NOTES.

New Zealand Illustrated Sporting & Dramatic Review, Volume VII, Issue 334, 17 December 1896, Page 10

NOTES.

By

Fritz.

“ Mazeppa,” in the Otago Witness, states that some of the trotters at the late meeting at Forbury were audaciously stiff. He charges the stewards with a neglect of duty, and asserts that if the scandals are repeated and acts of roping are allowed to pass unchallenged, trotting events will have to be abandoned altogether. There is no doubt a large amount of truth in what “ Mazeppa” states, as in trotting, owners somehow too frequently trot with the only object in view of getting a better handicap. The consequence is that trotting, which, with a fair percentage of triers, should be an interesting and frequently exciting sport, falls into disrepute with the public. The liberal prizes offered by the Auckland Club should bring out more triers than usual, and, if it does, there should be a trotting revival. At any rate I have every confidence that the Auckland stewards will do their duty and not allow barefaced stiffening to go unchallenged as “ Mazeppa” alleges the Dunedin stewards did. The sale of privileges in connection with the Auckland Trotting Club’s Meeting resulted as follows :—Publican’s booth, Mr J. Donovan, £95; refreshment stall, Mrs Glover, £lO ; race cards, Scott Printing Co., £74; gates, Mi- Lang, £155.

Mr G. Bennett, secretary of the Johnsonville and Hut' County Trotting Club, has an attractive programme for the summer meeting, to be held on Thursday, January 21. Nine events have been provided for, the chief of which will be the Johnsonville and Hutt County Trotting Club’s Handicap of 60 sovs, two miles. The Dash Handicap of 30 sovs, one mile, and the Trial Handicap of 25 sovs, two miles, are other items that should be worth annexing. Nominations close on Wednesday, January 6, and handicaps are promised for January 11; acceptance fall due on January 18. John R. Gentry failed, on October 28, to break his wonderful record for the mile of 2min |sec. He, however, covered the mile in 2min 3|sec. Concluding as this does the public performance of John R. G-entry for the year, it is interesting to note that he has made ten starts, five times in races and an equal number of times against time. He lost his first three races and won the last two. He reversed this order in his time performances, reducing his record in each of his first three attempts, and failing in the last two at Terre Hante and at Belmont. He has eleven heats to his credit for the year, the slowest in 2min sjsec, and averaging 2min 3 3-llsec.

The editor has received a letter ’from “An Advocate of True Sport” in Wellington, which he has handed to me. The writer states :—“ I would like, through your columns, to draw the attention of the North Island Trotting Association to the fact that the Wellington Trotting Club at their recent meeting totally disregarded the disqualification passed by the Johnsonville and Hutt County Trotting Club upon two men, subsequently endorsed by the North Island Trotting Association. Both these persons were allowed access to all the enclosures of the Wellington Club’s last meeting at Mirama. The Hawke’s Buy Trotting Club, at their last meeting, told one of these men quietly he had better leave the ground to save unpleasantness, which he did, and surely a club that prides itself upon its purity, as the W.T.C. does, would have only been acting in the best interests of the sport had they taken similar action.” This letter speaks for itself.