WELLINGTON RACING CLUB

Dominion, Volume 12, Issue 5, 1 October 1919, Page 9

WELLINGTON RACING CLUB

A SUCCESSFUL YEAR

BIG BUILDING PROGRAMME

Mr. J. B. Harcourt (president) occupied the chair at the annual meeting of the Wellington Racing Club held in the club's rooms, Woodward Street, vesteryui'd. afternoon. There was a fair attendance of members. lu. moving the adoption of the annual report and balance-sheet (which has already beeir published) the president SiUil: — "Before moving the adoption of tho report and balance-sheet 1 must first express the deep satisfaction .we must all feel that the great war is over, and, at tho same timo express our gratitude to the brave meh who liave secured tho victory for us..'Tho-o who have lost friends and relatives have oiir deepest sympathy in lilieir bereavement, and we must not overlook, those who have returned to their' homes maimed and impaired in health through lighting for us and their country; they must never want. In riioving the' adoption of the annual, report and balance-sheet, I purposo as usual to first draw your attention to the figures in. the balance-sheet, and compare tihem with the figures of the previous year, and..the comparison 1 am suro will ho satisfactory to you.. Matters of Finance. "Tanking first at our liabilities you will observe that we have now a debit balancc nt the bank of ;Sl-i'J7 lis. 4d., compared with a credit balance last year of.. JiioO 9s. Sd., this is largely accounted for by our having increased our investment in War Bonds from *CIO,ODO .to -Is. sd. The reserve for new stnnd is now ill,500; last year it was ,£IO,OOO. On the asset side'you will that a commencement has been made with a new totalisator-liouse and. a siim of-,£900 lias been spent; additions have also been made to luncheon .room, plant, : which- now stands at as compared with J!200 last year. In the revenue account you will see that the stakes -paid were <626,801) ■as against 417,151- Bs. last year, but it must not be overlooked that last year wo raced for i six' days .only. Government taxation was ,£19,985 19s. 9d.; last year it was |- jC.13,630 -13s. 4d. The other principal increases, in the. cxne'nscs account are:— Salaries, ■£302 lis. Id.; maintenance, 'J.*483 18s. id.; rent, rates, and land tax, •C27K12.-i.Gd.; advertising an.t prinling, .£220 75.; atifwlance, etc.. ,&US , J -s. The reduction in expenses is small, the principal being general expenses .£lOl 7s. 'id., horse feed JCBI3 IBs. 5d.: under other headings there are small reductions. You will also see that a sum of ,£B2l 13s. fid. has been written oft' plant and war bonds. On the other side of the revenue account tho totalizator receipts appear as .£42,918 9s. 3d. iis against'.£93,o.l2 Ifis. 10d., an in'.creaso of i!9Bßf> 12s. 5(1.; tho gates and .railways show .£7440 17s. !)d. as against .£3317 14s. lid., an increase of .£4123 2s. l(ld. Nominations and acceptances are .£6OIB as against 4MG27, or an increase of JJ1391; privileges, race book's, etc., are .£-107 Cs. sd. better. ' The'general result is that" the total receipts are ;£"]!),703 18s. fid. as compared with ,£13,718 19s. 7d., an 'increase for the'year of ,£15.98-1 18 s. lid. '.i ne result of the past year, though not quite up to our best previous year, may be considered as satisfactory, seeing all the difficulties we 'have had to put up . with. The Railway Difficulty. ."Our chief difficulty during the past year has been the inefficient railway serftcc, which has prevented large numbers attending our meetings and has put those who did. attend to' great expense in tho hire of motors, etc. The wear and tear of the roads have l>ecn enormous and 'many thousands will be renuired to repair tho damage done. The revenue lost in the railway has amounted to thousands of pounds, and'one cannot but think that with a little better management these losses might have been avoided.. When we consider, the enormous sums contributed to the. revenue..bv racing- clubs we must arrive at the opinion that the clubs have not received the attention from the authorities that they deserve. Electric Totalisator, "In the. report mention is made of the electric totalisator which is now in course of erection at Trentham, The main advantage of .this machine is that all investments are .simultaneously recorded, thus giving speculators the exact odds at the time they buy their tickets and obviating the delays at present caused, by tho calculations 'necessary after the muchine has ceased selling. It is qnito possible we will be able to reduce the interval between races and also extend the time allowed for lunch. Three New. Stands for Trentham. "To meet the constantly increasing attendance at our races it is the intention of your stewards to -erect three new stands, a stewards' and members' stand, with accommodation for the public on the roof, a grandstand seating 4500, and a people's stand-seating about 2000, and all so designed that they can be added to ivlien required. Tho buildings will-bo in ferro-concrete, as little wood as possible being lUed in their construction. The members' stand- will be as now, on the same ■ gallery as the visitors and stewards. It has been suggested that members should have the privilege of taking up a guest to this stand, and if this is desired the neccssary sealing accommodation will havo to be provided. •The stewards would like to get an expression -of opinion from tho members on this subject. The plan is here, and the secretary will explain it to you if you so desire. The stewards have entered info an agreement with Mr. E. S. Luttrell, who is a specialist in racccourse buildings, l'or the construction of the new stands, etc., but it is not anticipated that they will l>o ready_ for occupation until 1921, as great difficulty is being experienced in obtaining the necessary , materials. A'Day Fc-r Soldiers' Comforts, "A largo hospital is now established alongside of our course for the warworn, the sick, and the maimed. Our grounds,are thrown open to them daily, and it has been suggested that permission should be obtained to hold an extra day's racing, ami, that the surplus from this day be devoted to a Hospital Comfort Fund; This would give pleasure 'to the nieii and brighten the lives oi all in the hospital. I say all in the hospital, as I presume their tastes are the same as the .tastes-of tho soldiers in camp were at the beginning of the war, when the Comiitandniil, on a race day, paraded his men. some 4000, and infoi-m----lne-.theiu they could have a day oil',- and thnso who did not wish to accept the club's hospitality to fall out. Well, not a man fell, out, and from that day to the end of the war it has been our pleasure and privilege to have the soldiers at our meetings. Jn conclusion, 1 must again express appreciation of I lie services rendered by tlie various members of ilie staff, an'd especially is the club indebted to llr. A. E. Why'te for the ability and interest he has displayed in the interest of the club." The motion was seconded by Mr. Newman-'and' carried without discussion. Mr. llareoui't. thanked (lie members for electing him' to the position of president once more. lie greatly appreciated the honour done him, lie appreciated the confidence members reposed in him, and would do his best in the interests of the club. . . Mr. Harcourt also announced 1 bat Mr. C. 1\ Skci-relt had been elected vicepresident without opposition. Alteration of Rules,

