HORSEMEN WERE ANNOYED

NZ Truth, Issue 1145, 10 November 1927, Page 11

HORSEMEN WERE ANNOYED

Unfair Treatment In Draw For Positions

Jockeys riding 1 m the Stewards' Handicap at Riccarton on Saturday reckoned they had a grievance "against the officials.

•THERE were nineteen horses m the 1 race and that ; number of marbles w ; as puj; into the machine used, for, drawing post positions.' •..". Eighteen of the riders drew theif marbles and there was one left m the machine. " ' That was for Booster's rider, but the horse was taken out at the last minute and 'still the marble— which was number three— lay m the machine. Then came the order that started the trouble. . ; -, Pre'd. Waddell, rider of Shirley, had drawn nineteen— the extreme' outer of the field. , . : v '. With Booster going out, it was only

natural ,to expect everybody to drop down a place. : This- ;would. iave .^made! .; W^ddeH's. post position number' eighteen. . But, nol One of the officials "had another idea and he gave "Waddell the number that had been left in»the box. Then came the squeal from theother riders. They stood right up on their hind legs and made no end of fuss, but they could not get the official to budge. • ' To '"N.Z. Truth," the action of shifting the horseman m fifteen places — he actually should have been eighteen, but he took No. three place-r-was absolutely unfair and out 0f ... all reason.