TURF MORALITY.

Evening Star, Issue 3130, 1 March 1873, Page 2

TURF MORALITY.

If horse-racing is to be regarded as worthy of public encouragement hero, as it is in every part of the British dominions, all attempts at such improper practices as serve to bring the turf and those connected with it into disrepute, must, on b.iug brought to light, be put down with a strong hand. There must be no half measures like those adopted by the Victorian Pacing Club in the recent Wallis matter : nothing short of prompt action which will fully meet the case will satisfy. We are 1p,4 to make these observations through the occurrence at Tuapeka, the other day, of what was a most barefaced attempt to take an unfair advantage. The principal event at that race meeting was the Handicap, for which, among other horses, Tambourini, Hatred, and Atlas ran. Hie last mentioned —a Provinciillyowned horse—was favorite, and in all likelihood would have won. But Tambourini was so ridden by his jockey, Robert Reay, that betweet) hitp widths rider o{ Hatred, Alias was

successfully jostled out of all chance of the race. The public will have gathered the nature of Reay’s offence from the account, which appeared in our issue of this day week, of the Tuapeka races ; to which ’no now avid our own report and the decision of the Jockey Club. The latter bad, in the memorial placed before them, quite enough to warrant their taking the action they did ; but had unmistakeable evidence by Holt, Atlas’s jockey, and others, that Reay possessed an interest in both the first and second horses, and that the jostling was a pre-an anged affair. Reay’s defence, that the jostling was unintentional on his part, was in the ratio of the strength of the proof to the contrary. But retribution came, and nothing will better servo to put down conduct similar to that of the j ekey, than the knowledge that the racing authorities will at once visit with the severest penalty they can such cases In the interests of turf morality, the Tuapeka Club should publish that evidence ; hut whether they do so or not, the other jockey clubs in the Province must follow its action, and should do so immediately. It is n> cessary for the protection of the public that such transactions as those referred to should be vigorously denounced by them.