GISBORNE RACES

Gisborne Herald, Volume LXVI, Issue 20050, 23 September 1939, Page 9

GISBORNE RACES

OCTOBER PROGRAMMES THREE DAYS’ RACING WINNERS REDUCED £l9O HACKS WELL CATERED FOR By “Trenton" The Poverty Bay Turf Club has, despite a slight reduction in stakes, produced a fairly attractive programme for its meeting on October 19 and 21. In addition to the Turf Club’s fixture. the Poverty Bay Hunt Club will hold its meeting on October 23. This means that owners and trainers will be in the happy position of having three days’ racing within a space of five days. This, in itself, should be an attraction to outside owners. This is the first occasion on which the Hunt Club has raced on Labour Day and, as there is usually a limited number of attractions on that day, the meeting should be very popular.

With reference to the reduction in stakes, it may be stated that both clubs were very reluctant to do so. However, Gisborne is in a peculiar pos - tion as compared with most other clubs iu the Dominion, in that visitors must rely solely on motor transport to attend the meetings, and the present petrol restrictions present a problem.

With a hurdle race each day at the Turf Club’s meeting, and one at the Hunt Club's fixture, the jumpers are well catered for.

Owners of hacks should have no trouble in placing their horses, as there are no fewer than seven races set aside for them.

Five Open Races

There are five open races on the two programmes. The Turf Club has an open “six” each day and an open mile race on the opening day. On the second day, the distance for a similar event is extended to a mile and a quarter, and the Hunt Club provide a similar event on their programme.

. The Juvenile Stakes, for two and three-year-olds, on the second day of ■he Turf Club's fixture should attract a good deal of interest, as a number of this age are now trained locally. Although the stakes have been reduced, i'ney are almost on a par with those offered, in 1937, and considerably larger than the preceding few years.

The reduction will affect the placegetters to some extent, but the winners in tile two days of the Tuif Club's meeting will share only £l9O less than at the corresponding meeting last year. Details of the programme appear in this issue.