THE KUROW CASE

Hokitika Guardian, 23 October 1928, Page 7

THE KUROW CASE

CONFER ENCE! RESOLUTION

WELLINGTON, October 19

At the conclusion of formal business at the meeting of the New Zealand Racing Conference to-day the vicepresident (Mr O. S. Watkins) moved the following resolution, which was carried without discussion:—

<l That Jill clubs having on their pmura mines ciontaining conditions which restrict entry therefore to horses- that have not won a race of the value of a 'specified amount, or races of the aggregate value of a specified amount, he notified by the secretary of the Conference that the words ‘to the winner’ must be inserted in such conditions after the value of the race, and that district committees be instructed not to approve any programme unless the words ‘to the winner’ are stated in the conditions of any race limiting entry to horses that have not won a race of a specified amount, or races of the aggregate value of a specified amount.

At a later stage Mr .T. S. Barrett said he did not want to refer*directly to the Ivurow case as he understood it was sub judice, but the circumstances attached thereto prompted him to make a suggestion to the Conference to put a stop to cases of this nature. He thought it should he a recommendation to the annual conference to amend the rules so that once a horse was placed in the starter’s hands the eligibility to run or otherwise should be finished with. The stipendiary stewards and secretaries were well paid to look after all technical points, and they were there not only to protect owners and trainers but to look after the interests of the unfortunate investor who, seeing the horse paraded, would deposit his investment in good faith and then when the horse won find that he was ineligible to.run owing to some faulty point which should have been detected before the horse was handed over to the starter. The whole thing was dishonest in this way: that a man cannot lose unless he has a chance of winning, and more incidents like that at Ivu row would soon sicken racegoers. Mr W. A. Saunders said that Kurow incident had a wider effect than suggested by Mr Barrett, and he would like the Conference Committee to take the matter up in the way of instructing stipendiary stewards to enquire into such qualifications of horses affected by such races. The onus should be on those officials to see that horse were eligible before the innocent public were misled. The chairman: The stewards should also be held responsible. Mr Saunders: Quite right, but many of the stewards of country clubs did not have the same information available as the stipendiary stewards in regard to a horse’s performance. This should he in the hands of the paid officials, and country clubs depended ■on them for guidance in such matters.

The chairman said that his motion and the reference to, the matter by the other two speakers would no doubt be followed up by the Executive Committee, and some good was likely to come of it.

Mr Barrett: A riot occurred at Ellerslie, recently, and it was a wonder there was not one at Kurow.