The president then moved: "That rule 37 bo. amended by striking out the word 'eight,' and substituting the word 'lon' in lieu thereof. That (or Hip purpnws of the firht election of the tv.o additional stewards,. nominations shall be received for such two steward:; uj> In I p.m. on October M, ]!)!!), and a ballot taken as hereinafter provided. That voting papers with the names of all candidates for election of such two' additional stewards, with their respective proposer and seconder, shall he sent to each member. That rules 33, .'!•). and S shall apply. That ii)ion the result of I he election being reported to the stewards, the same sluill Ik advertised onep in Iho three daily newspapers in Wellington, and thereupon the two additional stewards

6o elected shall be deemed duly elected as stewards in all respects as though duly elected at the animal meeting in September, l'Jlll (anything in any other rule or rules to the contrary notwithstanding)." As an amendment, Mr. Guy Johnston moved that four instead of two additional stewards be elected. lie had heard of the tremendous amount of work the stewards had to do, and as they did it for nothing lie would move that four more be elected. Mr. Hubert Nathan seconded the amendment. Mr. R. E. Sinclair asked how many stewards the Canterbury and Auckland Clubs had. The president said that he believed that in Canterbury I hey had a committee as well as stewards. A member said that the Canterbury Jockey Club had a committees of twelve and the same-'number of stewards. As a further amendment, Mr. C. Tringham moved, and Dr. Gilmer seconded, that tho date of the election of the new stewards be October 8 instead of October it, and that the ballot bo taken on October 20, so that tho services of the new stewards would be available for tho spring'meeting. On being put, Mr. Johnston's amendment was lost, and Mr. Tringham's was carried unanimously. The president moved: "That Rule 38 be amended by striking out the word 'four' in the fifth line and substituting the word five' in lieu thereof." He explained that tho motion (which was carried) meant that five instead of four stewards would retire each year. Members' Privileges. Plans of tho new members' stand were exhibited. Tho secretary (Mr. A. E. Why to) explained that the design as far. as accommodation was concerned turned on whether members were to be allowed the privilego of taking a friend into tho stand. The average attendance of members at meetings was about 200, but tho .plans provided accommodation for GOO. If the meeting decided that the privilego should not bo granted then the accommodation ivouid be curtailed. On the_motiou of Mr. Newman it was •lccided that members bo allowed to take a friend into the members 1 stand conditionally on his not being a resident of Wellington. A member: What radius? Mr, Newiuan: Leave that to the. stewards. Mi'. Gothenburg wanted a .space provided,' however restricted, for members only, but on being informed of the ample accommodation being provided said he was prepared to "watch for 'developments." Election of Officers. The four stewards elected were Messrs. Chilman, J. Duncan, Eric Riddiford, and .Dr. Gilmer. Messrs. E. Bucholy, and A. S. Maeshane were reappointed auditors at tho same remuneration as last year.'