Sporting Review. THURSDAY, JUNE 4, 1891.

New Zealand Illustrated Sporting & Dramatic Review, Volume I, Issue 45, 4 June 1891, Page 3

Sporting Review. THURSDAY, JUNE 4, 1891.

Our contemporaries have lately been taking up the subject of the taxing of stallions. This question was brought before the public some years ago by “ Picador” in his articles on breeding. It would be a great benefit to the colony if a tax was imposed on stallions, not only of ’ ;£io, but it might most judiciously be raised to more than that as regards the thoroughbred entires. There is no place in the British Dominions where there are so few good hacks and harness horses as are to be found in New Zealand. The climate, for the most part, is • suitable for horse-breeding. The question naturally arises how is this ? This is easily answered. There are innumerable weedy, cross made, miserable stallions throughout the country. Where do they come from ? Castoffs from the racing stables, many of them being only “ platers,” others “leather flappers.” Settlers in a great degree are to blame for the - ~ deterioration of horses. They have a mare that they want to get a foal from. Instead of looking about for a sire that will suit the mare they put her to the first that comes along,

never mind what he is. They are afterwards astonished at the result, and immediately say what is the use of breeding; we cannot sell the produce at any price. Nor can it be wondered at when one sees the production. The Hawke’s Bay Agricultural Society held a meeting, and it was agreed that the tax on stallions ought to be and that the tax collected in each district should be awarded in prizes, and that a veterinary surgeon should be appointed to examine all stallions applying for a license to see that they are free from hereditary disease. This has been taken up by several other agricultural societies. Last Friday, at a meeting of the North Auckland Cattle Board, Mr. Morrin, the chairman, stated that only two questions were before them. The more important (taxing stallions') he thoroughly agreed with, though it affected him more than any one else, and he thought that a licensing fee of at least 15 guineas should be imposed on all stallions. Mr. Frank Lawry thought that the fee was too high. The chairman remarked that one of the greatest breeding provinces (Hawke’s Bay) recommended £2O, while others /~ro. There was a good deal of talk for and against the tax. Mr. McLaughlin proposed “ That the Government be recommended to make the license fee five guineas each, the proceeds, less inspection expenses, to be handed over to the agricultural and pastoral associations of the district as prizes for stallions.” Mr. Wallace seconded the motion, with the proviso that it should not come into force for a year to enable those that might not like to pay the license to get rid of their entires. In this form the motion was carried, Mr. Morrin dissenting from it. Thus, through the shortsightedness of some individuals, the province will be overrun with scrubbers for another year, who, if the knife was applied to them, would realise much more than as entires. The intention of the tax will also be nullified, as anyone with a sire, never mind how cross-bred or made, will risk a fiver when they will not more. When this tax was mooted by “ Picador” it was in hopes that a great many “ platers” that run about the country would be gelded by either the breeders or owner, and by that means a good many inferior sires would be done away with. Going through the up districts we have often seen a fairish youngster entire. On asking the owner why he was kept so, the answer has been that he is intended for up-country races, and when he is broken down he will fetch more as a stallion than otherwise. It has long been the surprise of old race goers that breeders and owners of inferior racehorses have not seen the benefit of having them cut. The late Hon. Jas. White introduced the system of castrating his inferior yearlings, but unfortunately did not live long enough to prove the benefit to others. Geldings last longer, require less work, and are less trouble. If one looks back through the English and Australian calendars, one finds that geldings last twice as long as stallions on the Turf, and in no instance during the last fifty years has a stallion kept his speed or raeed as long as Reindeer or Rewi. In our opinion it would be a good thing if all entries were taxed, then only the best shaped and bred yearling would be kept, the rest being subjected to the knife.

