RACING BOOM IN AUSTRALIA

Chronicle (Levin), 24 August 1946, Page 2

RACING BOOM IN AUSTRALIA

Soinc inicrostiug sidclighls on rucing in Austi'nlia arc givcn by a promuR'itt Sydney ou ncr in a iettcr to a New Zcainnd traincr. •4i(acing lias been booming for tlic. pnsl iwo ycar.s, " he writes. '"The axailable inoncv comcs l'rom various souives -Idack niarketcers, hcavy rest ricl ions oi' shop goods, high vages aird men returniug I roiu the war with siibslautial sums of mouey to their credit. ' 4 To give you some idca of the eiTect j oi* rest ricl ions, savings bank deposits in Australia ha\e riseu some £460,(30(1,00(1 since It).';.1), while Australian casti credits in Londoa have risen from a defb-ie.ney of £10,060,000 to a credit of £200,000*,006 a( the eml of last May. 4 4 This may rellecl more or less an nrlilicial economic position, and the ecouoinisls air techincal views proving how dangerous tliis position is for Ans trnlia, but 1 don 't pretend to understniul tlu-ir liigh falulin' ideas on world linnnce. As again-g this credit position we have nsed £506,600,000 of Treasury bills, but this mouey has been borrowed internally, and l, for one, see no dnngor in borrowing from our oun jieople, ]>ro- \ iding the money is used iutelligeutK*. Big Attendauces " IJacing stakes have risen substan tially with this iarush of money,. for Ihe reason that raceconrse attendances have trebled. The attendance at lioseliili rnrelv exceeded 10,000 a few yoars ago, e.xcept on two days of t'he year — Guineas day and tho Saturday beforo the Sydiiey t'up week — when you might expect an increase to 15,000. Nowadays ihe atlendnnees on ordinary days al little conrses like Cnnterbury Park and Moorelield run Lo 30,000. Ainazing!