THE SPORT OF KINGS

Dominion, Volume 8, Issue 2346, 31 December 1914, Page 7

THE SPORT OF KINGS

PROGRESS IN 1914 [ RACE MEETINGS & THE WAR RESULTS NOT AFFECTED Racing in New Zealand has shown steady progress during the past twelve months, and, while it is difficult to forecast what the ultimate effect of the war will beds-far as the sport is'concerned, it is satisfactory to' record that' up'to the present there has been no 6erious -setback. -Indeed, in many instances the race meetings, whiclr have taken place since the outbreak of hostilities, liave been successful beyond expectations, a fact, which proves the wisdom, of the Racing Conference President (Sir George Clifford) in advising all clubs to carry on business as in normal times. Any other• course of action-could .not but nave inflicted hardships on a- big section of the population employed by the various racing, institutions throughout the •Dominion.-•'-,-■ '-.-■..; ■"■ '•'" ~FlQ4irishing Condition Locally. •Locally the sport has flourished in the. most promising' manner, .there "' having •■■ been a- substantial in* crease in the attendance of 'thepublic, at-.the. Trentham . meetings, and,£ corresponding improvement in. the Wellington, Racing Club's revenue. The Autumn fixture in April witnessed the inauguration of; the first 1000 sovss. weight-for-age race iri Wellington— the lrentham Gold Cup. r Tho weather was bad, ■ and the. field, was - small, but >(as ,ottr. J.-'-B. HarcouTt, remarked in-his last presidential address) interest in the race could be gauged by the remarkable demonstration of, popular enthusiasm which took place ! at its conclusion, despite the. fact that the winner was an outsider and finished several lengths ahead. In addition ' to, general additions to stakes', the club'incurred other heavy expenditure,':'-. for buildings and property were materially added to, and well maintained. There is at present under construction-a new 6, 5, and 4flirkmg course, with only.a slight.bend. This necessitated the acquisition by lease of some" 44. acres of ground adjoining ihe Trentham,freehold, and'when the new tracks are ready for.use the shorter races decided at the,club's meet-, ings should "provide contests in which the majority , of'.the .'competitors will have chances more..nearly equal than at present. As regards future policy, it. is the intention .of the "club to carry on iquch'./on the _■-. same 'lines as in the preceding racing seasons. -Any '■■.. new undertakings 'involving increased", expenditure would no- doubt be unwise in view, of tli.'a great national crisis. The success, attending the local race meetings is pi'actic ally an example of what has. been happening all over the country, and/this, .combined with the absence of any serious cases bf.'turf mal.practice, the steady growth in; the import, and export trade in thoroughbred stock, and the revival of the breeding industry, is. a tribute to the general healthiness of the, sport. ". It.may be said, too,, that.a higher standard has now been set; for. racing clubs because in the past twelve.months/the largest amount hitherto attached to any one race as prize money has been bettered in both galloping and trotting.'- As the 'totalisator investments show' no sign of- falling;-.off;'' tho. standard so, far as stakes;- are concerned, .is likely t'o. be maintained. /.-•; : ; :.;■;;;• ':', : . ;,- .Important Legislation. ; No doubt this bulk "of racing men re. gard;the passing of Mr. .Geo. Hunter's Gaming Amendment Bill as' the, most important event; of the' year as, b> means of this i legislation,, racing has won:, back some of -the peft ; mits which were, lost;'when .the now famous commission made its attack on dates and'places some few years ago, la. the Turf Parliament:-in. July last the general increase in stakes canu> under, the notice of. jockey club delegates, and at the'.suggestion of Mr. Hunter—the member, for Waipaw'a believes in keeping abreast of the times— a proposal was-carried: to increase the hack definition vahies v tp £150 and £400 respectively for single races and. total winnings: -The Racing Conference also took a drastic step in the. direction of closing up the avenues open to the bookmaker when, at the suggestion .of the president,"an addition was" made:to' the Rules'of Racing, stipulating: that by' the entering of/a/ horse, -the owner or owners 'of -such horse shall be deemed to ■■ undertake not to make any wager with a'bookmaker in connection with that.horse or any other horse in the race in which that horse is en-The-practical effect of this new' rule is not yet apparent, but as the whole nation has recently had impressed upon it the sacred naturo" of treaties and undertakings;,owners may be. reasonably" expected to come to regard a breach of the new rule as a breach of' honour.' A natural ' consequence of a right-minded view would be the rapid extinction of the bookmaker through the; loss of-the most profitable branch qf his business.." The.'idea, expressed by. a . delegate, that the. new_ rule would - be. set at defiance by 'owners is not'likely to be so readily entertained just now, and the effect of the rule may soon be more marked than it was ever' expected to be. '■'- ,;. '-.-• ;-'■ Outstanding incidents. , The year has not been without its -surprises and outstanding incidents, both here;and abroad.;. In'Eng'and the big events did not produce so many rank outsiders aa in 1913, but'something unprecedented - in the history of the' Epsom Derby happened. when the event was won by a- "foreigner," Durbar 11, whose breeding would nothar-. roonise with the Bruce Lowe theory, : ahd whose dam is not oligible for admission to' the "Stud Book," although the line can be traced back for; a-century and a_ i quarter.. In the Old Country the season appears to have Brought to light no Swynfords or Spearmints, and in Australia apparently no new Trafalgar [lias appeared in tbe twelve months, but lin our own Dominion Warstep: has proved herself, one of the best, mares j ever foaled here, and Merry Roe, of [ the same year, has registered performarices,'_ which indicate that it is hot impossible for the country to produce I twe champions in, the one season. Gen- [ erally, the class of thoroughbred, has improved wonderfully, and the old wornout argument. about "weedy squibs" and the degeneracy of the thoroughbred will no longer carry, conviction. ' And when it'comers to tests of endurance; tlie thorrmghbreds thatl have been sent to the Front'to help in the fight '/for right, will prove the national value of the racing and the horse-breeding industry. . ■■