Sporting Items.

New Zealand Illustrated Sporting & Dramatic Review, Volume II, Issue 84, 3 March 1892, Page 7

Sporting Items.

Rarus arrived from Nelson yesterday by the Mahinapua, to take part at the Onslow Trotting Club’s Meeting.

Mr. McKee, who came to Auckland in connection with the Brandy affair, has purchased that horse from O’Sullivan, together with all his boots and clothing and has shipped the notorious gelding to Wellington for exhibition purposes; with the purchase O’Sullivan gave McKee a full statement of Rufus-Brandy’s pedigree etc. The former gave £35 for him in Sydney, and he is by a famous Brisbane trotting stallion out of a panic mare, and is well known in Queensland.

The Auckland Trotting Club have decided to hold their Autumn Meeting at Potter’s Paddock on Saturday, April 16th. The programme will appear in our next issue. It is proposed to again give most liberal stakes, which will probably be as follows : —Easter Handicap Trot of 130 sovs, miles ; Maiden Trot of 50 sovs, 2 miles ; Electric Pony Trot of 60 sovs, 1 mile; Autumn Handicap of 60 sovs, 7 furlongs ; Flying Handicap of 35 sovs, 5 furlongs ; and Hurdles of 40 sovs, 1J miles.

Our Taranaki correspondent, under date February 26, writes: —There are many stories told in connection with the early running of the totalisator on New Zealand racecourses, which are more remarkable for the simplicity displayed by the parties concerned than anything else. Here, for instance, is “a true bill,” which has a really refreshing simplicity about it:—On a country racecourse in Taranaki “the machine that never lies” (query) was run for the first time, and as the crowd were strangers to this system of backing, it might be imagined that the investments were not large. However, in one race in which /"20 at ios. tickets had been invested an unbacked horse got first past the post, and the knotty point, what to do with the money, was left to the stewards to decide. They knew of no precedent to guide them, and were consequently in a perfect quandary. The stewards met in solemn conclave under a cabbage tree, which, I am sorry to say, has not been preserved to point out to posterity as the place where their racing forefather solved a somewhat momentous question. Many were the suggestions as to the disposal of the money, but none would suit, till one genius, struck with a brilliant idea, exclaimed, “Why, we must give it to the totalisator men, of course ! ” His brother stewards agreed with the proposition, and, accordingly, the £2O was handed over to the workers of the machine, who. it may be conjectured, did not at all object. The most remarkable part of the episode is, however, the fact that the public believed so much in the wisdom of the stewards that they did not object, but considered that a purely constitutional course had been followed. Happy machine men! Deluded public! Wouldn’t the public “ raise Cain ” if such a procedure were followed now !—even in Taranaki.

Mr. D. O’Brien’s well-known jockey Uriah Holmes has joined the great majority. We would call the particular attention of owners and trainers to the advertisement of the Wellington Racing Club, which will be found on page 5.

The Sydney correspondent of the Melbourne Sportsman wires that jonrnal under date 22nd ultimo, stating that the match between Stanbury and Sullivan for the championship of the world and/'2oo a-side will be rowed on the 2nd of April.

We regret to say that Mr. F. N. Jones, the popular totalisator proprietor of Nelson, is laid up at his quarters in the Pier Hotel, where he has just undergone a most serious and painful operation in the glands of the throat. Notwithstanding this, Mr. Jones was found by our representative in the best of spirits. Although confined to his bed, this gentleman has already made himself very popular in Auckland by his straightforwardness in the recent unsavoury trotting business., and all wish him a speedy recovery. Referring to a paragragh published in our last issue anent a complaint a Mr. Vernon had against the inattention of the Auckland Racing Club in replying to a complaint that gentleman had against the Huntly Jockey Club, Mr. W. Percival kindly gave us every information on the point, and fully assured us that the complaint was of such a trivial nature as to be utterly unworthy of consideration. Further, we have made enquiries from a prominent member of the Huntly Jockey Club, and have got at the whole facts of the case, from which it appears that the Huntly Jockey Club withheld the stakes in a certain race Vernon had previously won until a point in dispute was decided, which was done in Vernon’s favour, and as that gentleman lived in an inaccessible part of the country between Ngaruawahia and Raglan, the stakes remained in the hands of the club awaiting his pleasure for over twelve months. That pleasure was first shown by issuing a summons against the club, which was fully satisfied. The before mentioned complaint as to disqualifying a jockey for riding at an unregistered meeting followed. The Huntly stewards in this case decided against Vernon, and the Auckland Racing Club did not see their way to interfere, the rules at that time being very different from what they are at the present day. The A.R.C.’s secretary and the Huntly Club’s secretary think that we ought to give the same publicity to their statements that Mr. Vernon got to his, and having done so we think it would be illadvised to say more about it, especially after the lapse of three years.