Trotting Affecting Racing in South

Sun (Auckland), Volume IV, Issue 1022, 12 July 1930, Page 12

Trotting Affecting Racing in South

MR. GOULD HITS OUT COUNTRY CLUBS SUFFER Special to THE SUN WELLINGTON, Today. The growing popularity of trotting as compared with racing, particularly as it affected the smaller clubs in the South Island, formed the subject of considerable discussion at the annual meeting of the New Zealand Racing Conference today. Mr. G. Gould, of Christchurch, referred to the matter in moving a remit from the Canterbury Jockey Club that from September 1 to April 30 the average distance flat races on a programme should be not less than seven furlongs. Racing was losing more and more ground to trotting, he said. People could be heard saying that they got more of a run for their money in trotting, and he was convinced that the longer distances had a lot to do witht it. The only racing clubs in the South Island which were holding their own were those which were keeping up the" average distance of ra.ces. Some of the other clubs were nearly on their last legs. To have no middle-distance races for secondclass horses was a great mistake. “The way things are going now in the South Island, trotting will eat us up,” Mr. Gould said. “Trotting is a magnificent sport, and has a tremendous hold on the public. Those of you who live in the North Island probably do not understand the position, but there is no doubt that racing iri the South Island today is in jeopardy, and I do not want to see it go to the wall. Too many clubs have fallaciously thought that they have to put more and more sprint races on their programmes, for it is the longer distance that is vitally needed.” Need For Longer Races Mr. A. C. Hanlon, of Dunedin, said the mile and a-quarter hack races at the Dunedin meeting were among the best on the programme. He agreed that people thought trotting was so much more interesting, because the races were longer, whereas in the case of gallops it was often simply a short flutter and quickly over. It would be- better for the racing clubs to do as trotting did. and give the public more for its money. A delegate said that the competition of trotting was not the only reason why country racing clubs were going to the wall. One reason was that the metropolitan clubs had got the best of the dates. <

Taranaki delegates said that while they were in sympathy with the remit, they could not support it, for it was necessary for clubs to cater for the horses in their district with short hack races in which two-year-olds could compete. There were not enough two-vear-olds in the district to have separate races solely for them. Mr. Gould said that the more shortdistance races there were the harder it was to fill the longer-distance races. At some places in the South 1 ' Island, where only £7,000 went through the totalisator at race meetings, £20,000 went through the trotting meetings, and the stakes given by the trotting clubs were double those given by the racing clubs. The Canterbury Jockey Club could take care of itself, in spite of the opposition of trotting, but the country clubs were dying. The remit was defeated. Earlier in the meeting permission was given to the Oamaru Jockey Club, South Canterbury Jockey Club, Ashburton County Racing Club, Greymouth Jockey Club and Birchwood Hunt Club to include trotting events in their programme for the coming season. The only increase compared i with the present season is that the South Canterbury Jockey Club lias been allowed two trotting races each day instead of one. COLONIAL SIRES CLASSICS FOR PROGENY? MANY ADVANTAGES The object in view when the committees of the Australian Jockey Club and the Victoria Racing Club decided to prevent geldings from running in the Derbies at Randwick and Flemington was the encouragement of the use of Australian-bred sires. Although the ban has encountered opposition in some quarters, says the “Australasian,” it has on the whole met with strong approval, particularly from those who are acquainted with the stud achievements of Australasianbred sires in the past. The movement for the encouragement of nativebred sires, however, should not end with the disqualification of geldings from the Derbies and Sires’ Produce Stakes. That does not go far enough There is no reason why the clubs concerned should not establish races of good class for substantial stakes and limit them to the progeny of Austral-ian-bred sires. That would be a strong inducement for the leading studmasters to add a well performed and well bred Australian stallion to their studs. With good stakes to be won by the progeny of Australian sires, buyers who will not look at any yearling unless it is by an imported sire would have a strong reason to bid for youngsters by sires bred in this country. Breeders now contend that they have no inducement to include an Austral-ian-bred horse in their studs, because they cannot sell their progeny. If the clubs provide a number of large stakes limited to horses by Australian sires that objection would be removed and there would be a market for yearlings by Australian sires. Another advantage would be the added variety it would give to more or less prosaic and stereotyped programmes. First-class sires were bred in Australia in the past and. if given chances now, there is good ground for believing that Australian sires will once more force their way to the front and hold their own with the best of the importations. WINGATUI GOSSIP EL BOA ON THE ROADS ( All Smiles, who got cut in a wire fence some time ago. is back in work at Wingatui. Gold Tinge is being hacked about the roads in the Kurow district, and will not be taken in hand again until the spring. At this time last winter there -were about 20 rising two-year-olds being handled at Wingatui. At the present time there are only eight—not a good outlook for the early two-year-old races next season. El Boa has benefited by the spell she has had, and is now being hacked about the roads. It is not intended to put this mare into work again for several months, so that the injured leg may have plenty of time to harden up with the road work.