THAMES CLUB PROGRESSES

Sun (Auckland), Volume I, Issue 154, 20 September 1927, Page 9

THAMES CLUB PROGRESSES

SUCCESSFUL SEASON INDICATED BY TONE OF ANNUAL REPORT 'T’HE annual report of the Thames Trotting Club shows the popular country organisation to be in a very satisfactory position. The annual meeting will take place on Friday, 23rd. inst., when the report and financial statement will be presented to members. The sum of £1,125 in cash and a silver cup valued at £25 were given away in stakes and a good class of horse was attracted to the meeting. Good fields were the order of the day, while the racing was of the best with interesting finishes. The club was again complimented on the manner in which the meeting was conducted. SOUND FINANCIAL POSITION After the successful meeting of last year a credit balance of £515 13s was brought forward. The receipts for the year, £4,012 2s 3d, exceed the expenditure, £3,679 4s 9d, by £332 17s 6d. and the sum of £B4B 10s 6d is carried forward to the season 1927-28. Of this sum £750 is on fixed deposit and the balance, £9B 10s 6d, on account current with the Bank of New Zealand. A detailed statement of receipts and expenditure is attached hereto. The sum of £17.946 was passed through the totalisator, representing an increase of £2,887. The gross totalisator return to the club was £2.423 6s 6d. No less than £1,299 16s lOd was paid to the Government under various headings. LARGE MEMBERSHIP During the year the membership of the club was largely increased and now stands at 400. As the membership is unlimited, the committee would appeal to the members to make the club as popular as possible by a further increase of new members during the coming season. No entrance fee is payable, the annual subscription being £1 Is. The provision of a wheelboard at the racecourse was favourably commented on by the trainers and drivers, the effort to minimise the risk of a collision with the posts being greatly appreciated.

The club again provided free stabling for visiting owners and trainers, and this concession was greatly appreciated. It is becoming a more difficult problem each year to find the required number of boxes, and the committee has been prosecuting inquiries with a view to the erection of club stables. A big outlay will be necessary, and a thorough report on the whole question will be made and passed on for the guidance of the incoming: committee. EXPRESSIONS OF CONDOLENCE The committee expressed its sincere regret at the deaths of the Hon. R. F. Bollard, Mr. G. F. Mark, who rendered valuable services in the club’s infancy, and Messrs. J. Prendeville and A. McLoughlin, members of the club, and conveyed to the bereaved relatives their deepest sympathy. STATEMENT SUMMARISED The chief items of expenditure for the year were: Rent of course, £268 10s; course; improvements, £217; stakes, £1,150; taxation, £1,356 Is lOd. The main source of revenue was: Totalisator receipts, £2,423 8s 6d; members’ subscriptions, £336 18s; nominations, £206; acceptances, £275; gates, £233 4s; and Government rebate, £IBB 4s 9d. The club’s assets total £B4B 10s 6d (cash on fixed deposit and current account), with liabilities nil. OFFICERS FOR 1927-28 SEASON When nominations closed recently for the various official positions, only the required number was received, and the nominees will therefore be declared duly elected at the meeting. The officers are:—Patron, Mr. T. W. Rhodes, M.P.; president, Mr. J. Twohill; vicepresidens, Messrs. H. Lowe, B. Faithful, E. Watson and J. McCormick; stewards, Messrs. J. Casey, B. Faithful, T. G. Tizard, J. Bailey, P. R. Henry, G. Smith, W. G. Hayward, A.. Wylie, H. E. Hardy, J. H. Hudson, C. Ansford and J. Doherty; executive, Messrs. J. Hidd, E. Elliott, R. M. Rhodes, W. Mackay, E. H. Kelly, W. Teasdale, J. Taylor, H. R. Denzie, E. B. Tizard, S. R. Heslop, H. G. Murray and G. Buchan.