HASTINGS RACES

Daily Telegraph (Napier), Volume 58, Issue 78, 4 May 1929, Page 8

HASTINGS RACES

HAWKE'S BAY JOCKEY CLUB WINTER MEETING. DRASTIC PROGRAMME CHANGES. j The progrninme ior the Winter meet- • ing oi the Hawke's Buy Jockey ( lub, • which was approved of bv the district conimittee yestenlay, sliow.-, coiihiderahle alteration to that which has jire- j viotisly been lollowed Ior niany vears. Tlie distance for the Hastings liandicap, a hack race, Jias been increased f loin five to nix fui'loiigs, and the Haivke's Bay frtoeplecliase will be vun over a course of two and a half miles, • instead of tliree and a lialf miles. The June Stee])lecha.se has been reduced from two and a liall miles to ! two and n quarter miles. The Ividnappers1 Handieap. liitherto vun on the i secoiitl day, will now beeome the tliird | race on tlie first day, and tlie Hawke's j Bay Hurclles, lormeily rtin ou tlie first i day, will beeome the fourth race on j the seeond day. j Tlie Turamoe (open) Hurdles on the j seeond day has been eliminated and j a race to be known as the Trial Plate j has been suhstiluted, the conditions ! of which are as follows : — For horses , of all agcs tliat have not won £100 at the tiine of nomination. two-year-olds, Pst. Olbs., three-year-olds l'lst., four-year-ohls and upwards 1 Ost '21bs.. mares I and gehlings allowed ,'llbs., dj furlongs. i It will he lioticed that two-year-olds t are eligible. and tliis prcsents an ofi- j poiTunity to anyone nwiiing sucli to ! give tliein a race aL tliis tiine of the year. it also follows a five-furlong : hack race at Napier a week before. | aiul should be a chancc to trv out i liorses wliose owners have in view tlie I Trial Plate at Wellington tliree weeks later. Coinmenting on ihe nlterations. the eliairman, Ylr George Eblielt. said it wonld he generallv agreed that tliey would mahe for liettcr lields and better racing, and would he more profitable to the club. The finaneial statement of ihe cluVs last race meeting showed a substantiallv greater profit tinui the previous year. The eliairman rontarked tliat although tlie weather eould liave been woivse. it could have been mueh j better, whilst tlie very big fields, ihe big dividends and an iutpiiry which had j somewhat delaved matters in oue or two raeos, had all tended to make snc- j eess difficnlt, but tlie support of tlie racing public was generous, the press, without exception. had given niuch publicity, for which the club was indebted, and all things eonsidered the meeting was most successful. It was , regretted tliat tlie band could not be | present on the first day. but the ! handsmcn found it impossible to get away. Tt was decided to ap])ly for Ylarch 22 and 23 for next year'.s Autumn meeting and ior the otlier meetings as in previous years.