Sporting Review SATURDAY, MARCH 14, 1891.

New Zealand Illustrated Sporting & Dramatic Review, Volume I, Issue 33, 14 March 1891, Page 3

Sporting Review SATURDAY, MARCH 14, 1891.

On Wednesday March 3rd the A.R.C. Committee held their usual monthly meeting, four members being present, which just formed a quorum. After passing several country programmes they brought forward a resolution that Rule 20 should be strictly enforced. This was a side-wind to thoroughly put a stop to all Pony and Trotting Races to which it appears these gentlemen—or at least two of them—are decidedly adverse, therefore, read the rule to suit themselves. As their reading is of great interest to a large majority of racing m en, we will go thoroughly into the question and leave it to the public to decide who is right. Rule 20 reads thus : “All race meetings held in these districts comprised in Rule 1 shall be run under these Rules. If a horse runs in a race at any meeting within such district which is not under these Rules, such horse shall be permanently disqualified from running, and the owner, nominator, trainer, and jockey of any such horse prohibited from owning, nominating, training, or riding at or for any race meeting held under these Rules, unless the Committee of the Jockey Club see just and sufficient reason to remove such disqualification. Now in reading any Laws or Rules you cannot take one particular one to suit your own purpose, but you must read both previous and subsequent Rules to see how the particular one you wish to use bears on the question. Now by doing that it is quite evident that when this Rule was framed it was only intended to apply to flat and hurdle racing, also to steeplechases, not to pony or trotting races. Take the following extracts from foregoing and subsequent R u l es . —(Rule 2), “ Race includes Plate, Sweepstakes, Hurdle Race or Steeplechase , (Rule 4*)* “A Maiden means a horse which has never won an advertised plate or sweepstake the flat. A Maiden Hurdle Race or Steeplechase horse is one who has never won an advertised Hurdle or Steeplechase-;' (Rule .36), “ Age is to be taken from Ist August;”- (Rule 37), Two-year-olds shall not run over a distance exceeding six furlongs, or prior to Ist of February, or in any handicap in which horses of other ages are engaged(Rule 38), “ No horse shall carry less than 6st in any race on the flat, or gst in hurdle race or gst 71b> an y steeplechase.” Go through them all and any sensible man will see that by no stretch of imagination can he believe that these Rules were ever intended to intefere with pony or trotting races. Still, in the face of all this, four gentlemen sit in solemn conclave, and decide that Rule 20 does apply to pony and trotting races, therefore they must be abolished. We will take the next thing. Pony and trotting racing is allowed all over the world with the exception of Auckland. Properly managed it is the source of amusement and legitimate profit to thousands. There are many who cannot afford to keep a racehorse, but can a pony. The owner trains his pony himself, and if a light weight he rides him. It gives the owner amusement, healthy exercise, and a knowledge of horses* Instead of knocking about all night fooling with barmaids and playing billiards, he goes to bed early in order that he may be up in good time in the morning to look after his pony before going to business. The abolition of trotting races is of a most serious consideration. An independent gentleman, a merchant, butcher, baker, or in fact any business man, has what he thinks is a good trotter, he therefore takes a pride in him. He sees .some of his friends and neighbours with what they think good ones, therefore they enter their horses in a trotting race to see who has the best. Those that get beaten are naturally aggrieved, so they try and get a better one. Where are they to find one ? Certainly not in Auckland, for in no part of New Zealand are there a worse lot of horses.. The consequence is they send to Wanganui, Napier, or elsewhere to get a better. The money naturally goes out of the Province. We have often heard farmers say it does not pay to breed, as we cannot get a price that will pay even for a good one. Now, forsooth, there is a little encouragement for a man to get a good roadster, as he runs the risk of being stamped out by the caprice of the A.R.C. Committee, who should be on the side of the sporting public

