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have been present at the meetings, and on no occasion has anything but praise been expressed in regard to the conduct of our meetings. Finally, eight permits are to be allocated, and for the last three years three only (this club being Hrsl on the list) have been annually recommended by the association. By the Deputation. —Although the date of our registration is fairly recent, we applied for registration in 1906, but the Trotting Association could not grant it on account of existing legislation. But on the strength of a promise we constructed the trotting-track under the circumstances set out above, and that debt of £600 is a moral obligation we owe to Ihe Westland Racing Club. We also wish lo emphasize the fact that for the last three years the Trotting Association has recommended us for a permit, and that last year we were first on the list of recommendations. Our nominal ions average about nineteen or twenty, and our acceptances about fifteen, and that without the benefit of a permit. Under existing conditions the club does not make any profit out of its meetings. Practically all these horses are locally owned. We also wish to emphasize the point that we are becoming a farming district. We are passing now to a great extent from the mining to the settlement stage, and the prices which our settlers are now receiving for their produce will give the district an immense lift. There are now cheese and butter factories in the southern district, and there can be no doubt but that the whole district is making steady progress. Our cheese last year brought the highest price on the London market. The people have the sporting instinct, and many of our settlers have blood horses. We org*' that the trotter is an essentially utility horse. Although the district is very isolated, the people take a great interest in sport, and if they have a further opportunity to extend their activities in this direction they will do so. Our last meeting was very largely attended, and we are sure that if we get a permit we can make a profitable business of it. It has not been possible up to the present to enhance the value of our stakes, but with a totalizator permit that will be possible, and that, of course, will tend to improve the breed of horses. We have a very fine mounted defence corps in the district here, and the stamp of horses on parade was very fine indeed, and very suitable for remount purposes. Kaikoura Trotting Club. The Kaikoura Trotting Club's headquarters are at Kaikoura. The club was formed in January, 1914, and is registered. The last meeting was held on (he 26th October, 191.4. A list of the present members of the club and a copy of the club's last balance-sheet have been forwarded. The racecourse is situate about a mill from Kaikoura Town. The circumference is 6£ furlongs. The domain is governed by the Domain Board (County Council), and known as the South Bay Domain. The accommodation consists of twelve roomy stalls, and large saddlingpaddock fenced with netting and cap-rail; water inside and out; new and up-to-date judge's box; usual accommodation for ladies and gentlemen. In the event of a license being granted the present totalizator-shed would have to be removed and another built. The grandstand is a natural one, on the hillside sheltered by plantation, giving a, splendid view of the whole oourse. The course is fenced both sides of the straight for some distance, and the trotting and racing clubs have arranged with the Domain Hoard about fencing Ihe back ; also several other improvements have been arranged for. The nearest clubs using the totalizator are the Marlborough Trotting Club ami Marlborough Racing Club, to the north about 195 miles, the Christchurch Trotting Club, 130 miles, and the Amberley Racing Club, 100 miles to the south. The nearest clubs not using the totalizator are the Cheviot Racing Club and the Wairau Racing Club, about fifty and fifty-two miles respectively. We consider we have a special claim for consideration on account of our isolation. It is almost impossible for enthusiasts of trotting in Kaikoura to leave their business for a- period long enough to attend any of the Christchurch meetings, and even the Wairau meeting means a three-days holiday, except to those few wl wn ears. This district is going in more for the dairying industry every year, so that most people are tied to their work just at a time when most meetings are on. We consider that if we had a totalizator the increased stakes which we would have to give would encourage outside competition, and the people who take a-n interest in the sport of trotting would then be able to see very decent horses competing without neglecting their work. Owing to its formation this district will require the harness-horse for many years to come, and we consider (hat a well-conducted trotting meeting will improve this class of horse here as it has done in other parts id' Ihe Dominion, and those owners who wish can get work out of their horse and sport as well. By the Deputation. —Our principal ground for claiming a permit is that our club has started on excellent terms. In our first season we have a paid-up membership of 161. We held a successful first meeting, at which we paid out £110 in stakes, besides giving three trophies valued at £22. Our gate was a very fair one for a country district. We had seven or eight hundred people on the ground. We received eighty-nine nominations. The club now has a credit balance of £30 after paying stakes and for improvements to the course. Kaikoura is essentially a horse district, and the harness-horse is the one we want to encourage on accounl of our rivers. We consider the success the club has attained in its first season justly entitles it to a permit, especially as there is no trotting club between Blenheim and Christchurch. The two clubs here are working in conjunction in regard to the oourse and its improvements. If we a permit we will see that everything is carried out in a businesslike and proper way. There has never been a serious accident on the course, ami our times are better than those at Nelson and Blenheim. South Canterbury Trottino Club The headquarters of the club are ai Timaru. The club was formed in 1888. anil ran a (rotting meeting till 1898 with a totalizator permit. After lying dormanl for (en years the club was re-formed under the South Canterbury Trotting Club, and has held four very successful

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