Annual Meetings.

New Zealand Illustrated Sporting & Dramatic Review, 4 August 1898, Page 13

Annual Meetings.

THE AUCKLAND RACING CLUB. The annual meeting of the members of the Auckland Racing Club was held on Monday at the offices of the club, Mr Alfred Buckland presiding. The following report and statement of accounts were read by Mr Percival : — In submitting the annual statement of accounts your committee have to congratulate you upon the continued success of the club. During the season we held four meetings, as against five last year, the Colonial Secretary having refused to grant us a permit for the Spring Meeting. In face of this we gave £13,450 in added money, against £11,545, or an increase of £1905 for the year. Our totalisator investments amounted to £101,926, against £101,136, an increase of £790, and one day’s less racing. We have purchased the property from Mr Crowther where our steeplechases are run, at a cost of £2500; this was necessary in order to secure a free right to use the property A members’ dining-room has also been built, which has been a great convenience and comfort to our members. We have made a new plough gallop, and built a brick culvert across the gallop and course —which will lessen the risk of accidents —at a cost of £BB3 4s lOd. Have also during the year erected a new number board, and imported a clock from England, which lias given great satisfaction, and been appreciated by the general public. The statements of accounts show a profit of £2095, besides writing off a matter of £l3OO in racecourse, furniture, plant, etc. You will have to elect six members of committee, as Messrs Thomas Morrin, James Russell, J. P. A. Philsbn, Herbert 'Thompson, H. T. Gorrie, and James Dickey retire in terms of rules, but, being eligible, offer themselves for re-election. Mr J. T. Armitage has been proposed, but unfortunately did not give the necessary length of notice the rules require, and which the committee regret. STATEMENT OF ACCOUNTS. The accounts for the year ending June 30 were as under: — BALANCE-SHEET. Da.—Creditors secured, £8500; capital accounts, £14,721 12s 9d; Auckland Guineas, 1898-99, £23; Great Northern Derby, 1898, £l2; Royal Stakes, 1898, £25; Great Northern Foal Stakes, 1898, £23 ; sundry creditors, £54 10s ; total, £23,359 2s 9d Cr.—Sundry debtors, £675 10s lid ; unpaid subscriptions, £161; racecourse, buildings, etc., £19,500; furniture, £BOO ; working plant, £255; cash in hand and bank, £1967 Ils lOd ; total, £23,359 2s 9d. PROFIT AND LOSS ACCOUNT. Dr.—lnterest, £530 18s Id ; secretary, £4OO ; secretary, bonus, 1897, £5O; handicapper, £200; caretaker, £104; wages, £372 15s 4d; rent of Crowther’s Paddock, £lB 15s ; rent of office, £7O; insurance, £72 19s 3d; auditor, £l5 15s; rates and taxes, £6l 13s lOd; tan gallop, £l3l 10s 2d; plough gallop, £BB3 4s lOd; roads and paddocks, £9O 9s 4d; well sinking, £67 18s 6d; fencing, £26 6s 9d; timber account, £4O 4s lid; painting, £llO 8s ; charges, £333 3s 9d ; written off working plant, £2B 12s lOd ; written off starting machines, £llO ; written off racecourse, £892 19s 4d; written off furniture, £l2B 4s lid; suspense account, £3 14s 8d; balance to capital, £2095 11s 6d; total, £6839 6s. Cr.—Members’ subscriptions, £105610s; subscriptions, £915 ; assumed names, £2 2s; grazing, £3113s 4d; training fees, £2OB 10s ; disqualification fees, £37 4s; spring meeting, £637 7s Id; summer meeting, £2556 16s 3d; autumn meeting, £826 2s 3d ; winter meeting, £568 Is Id ; total, £6839 6s. CAPITAL ACCOUNT. Dr.—Amounts written off, £179 Ils; balance, £14,721 12s 9d ; total, £14,901 3s 9d. Cr. —Balance June 30,1897, £12,795 12s 3d ; old debts recovered, £lO ; profit for year ending June 30, 1898, £2095 Us 6d ; total, £14,901 3s 9d. BALANCE-SHEET OF THE TRAINERS AND JOCKEYS’ PROVIDENT FUND. Dr.—Distressed jockey fund, £249 16s lOd; trainers and jockeys’ provident fund, £247 8s 5d ; trainers’ provident fund, £144 9s lOd ; less disbursements, £lO 10s ; jockeys’ provident fund, £282 12s 4d ; less disbursements, [£ss 0s 6d ; balance, £6 10s 6d; total, £865 7s sd. Cr.—Distressed jockeys’ fund. Savings Bank, £249 16s lOd; trainers’ and jockeys’ provident fund, Savings Bank, £247 8s 5d ; trainers’.provident fund, Savings Bank, £l2B 9s lOd ; jockeys’ provident fund, Savings Bank, £239 12s 4d; total, £865 7s sd. The chairman moved the adoption of the reports, read without comment, and the motion having been seconded by Mr W. Adams, was carried. The retiring committeemen were declared reelected. In reply to a member, Mr Gorrie said that the •committee had under consideration the necessity for providing an entrance for members only to the grandstand and saddling paddock enclosures. A vote of thanks having been accorded to the secretary and the committee, the meeting adjourned. THE WAIRARAPA AND LOWER VALLEY CLUBS. At a meeting of the stewards of the hitherto prosperous Wairarapa Racing Club, on July 23, rather a disquieting letter was read from Sir George Clifford, chairman of the New Zealand Racing Conference. The letter was dated Christchurch, July 20, and stated that the Conference