The Canterbury Times, in its issue of May 21st, has taken up the suggestion we made in ours that the minimum weight in all flat races should be 6st ylb, and recommends that at the next conference in Wellington the matter should be taken in hand. The writer goes on : “ The second suggestion, to raise the weights in handicaps where the lowest weight accepting is less than Bst izlb, is scarcely worthy the author of the first. It has the merit, such as it is, of still appearing among the English rules of racing ; but it is at best a haphazard method of meeting a mistaken sentiment. We are strongly in favour of reasonably high weights, a maximum of lost if you will, but let them be adjusted by the handicapper, and not by the operation of an arbitrary rule which would often undo the objects of our accepted system. Any novice of ordinary intelligence will see that the intention of the handicapper might be entirely upset by raising the weights all round by 151 b or ,zolb. One horse might be a weight carrier, and actually benefited by the additional burden, while another—a very undesirable class of animal we admit —might

have his chance entirely extinguished by the change. However, this question was disposed of years ago, and it is not likely to reach as far as the Conference again, but should it come before the delegates we are quite sure they will emphasise the opinion we have briefly expressed.” “Any novice of ordinary intelligence will see that the intentions of the handicapper might be entirely upset by raising the weight allround 151 b or 201 b.” The writer of this article must have had very little practical experience in racing. In the first place, a handicapper ought to make his handicaps on the form the horses have shown. It is quite impossible for him to know which horse can carry weight and which cannot by the appearance of them. Our confrere may just as well say that he can tell by the look of a horse whether he can get through dirt or not; if he can do so he must be a clever man, and ought long ago to have made a fortune. Talking of raising the weights 151 b or zolbs shows that he must have written the article at random. Handicappers generaHy commence their handicaps somewhere about gst jib, therefore it must be a wretched bad one when the highest weight accepting is only jst ulb. The rule of raising the weight in handicaps has worked well in England for the last forty years, therefore why should it not do so in the colonies. The great fault of all the colonial jockey clubs is that they think they can improve on the Newmarket rules; ergo, they make a mess of it. Could any .one understand and act on the Metropolitan rules, as they read at present, without running the risk of getting into trouble ? Our contemporary is generally pretty good at these kind of affairs, but he has, we think, got astray this time.

The secretary of the Northern Pony and Trotting Club has requested us to contradict the following comments that appeared in the last issue of the 2V.Z. Referee, for which there is not th© slightest foundation:— “ Auckland, Saturday, May 23rd.—By Telegraph, from our Own Correspondent. —The Northern Pony and Trotting Club brought off a meeting on the above date for the benefit of the families of those miners who were killed by the accident at Ralph’s coal-mine at Huntly recently, and an attractive programme of seven events was prepared for the occasion.” The Northern Pony and Trotting Club, which is affiliated with the New Zealand Trotting Association, had nothing whatever to do with this meeting, nor do they to hold one until pony and trotting races are put on a better basis in Auckland. As things stand at present they are most unsatisfactory. The Auckland Pony and Trotting Association advertised the meeting as their own in aid of the Huntly Disaster Fund and applied for a permit to use the totalisator, but the Colonial Secretary declined to grant it, on the ground that they had held their quota of meetings for the year, at the same time regretting that he had to do so as it was for a charitable object. We are informed on the best authority that to get over this difficulty the Auckland Trotting Association got the Otahuhu Pohy and Trotting Club (which is virtually the same) to forego their meeting, so it was held under the auspices of the Otahuhu Pony and Trotting Club, assisted by the Auckland Pony and Trotting Association. The proprietors of the N.Z. Referee would do well to instruct their correspondents to be careful in their reports of the different meetings, as a great many misstatements have appeared lately.

McLean does not intend that Stanbury shall hold his championship honours long, if he can help it. A match has been arranged for £2OO aside carrying the championship with it, to take place on the Paramatta on July 7. Thinking that the choice of positions which Stansbury obtained might have had something to do with his defeat, McLean has arranged for an alteration of the course, to start from Uhr’s Point instead of Ryde, making the distance some 800 yards shorter. This alteration may be the means of having all the championship and other sculling races rowed over the new course, as it is obvious if one sculler imagines there is such a decided advantage to the winner of positions, others will not unnaturally see things in the same light./Whether McLean will establish his claim over Stanbury is at present a moot point. — Sporting Standard.