Racecourse Judges.

Wanganui Herald, Volume XXIX, Issue 8448, 17 January 1895, Page 4

Racecourse Judges.

(By"Pax»ha.") : The introduction of the starting ■tnvshine i on the principal racecourses thronghoctthe ' I colony and its oonoeded utility as a decided , adjunct to the so-called Sport of Rings, , suggest* to us to complete- such' a, modern ; reform there shonld be an invention to take !, the finish, of rt nee. If it is neceswy to \ , have the horses started in line, so^that one 1 . animal should have no precedence brer thsfkf other, how much more is it necessary to , have the finish of the event accurately taken? Time after time— and especially i this season— we toe and read of so, many, [ dead heats being given by the jadge, such > decisions not nnusmlly coming in to? con- _ . demnatory criticism. Of coarse the. judge, i ia the only person who is really in' a position | to see what horse flashes first pig(r the post, r bat how many judges oh Hew Zealand , racecourses are chosen for their knowledge f of the position, for keenness of «ye, and foe [ quickness of perception at a most trying - and exciting moment, where hundreds' «ad probably thousands of pounds ue at isiue? •> For the most part racecourse judge* are ' chosen because they 'are .old and valued members of the club with 'which they'aW connected, and whose eyesight ' is often on I the wane, to say nothing of the f»cfc thifc' 1 the excitement as far as they are canoerced ; ' is contagious. Two hones we will say dasbf' " patfc the poife close to the rail*, and the * r judge, with all his interest centred on' the ■ ' pair, does not see a third horse finishing in - * the centre of the ■ course or mayhap under, ' this very nose. The public see him though, k aud in their opinion he had jnafc won. It 5 matters not, the j adge has given his deoition ' ." in favour of one of the other two, snd there 1 is muoh growling and disiatisfaction. It cer- * tainly would be * boon if some invention 1 did come into vogue to take accurately the . [ finish of a race, but in the meantime, where ■• 1 the present practice obtains of leaving it to 5 one man to decide, the club] appointing him i ' to that paoition should, certainly be satisfied 5 on several main points. In the fint place > 3 the man for the position should be a genuine - * sporting man — that is to say bis actions r should be above the slightest suspicion ; lie 1 should be very keen of eye, and ha should ' be young in years thongh old in turf matting ■ -but above all he should plaoe it beyond 1 doubt that he holds no interest whatever, in 1 the animals upon whose merits' he has to > 1 deoide. Until our clubs place such men in | position— discarding the old world idea of . , giving it some fossilised member — there will \- be nothing but grumbling and dimtiafao* ■ tion.