had approved of two totalisator permits for the Wairarapa Racing Clubs, but in view of the fact t hat there were so many race meetings in the "'p Wairarapa the second permit would lie in doubt unless the club could manage for amalgamating with the Lower Valley Club. The reading of.this letter provoked expressions of resentment froip the stewards. Mr W. O. Williams, who acted as the club’s delegate at the recent Conference, said he had heard nothing at all about this matter —no word of it was ever mentioned. There certainly was something said about the number of race meetings held, but he had shown that when the area was considered, there was not so much to complain of as in other districts of the colony and especially in Sir George Clifford’s own particular district. The Colonial Secretary had suggested that the Taratahi meeting was not required, on account of its nearness to Masterton and Tauherenikau, but there was no mention of their club being deprived of one of its permits. If such had been the case he would have known how to deal with the matter. It had been acknowledged at the Conference that the Wairarapa club was giving more to the public than any other club in the country, and the amount of money expended in improvements had come in for a considerable amount of praise. What the Conference properly complained of was the existence of certain public-house meetings, and he understood that reductions were to be made in that direction. The chairman said it was an altogether extraordinary thing that this letter should have been writtm. If their club was deprived of its autumn meeting the local horse-owners could not keep horses, and it would be a great blow to racing in this district. It meant, further, that country clubs were to be starved so that the metropolitan clubs might be fed up at their expense. To talk of the club bringing about the amalgamation of the Lower Valley club was so much nonsense ; the club in question would not hear of it, and he for one would not think of such a thing. If amalgamation was sought, the Racing Conference • was the only body who could do it; it was the duty of that body, and not of an individual club. This letter would be a great shock to horseowners, and, he added, after the amount of money spent by their club it was not a proper thing that \ such a letter should have been written to it. The club’s delegate had not been informed of what s was now contained in the letter, and the com- A. munication was to him (Mr Bidwill) quite incomprehensible. Mr Williams said the Colonial Secretary, in his calculation as to the number of permits, unquestionably indicated that two of them should go to the Wairarapa club; in fact, he had plainly stated this when it was being discussed. Mr Wilkinson agreed with all that had fallen from the chairman. If the club was deprived of one of its permits it would be disastrous to local horseowners and would mean the inflicting of a wrong upon a club that was practically the oldest in the Wairarapa Valley. They had spent thous- • ands of pounds in the improvement of the course, and this money was found by the public and had been spent on what was practically a public reserve. After further discussion the whole matter was left in the hands of the chairman.

At the annual meeting of the Foxton Racing Club the following officers were re-elected :—Mr F. Robinson, president; Mr E. E. S. Thynne, vice-president; Mr G. Gray, treasurer; Mr A. E. T. Nixon, timekeeper; Mr J. Davies, judge ; Mr J. Cummerfield, clerk of scales ; stewards and committee : Messrs G. Robinson, J. H. Robinson, .< J. F. Overend, W. B. Rhodes, J. Howan, W. Purcell, and H. Border. The club has had a very good year, but in consequence of money laid out on necessary improvements there was a debit balance at the end of the year of £65 Ils 6d. The sum of £6OO was paid in stakes. There was an increase in the totalisator revenue, the sum of £5795 having passed through the machine, as against £4960 in the previous year. At the annual meeting of the Rangitikei Jockey .. Club a very satisfactory report was submitted, showing that the credit balance for the year was £337 10s Bd. The election of officers resulted as follows:—President, Colonel Gorton ; vice-presi-dent, Mr J. T. Dalrymple; judge, Mr J. Stevens; treasurer, Mr J. F. Mansell; secretary, Mr T. King ; handicapper, Mr Henry; clerks of scales, Messrs Campion and Gorton; starter, Mr T. Wood ; clerk of course, Mr J. McDonell; timekeeper, Mr T. Cameron; custodian, Mr E. Levettj auditor, Mr J. Broughton ; committee : Messrs D. Scott, D. Campion, J. A. Bailey, W. Green, D. Fraser, T. Cameron, D. Coughlin, J. McKelvie, E. Levett, and Dr. Bennett.