Sporting Review. THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 1, 1894.

New Zealand Illustrated Sporting & Dramatic Review, Volume IV, Issue 184, 1 February 1894, Page 4

Sporting Review. THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 1, 1894.

The remarks made by Mr Martin, the Wellington R.M, on Tuesday last in the case in which two men, Wilmore and McMaster, were fined £lO for illegally betting on the racecourse, are full of significance to racing club authorities. The Resident Magistrate is said to have expressed a hope that an appeal would be lodged in order that a definite legal decision might be arrived at. As Mr Martin very rightly observed, the question, is of vital importance not only to the racing clubs but to the members of the Ring who carry on their betting operations within the limits set forth by the Act and the conditions under which licenses are issued to them. Mr Martin intimated that in the event of his decision being upheld, he would not meet subsequent cases with a fine, but would imprison all offenders ‘ without the option.’ It is evident that illegal bettors have little to hope for if they come within the judicial vision of Mr Martin, who is to be complimented upon his determination to sternly suppress illegal betting. Fining will not produce the desired result. The evil has sturdy far reaching roots, and nothing but imprisonment will drag them out. Melbourne and Syduoy are overrun with betting shops, and although fining is of almost daily occurrence, the defiance of law in this respect grows more wanton every day in the Victorian and New South Wales capitals. We are glad to see that we have men on the N.Z. Bench who regard this matter in the proper light, and the day a magistrate awards an illegal bettor a few weeks respite from the turmoil of the work-a-day world, he may lay claim to having performed a very important service in the interests of the New Zealand turf. It is evident the magistrates are ready to do their duty in the matter, and it only remains for racing clubs to do their part of the work by handing over racecourse offenders to the care of the police.

The Hawkes’ Bay Jockey Club are out on the warpath again in search of those who lay totalisator odds. In the course of a recent inquiry it appears they came to the conclusion that it is a common occurrence for men to bet machine odds off the racecourse, ‘ notably by remitting money to totalisator shops in Wellington and other places.’ as an official memo of the club has it. The H.B.J.C. people are evidently bent on annihilating this rival to their machine revenue, and have accordingly issued a proclamation in which it is set forth that it is not generally known that to forward money in the manner described is a ‘ corrupt practice ’ under the 25th and 154th Rules of Racing. The proclamation sets forth that under Rule 25 ‘ the stewards of a meeting shall have full power to declare any bookmaker or other person who shall have been proved to their satisfaction to have betted totalisator odds except through the medium of the totalisator, to be guilty of corrupt and fraudulent practices on the turf.’ And the announcement further points out that under Rule 154, ‘if any person lay, or any person accept wagers to b e determined by the amount of dividend paid by the totalisator, every person so offending may be warned off the course and other places where these Rules are in force.’ So that any Hawke’s Bay speculator who is sending away his modest £ 1 to be invested in Wellington or Auckland on any Hawke’s Bay event is liable to be adjudged guilty of corrupt practice. The announcement concludes as follows :— ‘ Notice is now given that, for the future, any offender against these Rules and so proved guilty of “ corrupt practice,” will be punished by disqualification. By order of the Committee.’ The H.B.J.C. do not do things by halves!