Untitled

New Zealand Illustrated Sporting & Dramatic Review, Volume III, Issue 133, 9 February 1893, Page 4

For some months past there has been a growing desire on the part of some members of the Auckland Racing Club’s committee to again bring pony racing and trotting under their direction in some way. It is not so very long ago since pony racing was recognised by them. The Dunedin Jockey Club and Taranaki Jockey Club were two Metropolitan Clubs that included pony racing in their own programmes, and though the Auckland Racing Club did not allow pony racing on their own course they permitted clubs to put races for lilliputians in their programmes, and count the amounts so given in with the total of added money provided for by the Rules of Racing. But this did not last long. A crusade against pony racing began, and the Hon. E. Mitchelson carried a motion at one of the meetings of the Auckland Racing Club’s

committee to the effect that the Auckland Racing Club should in future take no cognisance of pony racing and should disqualify those jockeys and trainers taking part therein. So matters have rested up to the present. Both the Dunedin and Taranaki Jockey Clubs have continued to incorporate pony races in their programmes, and in such races several of our leading jockeys have at times participated, but we have never heard of any sentence of disqualification being meted out to them by those Metropolitan Clubs that do not recognise pony racing. It is an open secret that some members of the Auckland Racing Club would like to see pony racing taken under the fostering protection of that body, and one or two have even gone so far as to suggest that pony races might well be included in future programmes of the A.R.C., and run at Ellerslie. We hope the day is very remote when such a thing will be tolerated. It is a pity this question was not mooted at the last Conference, if only for the sake of feeling the pulse of the members present. While we have but little objection to pony racing per se, we think it would be a very illadvised step for the Auckland Racing Club to directly encourage them, and above all to put them in theirprogrammes. We hope the good sense of the majority of the committee will cause any such proposal to be vetoed should it ever come before them.

A most interesting action affecting a very nice racing question is that which will in the course of a few days engage the attention of the Wellington Supreme Court, and in which Mr Donald McKinnon, the owner of Loch Ness, is plaintiff, and the stewards of the Wellington Racing Club are defendants. Our readers will remember that owing to some laches in the Wellington Post-office certain nominations for the Wellington Racing Club’s Summer Meeting, though sent in time by the nominators, were not received by the secretary of the Wellington Racing Club till after the advertised time of closing. A post-office official placed them in a letter-box other than that of the W.R.C., and therefore the W.R.C.’s secretary did not receive them till some time after the hour for closing. The W.R.C.’s stewards, however, having held a special meeting to consider the matter, decided to accept the entries, they being of the opinion that their non-receipt in proper time was an extra-ordinary circumstance. But they had admitted these late entries without the consent of the owners whose nominations were sent in in proper time, and these owners thereupon entered into an agreement that if one of their number ran second in any race he should at once protest. Mr McKinnon happened to be the first of these owners who ran socond, and he therefore protested. His protest was dismissed —it could not have been otherwise dealt with unless the stewards wished to stultify their previous action—and Mr McKinnon, as representing the syndicate of owners, has entered an action in the Supreme Court against the stewards of the Wellington Racing Club. As the case is sub judice we must obviously refrain from any comments on its merits as they may present themselves to the student of racing or the framers and interpreters of racing law, but as insinuations have been made about Mr McKinnon’s “ unsportsmanlike conduct,” as it has been termed, we consider it only due to him to say that he is only taking his present action on behalf of the whole body of owners whose entries were received by the secretary of the Wellington Racing Club before the advertised hour of dosing. The issue of the action will be eagerly awaited in all New Zealand racing circles.