instead of against them, as it is from them they get their chief support. Some thirty years ago the Newmarket Jockey Club would have nothing to do with hurdle racing or steeplechasing. The consequence was that this kind of sport was getting into disrepute. Seeing that it could not be puts, stop to they got some gentlemen interested in steeplechasing to form the Grand National Hunt Club to manage that branch of sport; promising at the same time to support them. What a success that has been, and how steeplechasing has increased ! Ireland followed suit, and so did France. In former years galloway,pony and trotting races were the scenes of the greatest swindles ever perpetrated. There are some of our readers who may remember the Pigeon, Black Jacks, and “The Bishop of Romford’s” cob cases, that not only ruined many but consigned others to long terms, of imprisonment. Owing to pony and trotting racing being persisted in, the National Galloway, Pony, and Trotting Association was formed in conjunction with the other two, and things are now going on smoothly, and the sport is greatly increasing. Hr New Zealand at the present time is not far enough advanced to have the three 'Clubs, but there is no possible reason why all the branches of sport should not be brought under one head. Now let us point out to the A.R.C. Committee in a friendly spirit the brink of the precipice that they at the present moment stand' upon. Of late their attitude, etc;, to the smaller clubs has been most autocratic. As a continuous ministry has been the ruin of the Colony so will a continuous Committee be the ruin of the Auckland Racing Club. ■ It : has virtually been the same Committee for the last fourteen or fifteen years. At the present time two or three are the governing power," construing the Rules to suit their purposes, o I One lof the Committee told us one day that shall, was optional, and another said there were > men here who understood racing just as well 'or better than the stewards of the' Newmarket Jockey Club. The Rules of the-'A.R.C. say that the Committee shall consist of twelve members, and that four shall form a quorum. Such is the case, but many of never attend a meeting from one year s end to another, and others very seldom. 1 There,are only three that regularly turn up, and , often they have to hunt up another to make a quorum; There are some who ought to have resigned long ago, and who would have shown, .better taste by not offering themselves for a re-election. Several attempts have been made to introduce new blood, but the opposition has beenj too strong, so now the members show apathy and at the annual meeting very few attends, nThey. also ignore this fact, that if the Club comes to grief each of them are liable pro rata for the debts, unless they have ceased to be members for three years. loriJuf: Let us suggest one or two plans to the A.R.C. Committee for getting out of the difficulty, regarding pony and trotting racing./; .;, , , < This we think would be the: best plan. . ,Let a Committee be formed of persons of standing who possess a thorough knowledge of sport. They should not hold any meetings of their own, or be interested in any course, but should issue permission to those Clubs that want to get up pony and trotting races, at the same time supervise everything, and if there is a case of swindling punish the offenders, and let the A R.C. Committee endorse the; same., Tne other plan would be for the A.R.C. Committee to register one course and let the trotting and pony racing take place there. If some; plan is not adopted, and that soon, there is. > sure to be trouble over the matter, as the Auckland people are determined to have trotting meetings to test the merits of their horses. Comments not favourable to the A.R.C. Committee are rife in every quarter where the sporting class of the Auckland public attend. , . , r, , 1

The Wellington “ Own Correspondent” for the N.Z. Referee has an article in last week’s issue which is uncalled for and unjustifiable. t We therefore feel it incumbent on us to criticise it and express our astonishment that Mr. Bird, whom we know well, allowed it to go in. It is as follows ; — ’ ■ ; Wellington, March 2. An unusual amount of speculation took place here over the Dunedin races, and great was the consternation of backers when it was found that Hilda had failed to

gain a place in the Cup. Sinister hints such as, “ Wanganui Cup over again,” “ Morrin and O’Brien standing m,” “ look out for Hilda second day,” &c., &c., were Heard on all sides, and many backers here, haying in mind Hilda’s peculiar performance at Wanganui last year, doggedly invested their money on her for the D.J.C. 'Handicap, and when she won they were more than ever sanguine that her running in the Cup was all wrong. However, “ all’s well that ends well,” and the Auckland mare’s admirers must rest satisfied at having got a decent price about her in the D.J.C. Handicap. The victories of the Hon. G. McLean and Major George were very popular here. These gentlemen’s horses when defeated are made the subject of no disparaging remarks, their owners tactics being, like Caesar’s wife, “ above suspicion.” knows that Mr. Morrin never interferes with the running of his horses, leaving it entirely to his trainer, and does not even go to see them run when away from home, which on On: our part we think a great mistake. Let us ask how it is that Mr. Morrin’s horses are always favourites and get heavily handicapped ? When the weights first came out for the Dunedin Cup the public rushed over one another Jto j back Hilda; We steadily went against her, and (maintained that both Freedom and Occident would beat her, stating as our reason that we had never seen her get a distance in a strong run race. Has our “ own correspondent ?” That Hilda was very badly ridden and that the Dunedin Cup was a false run race no racing: man can deny, and that it was also run to suitiFreedom. The fact is that they only really raced about three-quarters of a mile, The latter part of “ our own correspondent’s ” article shows on the face of it that he has little practical knowledge of racing, if so, will he explain the cause of the difference of Fiesole’s running the second and third days at the A.R.C. Summer Meeting, also at the Takapuna Jockey Club’s Summer Meeting, and her performances at Dunedin. If he can, he will confer a great benefitdo many of the readers of the Referee With regard to the Hon. G. McLean’s horses, all. we know is that when they win (which is seldom) they generally pay good dividends.