THE Evening Star. PUBLISHED DAILY AT FOUR O'CLOCK P.M. Resurrexi. TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 9, 1880.

Thames Star, Volume XI, Issue 3705, 9 November 1880, Page 2

THE Evening Star. PUBLISHED DAILY AT FOUR O'CLOCK P.M. Resurrexi. TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 9, 1880.

' ♦ The disqualification for ever by the Victorian Bacing Club of the New Zealand crack racehorse, Mata, "the twice winner of the Dunedin Cup," for foal riding, is an event which will interest every sportsman in the colony. What we know of the disqualification is only that contained in the brief limits of a cable despatch, and without wishing to be accused of passing judgment before the facts are before us, we cannot help thinking that an institution such as the Victorian Eacing Club would scarcely adopt so severe a measure without the clearest proof and the most ample grounds, Mata is owned, or at least partly owned, by a bookmaker, and as the scarcity of honest bookmakers is as great as that of the proverbial White crow, we will hail with delight the day when the turf .of New Zealand cuts its acquaintance with such owners. The immoral tendencies of horse racing are great enough in this colony, and lovers of the grand old English pastime should endeavor by every means in their power to keep the turf as much as possible like Ceasar's wife, above suspicion. Gambling is a vice much greater in its ramification in the Australias than in the old country, and when hundreds of thousands of pounds of public money depend annually on the issue of one or two great races, the strictest supervision should be exercised to have everything " fair, square, and above board."