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THE TURF.
NOTES AND COMMENTS- '
Nominations.' for the Helena Vale
races! which taike place on May 25,
close wjth the secretary;. on t Monday
next, at 5 p.m. ' ?-..».
Tfic weights for the Canning Park
races next Saturday will 'be issued on
:Monday next.
In addition to iMr.Crenike's batch of
yearlings to be sold on Monday, the
race horses Glennclla, Katoomba, Mar'
vellous,_and. Amir.wJllf be offered Ifor
sale.t,,-.; ~y~.-~i\ -i-j- -??? ?? ' ?. -?- = -
The V.iR.C. committee has decided to
increase its stakes by ^ £ 1,000 for next
season, the money 'being apportioned
in this rwise: Marfbyrnong Trial Stakes
increased- from 4--1.M 'to £500,- Cup
.Steeplechase from £300' to £400, CB.
iFisher. Plate from £750 to £1,000, and
the 'Loch Plate from £750 to £1,000.
On Oup'day a' seventh race of £300 'has
been added -for tw'o-yeaf-olds. ' The
selling- race, which formerly figured on
the programme :f or- the last day of the
spring meetinsjhaa-'bee'n abolished, and
in- its place i3 'a' six'^furlOnfe' race €or
two-year-olds, rthe -,-prize - money .being
£3-Mhr '-- '-- ? -S1
We', do not hear .as much-'concerning
the 'breeding', of remounts nowadays as
in niany previous years, but none the
less that branch- of the horaa industry
receives considerable attention in Aus
tralia. In Ireland, however, it is stated
that ' the small farmers who have
hitherto bred horses there have become
so, dis-gusted by the poor prices given j
by the English Government for re-,
mounts that they are ceasing to breed I
with a. view., to 'England:' In an inter
esting article 'on the subject in the
'Sporting 'Times,'1- an English writer
says: — 'The Government price is
forty pounds per horse not less than
four years old, sound, and ? free from j
blemish. The farmer is riot asked to '
guarantee soundness*,' but an unround j
animal is promptly, returned, which Is i
ipproximately the same thing; but the j
real trouble lies in' the fact .that tlK
Ea.rmer.ne.ven receives more than £23
fut'bf-'thcnfi.lOrther dealer,\in''th* capa
city of 'middleman, collaring the huge
balance.- Unavailing efforts have been
made - to -get a direct deal with the
English .Government — during trie last
six month's an effort was 'made to sell
a hundred remounts direct, but the
effort: proved abortive, save in the case
of two animals, and this because the
officer sent over by .the Government is
very rarely the right sort of man. He
may be perfectly honest and a good
soldier, 'biitithat does^ not necessarily
make him conversant with horsedeal
ing, 'especially- in Ireland, where it is
the. trade, of the _country, and the na
tive dealer, a past master in the art,
always contrives to make it impos
sible 'for the ordinary man to deal
direct without his intervention.
F. Wootton did not Tiave amount in
the Lincolnshire'' Handicap,' 'and it is
mentioned in the latent English papers
that no agreement had been signed .
between that jockey, and Mr. J. B. Joel.
nor..w^U3 there likely to be until his^
(Wootton1-) lowest^riding weight was
determined. Despite the work he did
in India, Wootton la evidently a few
pounds heavier than last season. He
had to 'declare a pound over for Mar
tyina, whose Brock'esby Stakes weight
was 8.9. The 'liiiy named shared fa
voritism- with Throsga for that race,
but neither got a place, D. Maher's
mount, Polonium (12 'to 1 against)' win
ning cleverly. However, Wootton had
a winning ride the same day, account
ing for the Gautby Selling Plate on Re
trenchment, .a horse trainej by his
father. This was at Lincoln, and on the
opening- day. at Lirerpcol he also won a
selling race on Goldwin— his only
mount, in the .six flat rac^s run during
the afternoon. It wa'. as supposed, \V.
Huxley who won fha Liv-rr-nc! Spring
Cup on Subterranean, that horso start
ing second favorite at 11 to 2. Mr.
B. Slevier aent Helot to the post for
the Cup, ' but -though that hor3e was
well backed, he wa9 unable to run ow
ing to being- badly kicked while at
the barrier.*
Mr. S. Green, speaking as a breeder,
gave evidence 'before the Totaiisator
Commission against the totaiisator, on
the score that it would have a tendency
to . deteriorate the thoroughbred, but,
as a -bookmaker, he would sooner bet
with the totaiisator in opposition than
without it. (He favored the machine if
it \vere?worked by the A.J.C. and other
bona-fide c:ubs,' but w.as opposed to
proprietary clubs having it. If the law
provided the latter had to- spend the
profits from the machine in increasing
tho prizes that wot:.'. ^ be different. His
experience of the totaiisator was pro
bably, more extensive than that of any
other person In Australia. Mr. Green
stated that his turnover was 'some-
thing*- like £ 300,000 a year, and that
at the recent Sydney Cup meeting he
averaged £600 a race. The Gaming,
Act had restricted betting so far as he
was concerned, and in the way of .bets
?before hn went to tho -course he would
now hold ' about £.15, M0 on a Mel
bourne Cup, and £70fl each on a Canl
jield Cup and 'Xewmarkct. The man
who could frame an 'Act to stop ^bet
ting would .be the cleverest' in the
world. That the totaiisator made men
tc-rrible liars was his experience of
Xew Zealand and South Australia. Ho
would put a bomb under the machine
rather than the .pony «luba should
.have; it. On principle as a breeder
he had refused to take shares in pro
prietary clubs. With, regard to chari
ties the totaiisator took 1-0 per cent.,
?out of which it was proposed to give
5 per^ceht. to .charity: If the Govern
ment would like to indulge in a little
mild gambling,, and. .?would guarantee
him -5. per , cent, on -his turnover, he
would willingly give 3 per cent, out of
or per cent., which would be three-fifths
of his net profit, to charity. :- Two
thirds of his- turnover would probably
be book betting.
Ilr. J. F. Dexter ('PtOferec') esti
mates that the Band-wick investments
on the totaiisator, if .legalised, at about
£2,2'0'0,000, and for the whole of the
Sydney clubs at nearly £6,3*0,000. He
also favored the legalisation of the
totaiisator, and if its success were as
sured would abolish the /bookmaker.
The machine would permit of increas
ed stakes, and was likcry to benefit the
country dubs.
The following from the 'Pink 'Un'
shows that in England, as elsewhere,
many* bookmakers are more' liberal in
their quotations against some horses
after the decision of a race than be
fore it:— 'An amusing quarrel is going
on. between the 'Sportmsan' . and
'Sporting Life' as to the starting pric
of Sandy Hook for the .race he won
Hooton Park. Very likely both a
right. The bookmakers :are very .? van
ant, after : the race, in dealing with ;
horse that they- ;have not laid. In our
time we have 'had a good deal of- ex
perience of business of this description.
We recollect on one occasion, asking a
bookmaker, after the race. the. price' of
a certain horse. 1 could not get io lay
'?iiri; 10O to '6 at the very least,' -was
o answer. And then oar anger roes.
i V'hen we .wanted to back him, all you
?ould lay was 7to 1, .and you said,
Take your custom elsewhere! ' -when
we said we -would take eights, and now
you say 100 to 6 was- the odds.' 'Ah!'
said- the bookmaker, ? hastily, 'a lot of
horses were backed after you saw me,
and he 'went out.''
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