RACING BOOM

Press, Volume LXXXII, Issue 24906, 20 June 1946, Page 4

RACING BOOM

DECLINE IN BETTING PREDICTED NECESSITY FOR PRUDENT FINANCING Affirming that a recession in totalisator investments would come, the chairman (Mr A. S. Elworthy), in his annual address to members of the Canterbury Jockey Club yesterday, emphasised that prudent financial policy was necessary now and that large commitments should not be entered into without due thought to the future. “Totalisator investments continue to mount, and record turnovers are the order of the day,” said Mr Elworthy. “For some time now we have been saying that the peak has been reached, only to find that such is riot the case. Racing is certainly booming at present, but even the most optimistic would hesitate to assert that this state will last indefinitely. I say without hesitation that there will come a time when the upward climb will be arrested, and that there will be a decline—sudden or gradual, I am not prepared to forecast —to something like pre-war figures.” Racing had been fully restored, as far as the number of permits available was concerned, but meetings had still to be conducted on Saturdays and public holidays. It was the committee’s hope that permission to race again on week-days would be granted as soon as possible, as there was no doubt that the long drawn-out meetings of the major clubs were inconvenient to owners, trainers, and public alike. The present system was profitable, not only to the clubs, but to the Government, and it was respomsible to a large extent for the high stakes being given to-day, but he felt, and he was sure many were in agreement with him, that any reduction in revenue due to a return to normal racing would be more than coinpensated for by the greater convenience and enjoyment of racing under prewar conditions. There was also the difficulty of fitting all the meetings in on Saturdays and 1 holidays. The club had had to abandon one of its days this season because it was not possible to find a suitable date. Other clubs had had to abandon days for the same reason, and, to say the least, it was unfortunate for owners and trainers, and a considerable loss to the State. The club was faced with at least one large item of expenditure which could not be avoided, said Mr Elworthy. For some time the ticket-issuing machines had been giving trouble on race-days, causing minor delays. These machines, which were part of the original totalisator equipment, were not replaced when the win-and-place machinery was installed—they have given wonderful service, but due to wear and tear over a long period, had reached a state where only constant careful attention by the totalisator engineer and his assistants enabled them to function. They were to be replaced with the latest issuer now under manufacture. ~ The photo-finish was to be installed at Riccarton, possibly at the Grand National meeting. Opinions were somewhat divided as to the actual necessity of this innovation. Many consider that racing was becoming more and more of a commercial undertaking, with too many mechanical devices being introduced. Certainly the club had for many years functioned satisfactorily without the assistance of such mechanical However, other clubs had decided that the introduction of the photo-finish was a progressive step, and the club could not afford to be “behind .the times.