Sporting Review THURSDAY, JANUARY 26, 1893.

New Zealand Illustrated Sporting & Dramatic Review, Volume III, Issue 131, 26 January 1893, Page 4

Sporting Review THURSDAY, JANUARY 26, 1893.

The New Zealand Jockey Club proposal did not find favour at the Conference held in Wellington on Tuesday —indeed the would-be promoters of it were content to abandon their scheme. While giving Captain Russell—who asked leave to withdraw the motion standing in his name on the order paper, which leave was granted—every credit for his sincerity for the resolutions he and some other of the delegates intended to carry if possible, we cannot help thinking still that the proposals were a lot too cumbersome. Had they been divested of some of their superfluity they might have found more favour than was the case on Tuesday, and with the Auckland Racing Club and Dunedin Jockey Club standing out it was probably just as well for the welfare of the Turf in New Zealand that Captain Russell took such a graceful attitude in asking leave to withdraw his motion and that the Conference delegates assented to it.

The Metropolitan Clubs’ delegates have at last been content to read carefully the handwriting on the wall —by which we mean that they have carried a resolution, “ That it is desirable that country clubs should have some voice in the Conference.” And then, with the desire to give this some practical effect, the Hon. J. D. Ormond gave notice of motion for the next Conference, “That country dubs should have representation at future Conferences.” And at the same time he intimated that the Hawke’s Bay Jockey Club would draft proposals to give effect to the motion. We are glad that, though somewhat tardy in the matter, the Metropolitan Clubs have at length arrived at the conclusion that country clubs racing under their jurisdiction have some claim to consideration when the laws for their government are framed. This is what we have never ceased to advocate, end therefore it is particularly gratifying to the Sporting Review. We can imagine, too, what a smile of satisfaction will irra-

diate the face of Mr Sydney James, the secretary of the Dunedin Jockey Club, when he finds that, although his Club declined to take part in the Conference, the proposal re the country clubs, the principle of which the D.J.C. have always stood firm to, has been carried into effect.

We mentioned the other week that the Dunedin Jockej- Club at their annual meeting had been compelled to submit a report which was not satisfactory from a financial aspect, and we then pointed out that the receipts for the past year as compared with the previous year showed a falling off of £2,591 14s. 6d. The full text of the report now before us regrets “that for the first time during many years the accounts show a loss on the operations of the twelve months.” The report further says :—

The revenue for the year has amounted to ,£14,945 X S S - nd., while the expenditure has been lBs. Bd., showing an actual loss of 2s. 9d. The serious shrinkage in the receipts is accounted for by the fact that the investments in the totalisator during the year were less by ,£20,811 than those of the previous year. This may be attributed, to some extent, to the fact that we were exceedingly unfortunate in the weather at some of our meetings, but there is no doubt that it is more directly a consequence of the lessened spending power of the community. It will be noted that no less than ,£999 18s. gd. has been paid to the Government during the year under the new totalisator tax. Out of this 14s accrued from the first four meetings in the year, and was paid by the club out of its own revenue. At the Spring Meeting, however, owing to the serious deficiency that was apparent in the club’s accounts for the year the totalisator tax at that meeting, amounting to 4S9d, was paid to the public. When the deposits fell in during the year the committee withdrew ,£954 10s, and placed it to the credit of the current account. Notwithstanding this there was a balance at the debit of the club with the bank at the end of the year of 3s lod. This we can hardly expect to wipe off next year without further encroaching upon the deposit account.

And. then the report went on to say that—as we have already announced.— the club’s committee had decided to curtail the number of racing days for next season by three.

We have quoted in previous issues the strictures of the Canterbury Times — which, by the way, is in its politics a staunch supporter of the Ballance Government—on the action of the Colonial Secretary in granting permits to use the totalisator to both the Northern Wairoa and Whangarei Clubs in defiance of the verdict of the Auckland Racing Club. Our contemporary thus returns to the charge in dealing with the disqualification by the Auckland Racing Club of all the horses that competed at the meetings mentioned : —

