SPORTING.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LI, Issue 38, 4 February 1908, Page 3

SPORTING.

TUKF TOPICS. (By "Aloturoa"). Culmination has been retired to tne paddock, and will be mated with Birkeuliead later on. Apologue now ruus in the colors of his Highness the Chief of Kagal—no less! Southern papers laud the progressive policy of Mr. James Breeds, the president of the Pahiatua Kaciug Club in sending out a literal number of eoiupii-, mentary tickets for the recent meeting. The idea is to popularise the club's gatherings, to draw the crowd, and leave the totalisator to scoop the prolit. For some time past it has been the custom of country clubs to admit certain well-known punters "on the nod", and when one considers that the club takes ten per cent, of all "tote" investments the original ten shillings admission fee which they forego is a very small item in comparison to ten per cent, of £SO, £IOO, or more, which a punter probably puts through the machine in a single day. The complimentary system 19 certainly a capital one if not abused, and as practiced by the Wellington, Palmerston , Foxton," and Pahiatua clubs this season it has proveu a great success, and should commend itself to the Taranaki Jockey Club. The stewards of the Auckland Trotting Club met on Friday to inquire into the running of several ponies in the Grandstand Handicap run on the eoneluding day of the meeting, and incidentally to inquire into the alleged "jockeys' ring." The evidence was of a very conflicting nature, some witnesses averring that a "ring" really did exist, and others denying it. The chairman stated that he did not blame the owners, but the committee were determined, he said, to go fully into the matter, especially as to the alleged "jockeys' ring," and he asked owners to help him in the matter. All the evidence was taken under a statutory declaration, and the Metropolitan Committee will be called upon to review the statements later on. The meeting was adjourned. On the Baine subject "Sentinel," of the Otago Witness, hits out as follows: —"The turf is indeed in a bad way when horses can be seen having their heaus pulled off, and their riders allowed to pursue their flagrant tactics without as much as being questioned by the stewards. When such a thing can be passed unnoticed and unchecked, it is clearly hypercritial to expect that comparatively mild cases, which nevertheless undermine the purity of the sport, should meet with official castigatiou. In cases where light-mouthed horses do not re-, quire a palpable pull to stop them, it would be ridiculous, so far as recent liapiienings indicate, to expect the average steward to be aware of the plundering of the public which is going on and tolerated by their official incompetence. Ordinary revorsals of form may be honestly brought about by extreme supine horsemanship, following on a market which clearly indicates what is going to happen when the racing men in the paddock are as fully aware of what is not. trying as if the news were published in a newspaper, when a horse which should be a favorite (or at least well backed is as friendless as an Ismaelite, when such horses run wide at turns, make no effort to join their fields, and come with desperate runs when the race is over, then stewards who cannot piece the various things together and use their eyesight should make way for someone else. At Gore last week some very questionable horsemanship was witnessed. In two races matters were arranged so far as it was possible to do so; palpable pulling was indulged in in order to bring about the desired result. Tn other cases horses were stopped in a most glaring manner, but the official eye evidently did not notice anything that called for punishment. The ramping was confined to the minor events, probably because the stakes are so small j that they are not worth winning. It is j the tin-pot stakes which are found on programmes that are the foundation of j nearly all the fraudulent racing, because I when the cost of sending a horse to the ' post is deducted from the stake the balance is «uch nn insignificant sum to men who bet in even tens or twenties that it hardly enters into their calculations. It is true that racing has lnv proved considerably, but more from a financial point of view than anything else. Morally, it is as weak as ever, 1 and if a certain class choose to arrange i a nee it appears they can 60 so with ! impunity. Racing has prospered on i many courses, even in face of incom- : petenf enntrol. ami tliat bring so how I much more would it po abend it' genuine sport was (lie principil consideration? It is full lime that our stewards j woke up 10 a full sense of their responj sibilities, and endeavored to purify the sport to which they lent their names as guardians and guarantees of good faith to the public." The Canterbury Jockey Club's slimmer meeting opens on Thursday, and will be continued on Saturday. ■Race meetings are frequently postponed through rain and In some parts nn account of dust storms, hut the Fitzroy (Australia) meeting was put off ' nn noeount nf thp excessive heat! Mr. W. Lyons shipped Waipuna and : My Cressy to Sydney yesterday. ' Mr. Dan O'Brien's stallion Malatnn • j has quitted New Zealand soil. He was 1 [ shipped to Sydney yesterday.