SPORTING.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume XLVI, Issue 258, 4 November 1904, Page 3

SPORTING.

VICTOUIA RACING CLUB SPRING ' MEETING. TUIRI) PAY. ("deceived Nov. 3, 6.58 p.m.) ** MELBOURNE, Nov. 3. There was showery weather, but a good attendance at to-day's races. Results Hurdles.—Trent 1, Kudos -2, Bluerock ;i. Eight others rail. Betting : 5 to 2 Trent. Won by a length and a (piaiter. Time, iimin 54sec. ♦ Nursery Handicap—North Head 1, Infanta 2, ScorchiV 3. Eight others ran. Betting :sto 4 the winner. Won by three tooths. Time, lmin 18sec. Firing Stakes.—Gladsome 1, Sylvanite :2, Billingsgate 3- Four others run. Betting* : 7t04 on Gladsome. Won by hull' a length, Time, liuin 29Jsec. . Carnival Handicap.—Cato 1, Sweet W Jfell 2, Sweep Clean 3. Seven others ran. Betting: 3to 1 Cato. Won by two lengths. Time, 2nrin 9Jsec. Oaks.—R«l Streak 1, Impress 2, Gunstock 3. Three others ran. Betting : Eveii money lted Streak. Impress was in the lead nearly a'l the way, but at the turn into the home stretch Red Streak, who wasi bumped at the back of the courae, came through and won easily by tlute lengths. Time, 2iuin 42sec. Veteran Stakes.—New Broom 1, Paitronus 2, Pliable 3. Betting : 15 to 1 t-e wx.ner. Vi on by .wo leDgths. Timf, 2rnin 37Jsec. TRAINING NOTES FROM RICCARTON. CHRISTCHLRCH, Nov, 3. A nor'-west gale was blowing after breakfast, which made ail the ihalf-mile gallops faster. Signalman, iwith McCluskey up, finished several lengths ahead of Cannie Chiel in a mile and, a quarter on the plough, in 2min 18sec. To-morrow did siix furlongs on the same track, from a Standing start, in liuin 18Jsec;

King Billy half a mile on the grass, _ from a flying start, in 48Jsec, and went well. Alex beat Crown Imperial and Frajuonftana o\er t'he same ground, in 49 &-ssec. Quarryman and. Chryseis spurted five furlongs romul the (sack, and The Mohican, The oues6e.\ and Stepdancer six furlongs, 'ilic latter was ridden out, and finished several lengths in front, in lul in. 20scc. Stronghold teat Ttaseru by three lengths at the end of live furiongs on the plough, in lmin 6sec. Blaclstono (Mima}*. Melodeon (Dani Hay), and Full Cry , (i'r.ce). did a mile ami a half on fclu- grass. Melodeon finished nearly a length ahead of Full Cry, a nd Blackatone (who had tinedi badly during the latter part of the journey) was beattn by lour lengths. Time, 2oiin 48aec. Helodeon showed tl.e best staying power. Petro-\na s,,urLid three furlongs, and Beau Seuton and Master Al'iX finisht'd together after Ave furlongs oo the plough, run in A mill ,4jsec. Vladimir (with L. G. King up) had tile best of Ktd Gauntlet at the end of six furioogs on the grass, done in liuin 17sec. Brighton started with them, but /was not persevered with. Chivalry easily held Shrapnel Shell during a gallop over Six furlongs on the grass, coiatd in Smin 18isec. Convoy was far too good for Flamen during a mile on the giu9s, in liuin 43Jsec, and beat hi in by f'otir lengths without being fully extended. Zetland did a mile »t tliruc-qii&rter pace. Mahutonga (Buchanan) kept alongside of Fleka .(Carroll}' an a mile and a half on the grass, whiiuh occupied 2niin 44 a-ssec, the former going well within himself all the way. St. Dennis moved in a iteolutc iriannci' during a sprint over a half mile stretch. Delarcy did a mile on the grass in 1 min 4:ijs£c, Zingani assisting him in the last live furlongs. Ballarat and itopa finished together after a half mile stretch from a standing start on the grass, run in 49 l-ssec. Zealous and Tupara were both better than Taxpayer, while running a mile on the plough in lmin olsec, .while they'also ran a mile on the grass qasily in lmin 46 2-sseo. Ach-

ilies and Ailsa were working, but .-were not stripped. Mr Monk's champion will probably be atole to ' start at the meeting, us j ; he is improving: After . breakfast Shellfire beat Sanely over a mile on the grass in 1 imin 4Gsec, the former being unsliod. Miss K#ng, who was ridden 'out,, !ruii Si mile on the grass in lmin 49 1-5 sec, and Glcnowlet four furlongg on the plough, from a walking start,' in j£Uscc, all out. Hnndel did the same task in 50 4-osec. Bonpie Brae •beat Gay Spark ovwr the same ground iu 51 4-ssec. Quicklire did Jive furlongs on'the grass, from a Standing start, in lmin 3 4-sSec.

