TROTTING Stakes Up By £250 At Addington

Press, Issue 31095, 25 June 1966, Page 6

TROTTING Stakes Up By £250 At Addington

Although the stakes have been increased by £250 to £16.400, only’ one race has had a direct increase applied to it. at the New Zealand Metropolitan Trotting Club’s national meeting to be run on August 20 and August 27.

The August 20 meeting will be run in daytime, while the following week the meeting will be run on the night of the Rugby test at Lancaster Park.

The increase, amounting to £5O, has been given to the Canterbury Stakes, to be run at the night meeting. This race, which carried a stake of £550 test year, is run over 10 furlongs for three-year-olds. Winners of one race will start from 12 yards, two races from 24 yards and three or more races from 36 yards. Last year the club ran races for maiden pacers at each of its national meetings. This year there will be a race for maiden pacers only on the first day. The maiden race at the night meeting has been replaced by a £7OO event for 2:17 class horses to be run over 10 furlongs. Last year the Lightning Handicap was one of the feature races on the first day of the meeting. It carried a stake of £l3OO and was a sprint event run under invitation conditions. No doubt because of the departure of so many horses to the United

States, the club has changed the limit for the race this year to 2:13 and faster, and the stake has been reduced to £llOO.

The Louisson Handicap will revert to its position as the richest race for pacers on the first day. It will carry a stake of £l2OO and will be restricted to horses assessed at 2:12 and not faster than 2:11. The stake for the Christchurch Handicap, the main race on the first day for trotters, has been retained at £1250. This race will be run over 13 furlongs under invitation conditions. The same stake and conditions will apply to the Winter Handicap at the night meeting.

Four-year-olds

The Four-year-old Stakes, of £6OO, will create some interest on the first day of the meeting, although the stake is so low that well-performed three-year-olds of the current season will not be interested in competing.

I The race will be restricted to winners. Horses with twe wins will start from 12 yards, three wins from 24 yards and four or more wins from 36 yards. The distance of th* race is unchanged at 13 fur longs.

| The races for slow-class i trotters will carry stakes ol £7OO and be restricted tc horses assessed at 2:16 and jnot faster than 2:14. On the (first day they will race ovei !two miles, against 13 furlongs last year, and at the night meeting they will revert to 13 furlongs. | The other races on the two programmes cater for pacers 'assessed at 2:16 and faster | Fields for some events might |be on the small side because of the exportation of so man? horses to the United States, but the material should he available for some most interesting racing as horses at tempt to qualify for majot spring events such as the New Zealand Cup. which last term carried a stake of £7500 and a trophy valued at £lOO