Will Auckland Be N.Z. Premier Club Some Day ?

Sun (Auckland), Volume IV, Issue 1057, 22 August 1930, Page 13

Will Auckland Be N.Z. Premier Club Some Day ?

Merger Will Result in Trotting Progress A BRIGHT FUTURE That as a result of the trotting merger, Auckland will one day be the premier club of the Dominion, was the opinion expressed at the Auckland meeting yesterday by Mr. H. R. Mackenzie, president of the Otahuhu Club., after the proposal had been unanimously carried. Speaking in support of the amalgamation of the Auckland and Otahuhu Trotting Clubs at the annual meeting of the former organisation, Mr. bchnauer referred to the harmony which had existed in past years between both light-harness associations. A stage had now been reached, lie said, when, owing to a continuation of financial stringency, it became necessary to bring about a merger between the clubs if the programme of improvements outlined for Alexandra Park was to reach consummation. Members were well aware that a new stand was badly needed for their requirements, while a most desirable progressive measure was the installation of an electric totalisator. These objectives would have to be suspended if the merger was not sanctioned. With the dawn of the proposal there were numerous obstacles to be faced on both sides, but these had been surmounted and all that was required to put the machinery in working order was the favourable decision of Auckland Club members to the scheme. Once this is obtained, legislation will be enacted to complete the amalgamation. In Interest of Trotting Mr. Schnauer further stated that the Otahuhu Club had viewed the proposal favourably. Before the suburban or ganisation could race on its own property a lot of money would have to be spent on appointments, and the course would only be in use four days a year. On the other hand the amalgamated body will hold eleven days’ racing annually at Alexandra Park, which warrants the carrying out of the suggested improvements. These, the committee will require to consider very carefully at this juncture on account of the possibility of falling totalisator revenue. Viewed generally the merger was entirely in the interests of trotting in this centre, concluded Mr. Schnauer, and as unity is strength and greater results can be attained by working together instead of independently, he considered the wise and proper step would be to affirm the proposal. The Correct Channel Mr. J. Rowe said that the improvements required at Alexandra Park would mean finding interest on .£116,000, and this in addition to rates, taxes and maintenance meant a heavy expenditure. He made an appeal to all present to endeavour to have money for investment directed through the correct channel —the totalisator. Too much money was lost to clubs through illegal betting. Mr. Buxton gave the project his wholehearted support. He had been associated actively with the Auckland Club for thirty years, and had always found goodwill and a spirit of unity between the management of the respective trotting bodies, which he hoped would continue under the new order. “This merger,” said the speaker, “is undoubtedly in the interest of the sport and will tend to further raise the standard of the popular pastime in Auckland. Looking Forward After the proposal had been carried unanimously, Mr. H. R. Mackenzie, president of the Otahuhu Club, congratulated the Auckland member on acting so wisely and wejl. His club did not go into the scheme because it was broke, by any means, as the position shown in the recent balance-sheet verified. He supported the merger because he saw a golden opportunity of advancing the standard of the sport in the province. The Otahuhu members who were coming on to the Auckland committee were men well versed in trotting management and they would prove valuable co-workers with the Auckland representatives. It would be necessary at ‘first to go ahead cautiously, but in a few years he opined that such progress would be made as to see Auckland the premier club of the Dominion. Mr. Rowe hoped that Mr. McKenzie’s optimism regarding Auckland’s rise to the top of the ladder would prove correct, but he was of the opinion that while the cost of training in the South remained so much cheaper than in Auckland, it was hoping against hope. The speaker said that horses in Canterbury could be trained for half what it cost here. Replying to a question the president said the Otahuhu Club would not lose its identity. As a result of the merger “it will grow from a boy to a man.” It would be part and parcel of the Auckland Club, which was only the trustee or custodian of the public. If the club went out of existence, everything would be taken over by the Government. NOT MUCH LEFT Expensive Proposition TROTTING OWNER STILL GAME A member of the Auckland Trotting Club yesterday related to the meeting his experience as an owner, showing that the business is not “all beer and skittles,” neither is it always profitable. He stated that after keeping a trotter for eighteen months, a fairly expensive proposition in the present period, he decided to put the steed up for sale. Eventually he was sent to Hamilton and sold at auction for the modest figure of five pounds. ‘'But,’’ said the owner, “when freight, commission and .any other incidental charges were deducted I received £2 2s 9d for the horse.” This, however, will not deter the admirer of the sport from again centering the ranks of owners, as he smilingly assured his hearers that one of these days he hoped to have further interest In the game.