TROT PENALTIES

Dominion, Volume 33, Issue 190, 8 May 1940, Page 13

TROT PENALTIES

Championship Events AN AUSTRALIAN VIEW Within the next few mouths a conference will be called of the controlling (rotting authorities from Australian States and New Zealand, and it is to be hoped (says a Melbourne writer) (hat the discussions will be more amicable than they have been in previous years. At the first of these conferences held in Sydney the Interdominion Championship carnival was born—the most valuable contribution ever made for the good of the sport in Australia. But more recently bickering has ruined the harmonious spirit of these gatherings. At one stage, after Tasmania had decided to ignore the decision of the conference made in New Zealand that the minimum stakes should be £7OOO, there was a danger of some States and New Zealand withdrawing their co-operation. This would have killed the annual championship carnivals. The original “gentlemen's agreement” spirit between the various controlling authorities must be revived. To date, each State to handle the championships has done a most : satisfactory job, but there seems to be more room for co-operation from bodies outside the one controlling the meeting at the time. For instance, before the championship carnival was held in New Zealand the Victorian Trotting and Racing Association staged a championship trial, which created much interest and attracted a wonderful field. Lawn Derby, an outstanding horse, won it. More of these fixtures could be arranged with advantage to the clubs staging them; they help tremendously in promoting interest in the championships. It would not take a great deal of planning —and this is a matter that the conference migh well discuss—for a comprehensive interstate programme of meetings to be prepared some months in advance. The long trip with horses between New Zealand, West and South Australia would appear more attractive if owners in accepting for the championships knew at the time that they could race in Melbourne, Sydney, Adelaide, and perhaps at one or two of the important provincial centres on the way. Such fixtures could be arranged so that they would not wear a horse out. Another important matter ou which the conference must reach unanimity affects penalties that may be incurred by championship horses. It has been the general arrangement to date to exempt horses that make fast times in championship events from handicap penalties when they arrive back in their home States. As the championship carnivals depend ou consolation and other events in which visiting horses are engaged, to complete the success of the carnival, these races should be exempt, too.. Championship trials in other States might also be included with advantage in the list of exemptions. Great disappointment was felt in Perth this year when three horses were withdrawn from consolation and minor races because they would have incurred penalties. Owners are not anxious to ruin the handicaps of their horses unless they have the chance of winning big stakes, and they cannot be Hamed for this attitude. As a result, some of. the Perth races were robbed of much interest. The only sufferer was the club that had gone to the expense of staging the championships. The owners wanted to run, provided their horses were .exempt from penalties. All other clubs will have the same problem to face when they stage their championship carnivals, and it seems that a “blanket” decision regarding exemptions should be made to cover events necessary for the success of a carnival.