RACING CONFERENCE

ALTERATION TO RULES SIMPLICITY AIMED AT NO MORE 9-STONE MINIMI M The chief business at the annual , meeting of the New Zealand Racing Conference to be held at Wellington next month, is the consideration of the proposed new rules. Since the last annual meeting the whole of the rules have been redrafted, simplified and coordinated, and in their new form should make for more simplicity and better working. The rules have been numbered consecutively instead ot. having various parts with their clauses. Rule 2, which provides that r.o person shall institute or carry on any action, suit or proceedings in any Court against the conference or any club, etc., has been altered so that no person shall seek a remedy at law until he has exhausted all the remedies provided under these rules. The rule as it stands to-day purports to deprive any person of rights at law. No Court would give effect to this, but a Court would, it is submitted, refuse to hear any person until he had exhausted his remedies under the Rules of Racing. A new rule provides for the election of the district club representatives annually in the month of May, instead of every second year. The voting has been altered to one vote for each day’s racing held, or to be held, by the club during the current year, instead of one vote for each meeting held or to be held by the club during the current year. A new rule to be submitted states that a representative of district clubs may be removed from office by resolution passed by the majority of district clubs whom he represents. It is proposed that a duly qualified jockey arriving from another country need not have his application for a license certified to by the chairman of the totalisator club whose place of meeting is nearest to the applicant’s place of residence. The clearance from the country in which he was last licensed renders such certificate unnecessary. Unregistered Joint Interests The new rules provide that any horse affected by any unregistered joint interest shall be disqualified for the race. Under the new rules a foreign horse requires to be registered within three months of arrival in New Zealand. A certificate of identification is not required for a horse which is brought back to New Zealand within twelve months after it was taken away. Moro comprehensive provision is made m respect to the change of ownership of a horse. Regarding apprentices, every owner or trainer desiring to engage a lad with a view to apprenticing him will have to make application to the secretary of the conference for submission to the licensing committee, who, after due inquiry, may approve or decline the application. In the case of approval tlio lad may be engaged on probation for a period of six months from such date as tho licensing committee fixes, and subject to any conditions the committee may impose. If at any time prior to the probationary period the engagement is terminated by either the employer or tho lad, the employer is to notify the conference within fortyeight hours. Within fourteen days of the expiration of the probationary period, the employer shall either make application to tho licensing committee for permission to apprentice or notify his intention not to apprentice tho lad, and in such last-mentioned case he shall not continue to employ the lad without tho consent of the licensing committee. After the completion of the probation ary period, the licensing committee, if satisfied after inquiry, that the lad’s conduct has been satisfactory, may approve of him being apprenticed for not less than four years, nor more than five years, including the probationary term. Jockey’s Investments ' Provision has been made in Rule 176 to the effect that tho rider of a horse placed second or third, or dead-heating for those positions, shall not receive less than a losing jockey’s fee in the race. Any bet made by a jockey shall bo on the totalisator on the horse ridden by himself, and then only through or with the permission of the owner. The division of races is based on the procedure of the Auckland Racing Club, and where tho totalisator is only open once for both divisions, then the horses that should bo bracketed on account of ownership or joint interest will remain bracketed. A judicial committee is to consist of not less than three or more than live members. In the new Rule 265, the old Rule 2 of Part XVIII., which reads as follows, has been eliminated: —“At any meeting held on any day from June 7 to August 15 inclusive, the lowest weight in any fiat race shall not be less than 9.0.” Every horse which runs in a race shall be run on its merits, and every rider shall ride his horse out to the end of the race if he has any reasonable chance of running first, second, third or fourth. 'The “fourth” is an addition to the rule, and provision is also made for the stewards to punish ■ anybody who, in their opinion, was a party to a horse not being run on its merits. Judge’s Correction of Errors The time allowed for a judge to correct any mistake in his placiugs is to be reduced from ten to five minutes. The words in the old rule, “cross another horse unless two clear lengths of daylight in front of the other horse,” have been altered to read, “crosses another horse without being nt least its own length and one other clear length in front.” If no horse is placed second or third the money for those places is to be letained by the club. The time for authority for the payment of dividends has been reduce'! from ten minutes to live minutes after the horses weigh in. The time for lodging objections in certain cases has been similarly reduced. Thu paragraph in the old rule stating ■ that “the decision of the stewards ' regarding a cross or jostle or pull shall be conclusive and not subject to appeal unless a disqualification for a longer i period than fourteen days is imposed,’ lias not been included in the new rule. It. is not considered equitable to per petuate this provision restricting the right, of spp-ml only Io a. jockey dis qualified for a. longer period than four teen days. No provision was made in the old rule for an appeal against suspension for a cross, or jostle or pull, I bni the new rule will permit an appeal against disqualification or suspension for anv such offence.