It will be remembered that the Auckland Metropolitan Club refused to pass the programmes of the Clubs in question, whereupon these bodies applied to the Colonial Secretary for a permit to use a totalisator. The Minister acceded to the request. The meetings were held, the totalisator used, and now comes the inevitable disqualification. What will be the outcome of this deadlock remains to be seen. The action of the Colonial Secretary was, to say the least of it, ill-judged. The Auckland Racing Club had given very full and cogent reasons why the programmes should not be passed, and it was clearly the Minister’s duty to listen to the Committee of the metropolitan body first. Then, again, the authorities which preside over the fortunes of the Northern Wairoa and Whangarei Clubs, and the owners and trainers who ran their horses at the meetings, went into the business with their eyes open. Directly the Colonial Secretary granted the use of the totalisator, the Auckland Racing Club announced that disqualification would surely ensue, and even went so far as to publish a warning to trainers and riders against taking part in the meetings. The meetings are now over, a certain number of trainers and jockeys have been very properly disqualified, and the future action of the Colonial Secretary in the matter will be watched with interest. He can hardly refuse to support the two country clubs in their difficulty, and he will be pretty certain to find it unwise to continue a struggle in which he will be opposed by the full strength of the Metropolitan Clubs.

At last has the Weekly Press and Referee, which poses as the “ Official Calendar of the Metropolitan Clubs of New Zealand,” and which has always been a staunch supporter of such metropolitan bodies in its writings, taken up the attitude assumed by this journal and several others in regard to Metropolitan Clubs’ conferences. We have pointed out in previous issues that there was “much cry and little wool” about the numerous conferences that have been held by the Metropolitan Clubs’ delegates at the various centres of the colony, albeit at the same time we always freely admitted that there was some need for such conferences. But we have altogether objected to the principle on which they were managed, and in previous issues, and also in our last week’s impression we stated plainly our opinion that the secretaries of the various Metropolitan Clubs could, if they conferred together, do tfie business far

more expeditiously and far more effectively than it has so far been performed. And in our issue of September 22 last, in alluding to the increase in added money which the conference just previously held had adopted, we said —

While reiterating our approval of the major part of the business they (the conference) then transacted we again express our opinion that it would tend to the fostering of far more amicable relations between the Metropolitan Clubs and the racing bodies under their jurisdiction if some arrangement could be devised by which country clubs who, say, hold three days’ racing in the year, could be represented at future Conferences and have a voice in the framing of the laws which govern them. It would be impossible for every small club to be represented, but the status of clubs holding three days’ racing in the year is sufficient, in our opinion, to warrant their being represented at future Conferences. We hope to see such a provision inserted at no distant date in the Rules of Racing.

If we may judge from the remarks of our contemporary in its issue of Thursday last it, as “ Official Calendar of the Metropolitan Clubs of New Zealand,” has at length come round to the same Opinion. We are glad that though the Canterbury Jockey Club at its last committee meeting instructed its delegates to agree to the formation of a New Zealand Jockey Club provided the proposal is unanimously supported by all the Metropolitan Clubs in the North Island (vide Weekly Press of the 12th inst.) our contemporary, after ascertaining that the Auckland Racing Club would not acquiesce in the proposal for the formation of a New Zealand Jockey Club, has backed under, and now in its leading columns of last week practically admits the force of the argument we have already taken up. After stating that

The first resolution, having for its object the formation of a New Zealand Jockey Club, is hardly likely to be carried in the face of the opposition from the Dunedin Jockey Clnb and Auckland Racing Club, and the question will from present indications have to be hung up indefinitely. The advantages to be gained by the formation of a thoroughly representative Racing Association should ere now have received the fullest attention at the hands of the Metropolitan bodies, but as they are not agreed we shall not be surprised to find minor clubs throughout the colony taking up the question of the formation of a Racing Association for the whole of the colony at no distant date. On the West Coast of the North Island from Palmejston to Taranaki; in the Wairarapa and in the Northern districts of Hawke’s Bay and Wellington, there is likely to be a strong effort made by the clubs to attain representation at future Conferences, and as other districts in the North, and also in the South, have been asking similar concessions, the Metropolitan Clubs will have to consider this side of the position if they desire that the machinery of racing is to run smoothly without the co-operation or support of the country and suburban clubs difficulties stand in the way, and it is now believed in some quarters that no governing body would give satisfaction to the racing people of New Zealand as a whole, unless it included representatives from leading country clubs. The fact is that many of the clubs have so grown in importance as to outstrip some of the Metropolitan Clubs, and they seek a voice in the control of the sport and are prepared to contest the question if needs be. Should they fail to obtain the recognition they consider due to them, we shall probably find them taking the line of action adopted in the northern districts of Auckland, from which qnarter comes news, as we write, to the effect that the North Auckland Racing Association has been formed as the result of the endeavour of the Auckland Racing Club to compel the clubs within its jurisdiction to conform to the rules adopted by the Conference of Metropolitan bodies.