TROTTING Long Agenda Likely At Auckland Meeting

Press, Volume C, Issue 29497, 26 April 1961, Page 6

TROTTING Long Agenda Likely At Auckland Meeting

I The meetfng of .North Island trottin* dubs, which will be held in I Ajpiritand okßtay-' 12 at the request of the New Zealand Trotting ConI 'fiMNwk wiß- Inna a long agenda. B ' Maar ed> Hie difficulties resulting from dubs centralising and Echaagtag to night trotting have been outlined in a circular sent to all RjNjl'ißJfihnid etoe by the conference. A study of the facts collated by Mffi Mhh>onee Mfgests that the meeting will probably go into a second

E?W?v■ - - ■ • U One of sb* main points nmim: by -<h* ; .OODtatnee is M* MSlwtill focß Of . slower '7§b~ ffiffieulty raSm -fMiul at '-nlßbl 'becomMg'Fmwb '’veutiiSaat than hWfon tbay recoil 4a Anytime. As .a raeuß they have tiSfofoned cfoMee to enable them to provUfo greater attraction. for. increased atRace, for maiden , pacers, tor Instance, In ,ibe 1958-58 Hsetn. in. the whole of the Worth island totalled 69 They dropped to 80 last season, while this term it has been estimated that the figure will be 52. Races tor horses with one win have dropped from 59 in 1958.50 to an estimated 44 this season, while in the next elate the drop has been from 44 to the 1958-59 season to 38 this season. The next group, which is Hie equivalent of 4m in 41 see for two tnilen has shown a slight increase, totalling an estimated <6 this season, compared with 42 last reason and 43 in the 1958-59 season. Some clubs did not include a 4mto 41sec class event when they raced to daytime, but several of them have made this the starting point when they have framed programmes for night meetings. Races with a limit of 4min 37see tor two miles, or its equivalent over other distances, have also shown a sharp increase, totalling 42 this season, an increase of 12 over the 1958-59 season. Big Increase The greatest increase has been in races with a limit of 4min 31 sec for two miles, or its equivalent over other distances. In this group there will be an estimated 28 races, compared with 11 last season and seven the season before. The number _ of races for horses assessed'at 4min 29*ec and faster for two miles has remained almost static durine the last two seasons. There were 23 opportunities for those horses in the 1958-59 season and again last term while this season the total is expected to be 25. The same position applies in the section for trotters. There has been a decrease of eight races in the section for

maidens, while in the next class there has been a drop of eight. The figures compiled by the conference show that there were 172 races for pacers in the three slowest classes in the 1958-59 season, and there are only 131 this season. To remedy the problem it has been estimated that a minimum number of 40 additional races to the slower classes would be neeestary. It has been suggested that the problem could; be overcome by providing nontotalisator races with stakes This refers partfeularly to clubs which have been granted permission to race on metropolitan tracks. Clubs could subsidise non-totalisa-tor clubs to enable them to run the required races. One other suggestion is that clubs run more division races, but that is unlikely to be acceptable to clubs racing at night, although some of them have done so in the past. Division races, however, have created problems of maintaining a strict timetable as is necessary at night meetings. It has been pointed out that the cosit of providing an additional 40 races would be a,bout £lO,OOO and that the method of providing that money could either be left to individual clubs or by the provision of a levy made proportionately on all clubs.

has been claimed that the racing season should begia early in September and continue until May, and that clashes should be avoided as much as possible. It has also been suggested that there should be a better blending of metropolitan and country racing. One of tiie greatest difficulties facing followers of trotting in the North Island has been the lack of continuity of racing. Often horses have numerous opportunities for six weeks or more and then no further racing for two months or more. In that period horses can go out of form. The lack of confidence of the public was obvious in the small off-course turnover when racing was spread out. At present there are 49 days of trotting in the North Island. There was no racing in August this season and there will be none in July There will be two meetings to be run after the Manawatu meeting next Saturday. One of these will be run in May and the other in June. The costs of keeping horses In work have increased over the last few years and it is probable that many owners and trainers will decide not to keep their horses going for two meetings so far apart during May and June. Most of the problems in the North Island could be overcome with additional permits However, strong opposition to this can be expected from galloping interests. The present difficulties will probably have to be overcome without new permits and the meeting at Auckland could provide some of the answers

Short Season The serious shortening of the racing season has caused considerable difficulties in the North Island. Of the 31 permits available for night trotting, 27 were used in a period from November to March. As there were six clashes of dates during that period, there were only 16 permits available in the North Island for the other seven months of the year. For the betterment of trotting in the North Island, it