SPORTING INTELLIGENCE.

Evening Star, Issue 3410, 26 January 1874, Page 3

SPORTING INTELLIGENCE.

THE WA.KATIP R’ACESI 1 Since 1863, when our Jockey Club was established,v our ■ races .have, year by year, been held under varying circumstances, and have, with the single:exception,of last one, pro Jticcd.fairup-country sport* In some of the meeting, has .been of an excellent character; but latterly, owing partly, to races being held dn bq, .many different parts of the unitedProvinoos ofOtago and Southland',, .they.: have; not maintained the standard excellence once-attained. . Large money prizes have foiled! to produce good contests, aud.no ,Wonder,, to some extent. So many meetings necessarily require an in- , creased number of horses to . keep up the . .fields th anything-like a point of excellence. Horses require owners who will incur the trouble of training , and running them on their merits. Men of means who, loving v racing foj sport’s sate,; run their'horses honestly, are too few in number- on the other hand, the turf attracts a class of horsey men who make of racing a trade, and who will* resort to the most .devious devices to gain success.' With many of these,. honesty is ..only a lip Word, and they consider thafr they would be green, raw, hands indeed to adopt the line of action that word suggests. Horses thus fall more and. more into the hanjjs-qjf meji . without scruples dr qualms of any kmd,wh6,ignote the wishes of the public that the best horse may win, aud all, at least, have fair play. The public who attend and support races are jiow do keenly suspicious, that hardly sibyls race is run without an attempt to find but if there is any “ swindle ” bn the board. ; Plebty of these there are, but generally they escape detection until tho race 'is 6veb As further tending to mar good racing, the layge number bf meets, lead to| a rough mapping out of the Campaign,, and-a somewhat rude, understanding of what horses shall be scdt this circuit hr that one by their respective owners. Whenever honest running is expected to be in force that place is‘spotted with one or two ' • good horses who take away the leading prizes, : > tcM<b® chagrin of the local men. who haye .• taken time and trouble with, their locally ■;: ‘ pWßed steeds. Thoxeault is even further ex'i:: tended,-for a closer combination exists at the Uitteob itselfr -and. it becomes a case of. the profwiowl fa® vif t, wy. Iqc?1 corner, Jt

is wonderful with what; facility two will f ainki any rgrudges ot animosities rapd‘ distribute, as far as possible, thp races be-’ ; tween, them. We ’ have indulged in the above remarks because the raceswe arc noticing presented to view some, if not all of the above features It is, by all accounts, i s characteristic of other similar affairs as our own one. We cannot say that there was apparent any downright dishonesty, for that is! too dangerous a game to play for small stakes anywhere, but still there lurked doubts and suspicions that in some of the races all was not so square and straight and above-board as it should bo. 'This was more than hinted at, it was openly asserted.— ‘ Mail.’

CALCCTTA SWEEPS;. A cw, creating some .speculation, has been heard at the Resident Magistrate’s Court, Clyde. The question involved is whether a sale of shares in a Calcutta sweep *v a 8^ e y,-y the/meanings,of thG;Ordinance, ..._ The person charged was Robert Stan brook, A, local auctioneer,. and tbe evidence adduced by the police proved that on the night in question he conducted m the usual way—Tambourini and Atlas as being sold—a said ofCalqutta. sweeps on tbe .Cromwell races. For, ,;the -defence, it- -was contended that the: sale of Calcutta' sweeps was iot i sale within the-meaning of-the Ordinance. The Calcutta sweeps sale was confined to subscribers, and the Ordinance ' with sales that were open to the public; at which any one could bid. One witness—the landlord of the hotel in. which 1 the-sweep was held—Was examined. He said “;■ tanbrook put i the Chance*aip for sale. Only aubs'eriberawere allowed to hid. fta ibrook auctioned in the Usual way: that is, bids were taken from subscribers only.; Tambourini-was not sold ;he was.bought-in b y the owner. Did not recollect Atlas being Thereafter, it was further con-' tenimd that the interpretation- clause of the Ordinance referred- to something tangible. A chance -an ia*’ Calcutta ; sweep was not tangible, therefore a dismissal was asked, onj the ground that nothing bad been-soldi Inspector Moore contended that tickets in a Calcutta sweepr epresout Value equally as' tnuchna scrip in a limited liability .company,; The Bench. l (Mr ‘ Warden Simpson)- refused to take cognisance of this new. feature that had been imported into the case. The evidence for the proaebution referredito the aald of horses, not of- tickets. It.was an ingenious point,.and had it.been raisedat an: Earlier «tage might have altered the judgment. A* decision was to have been given to-day.