RACING CLUBS ANIJ BOOKMAKERS. (Ttta' Referee,.) .Though the qt ashing of the conviction ncordad agjuinst . Fairjmrn, in the caso 01 Stead versus Fairburn, in the Christchiirch Magistrate's Court, by the, Full Bench of the Supreme Court, was heralded as a victory for the bookmakers, it ia really nothing of the sort. The judgment clearly proves that a racing club can, by carefully wotted regulations, prevent bookm&kiing, being Harried on whether the con jso be a public reserve or private property. There never has .been much doubt about the power to stop bookmaking possess.*! by a facing club with a freehold or leasehold racecourse, but tiio power to do so of a. club* racing on a pubiit

resolve has b<wn yutstion.d over and over auani. The Supreme Court jud- ► ges have now, however, definitely eettlkl the question, and unites the matter is referred to the Privy Council, New Zealand racing clubs can successfully enforce the regulations framed for tin' suppression of liookiii'uking by the 'trustkes of raxpcourse reserves. The judges who decided the case lafit weeik wero the Chief Justice Sir Robert Stout, Mr Justice Williams, Jlr Justice Ppnniston. Mr Justice Cooper, an<} Mr -Just.co Edwards. The fetter 4igsenud from the view hejd by the oliier members of thp Court, that the rSgulivtions of the trustees of the Kiccart<n racecourse were valid, and that the offence alleged against I'airburn had been committed, but ihat the defence was a bona fide claim of right which ousted tho Mar gisti ate's jurisdiction. The majority of tl.e court also agreed that this defence "would not be valid in future after the judgment delivered on the merits of the case. Mr Justice Williams said—each Judge delivered a separata judgment—that in his opinion the appellant was a trespasser, and that as he bad refused to leave after due warning he haxi committed the ollence alleged in the information. It has been decided in the case of I'aterson v. the Canterbury 'Jockey Club that there was a public tight of access to the racecourse ;wlien used for racing purposes, but that power was vested in the Board of Trustees to impose conditions, a»d so limit the rights of the public. If, therefore, tho public night jv a s properly limited so as to forbid the carrying on of the, business of a bookmaker, any person carrying it on would become a trespasser. The public right was not an absolute right for tihe public to go on the Course and do what they pleased thr-re, but a night qualified by regulation. On the question of title, Mr Justice Williams considered that it ,was established that tWere were fair and reasonable grounds for Fairburn's assertion of his public rtgiit, anid he therefore thought that the Magistrate was not competent to try the case, and that upon these grounds the conviction should be quashed. Mr Justico Henniston and Mr Justice Cooper agreed with' Mr Justice Williams, but the Chief Justics thought that the appeal should be dismissed. The Magistrate had found that Fairburn had can-ied on the business of 'boofanaking;, and it Was not open to the Court to review the Magistrate's finding. Sir Robert Stout also held that it was not,an unreasonable exercise of the power granted to the Trustees to jnafee the ragul&tiona to w*ct that

no business of any kind, bookmaking or any other, should lie carried on upon the racecourse. As to whether Pair burn was a trespasser, Sir Robert was of the opinion that on a breach of Regulation 31, the right of any one of the public who bad oommitted 'that 'breach to be on the ground ceased. Faii'burn was warned to leave the ground, but did not do so, therefore he 'bec tl ine a trespasser and was rightly convicted. Mr Justice Edwands, in the coiirse of his ! engthy judgment, declared that if ! the Trustees really wished to pre- , vent bookmakers from conducting j their operations so a- to cause dis- ; order, it hey couldi have no dilliculity in framing valid by-laws to that ell'ect. He considered the legal struggle in the present case was whether the holders of totalisalor permits should have the whole of the profits of lift ting- upon the racecourse, or whether bookmakers should he allowed to participate in such profits. And he argued that if it was desirable to suppress bookmakers the assistance of Parliament ought to lie invoked, and that if all betting could •:e suppies Ml, or materially discouraged, a great public benclit woulu „e confemd upon the community, hough lie thought that something much more drastic than the exclusion of bookmakers from public racecourses would be necessary. The matter, however, was not O'ne of suppression of betting at a'.l, and Mi' Justice Edwards ignored the .'act—duly taken into consideration by the other Judges—that, the totalisator is legally established. As Mr Justice Williams said, a racecourse reserve is for racing, and the better the sport the better tlie objects of the reserve will be served. The totalisator helps to supply racing clubs with funds to endow good stakes, and the competition of the bookmakers tends to lessbn these funds. The bookmakers of the day are merely walking totalisators, and as such they are, of course, in direct competition witih the machine, which is established by Act of Parliament. I'o lay totalisator odds is an offence against the law, and it certainly seems Strange that a Judge of the Supreme Court call uphold such a .iractice on the racecourse, when we ail know he would line or imprison ,i bookmaker for doing the same thing in the street. The judgment of the Full Court is, however, perectly plain, and the Canterbury Jockey Club can prevent the business of bookmaking being carried on at ha Riccarton racecourse. Other clubs racing on public reserves will also nave the same power if the Trustees .ake good Cafe in the framing of their