THE PALMERSTON RACES.

Manawatu Times, Volume X, Issue 1373, 15 December 1884, Page 2

THE PALMERSTON RACES.

(Contribute *.) : ■/ ... 0 : . :? „.-: ; 0 *? Prom . the .topic which . cp.nclajle^'' my last contribution, namely, vtbg£ ithe scenery ;to be viewed.: frQU|? r the grand standi ; the descent . t iiji somewhat abrupt, not to the lawn,.c but to tho. less, sentimental topics oa which I wish to briefly comment. But before I do; so I may add thatr it and all the : buildings on. , .t^eT course are well roo f ed, so, that m the event of the weather taking,.; fw unfavorable change on the,, day of meeting the public are secure, iiiaa* v dition to which corer«d y^hiclie^', plyat ail hours to and .fro between the railway station and rha^ course, a distance of about- uiie and a half miles. li; W-Ayih With his usual courtesy to the public, and perhaps ; with flume f/ejr,

tO business, Mr Rotheram has al* ways arranged the arrival and de* parture of trains to meet the convenience of those livinej between Wan* ganni and Foxton, with a result tbat must be gratifying to him, from a pecuniary point of view at least. To those "who go to the races not Bo much for love of* the grand sport as the desire to see and be seen, the view of the grand stand at the time of the struggle for the honor of winning the big event will well repay a visit, and will recall to those who have had the pleasure of witnessing it the V.lt.C. Meeting, and though now some some years past I well remember how beautiful the well-, filled grand stand appeard looking up from the lawn to the sea of beauti* ful faces, flowers, and ribbons, intermingled with a sufficient sprinkling of bronzed faces of the sterner sex to make the picture brighter by contrast. •' That the ladies of Australia grace race meetings by their presence more and derive more' enjoyment from them than do those of •New Zealand is iri.. my opinion an , undeniable fact, though this may be accounted for by the accommodation being superior* a state of things which time will no doubt remedy; •" : - " ; - v ; ' ~ ' "' § to descend again, and how easy it is, to the.: general entries which will appear m your issue oi tcVday, and commencing' -with the first event — the. Hut dies. As eight horses have accepted, : out of a possible 9, the handicapper must be congratulated as the adjustment of •weights has evidently: satisfied the horse owners, who,, it must be ad> mitted, -. are the. , most competent judges.. From what I can learn the niftney.on this event wih be pretty distributed all-round m the tjojtalisator, end at the best of times there is such ,* glprious uncertainty about a hurdle race that the talent are very often out of it, particularly when the field happens to be a good one. " :'- : ---A-. . The MaidehA- Plate. _ .has only brought out a field of 4, which m numbers' and quality contrast moat unfavorably with the lot that laced the starter last year for the same event. This may to some extent be accounted for by the manner m. which the conditions of the race were drawn up, but, m the words of Tennyson I will 'pass with the remark " some one has blundered." «s&e 'District Maiden is the next event on the programme Jwhich, owing to its proximity to Atne previous race, rreventa ; the eligible horses engaged m the former com« peting. No doubt an error. was f com ? mitted m placing two races . m cpni aseuiive orderj which, should be placed aa far apart as possible. The prize last year for this race was £60 and only brought but a field of se« cond class horses, which is, one of the reasons iwhy the inoney /. was re «i ,: duced, another being a desire on the part of the committee: to leave most of the prizes open for outside competition. Tbe result of this arrangement, however is contrary to expeca'tion, as although the money is small (only £25) and the entrance fee high no less than eight entries have been obtained., It is to be hdp*ed that next year; the Commit tee" will increase the money for this event, as, although closed races may be open to : objection yet more substantial,encouragement' 1 should - be extended to breeders and owners of horses m the district. A