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BAD OUTLOOK FOR SMALL COURSES. Enqland Is Sufferinq a Stringency That Will Hurt Some of the Little Tracks. * " 1-: I ii; l:i ■ : 1 i 1 1 in !■ nl • 1 1 dly suffering from :i plethora of racing, and racecourse proprietors are feeling the F»in -li in Consequence," writes a correspondent from London i the Canadian Bportaauui. "This has ■etc than ever been demonstrated by the recent effort* of promoters to I at reeve their revenue by putting ap tlie ailniission charge* ti enclosures, etc. iii Eaee of these Increase* it is a well known fact that TattersalTa ring— the principal betting enclosure ;n all recognised meetings here — has of late been patroained tens and less. The reason is easy to tind. TattersalTs cost* usually a gntnea a day. wli icas a backer can get bate the silver ring at a entailer ot the cant. The public, seeking to re-Anee expenses, ale transferring their patronage to the cheaper rings, and as a natural consequence the bookmaker* follow suit. "it is not only the actual coal of admission which falls so heavily on the lacing man. hut whichever way he turns when out racing he finds himself plucked. To commence, the railway companies, incomprehensible though it may seem, act on the good sad baccaneering principle of treating fares to race-meetings, and make no effort to protect their high-faie paying passenger from the horde of •sharks who follow the meeting* and infest the railway carriages with their "three caul trick and pocket-picking proclivities. Most courses are a mile or two liom a railway station, and here again he must nseekly snbnalt to the extortion of the tiy-driver m take shanks pom. At Ascot, for instance, as much as 15* is exacted for a corner in a miserable. broken down, genu infected fly to ride to the course, and you must .banc- what you may be bled for on the return joarnej on arriving at the racecourse uutis. unless it be me ot the fast din appearing tree tonist*, another is Id is necessary to gain admittance. If one is desirous of going into Tat tersalls ring, a guinea is the charge, and Ear the luxury of looking over the horse* in the paddock another half sovereign is demanded. Added to this, the racegoer has the doubtful privilege of paying H per cent. more for his refreshments than their face value. "Ten years M so ago racing was booming, and there was pleat] of nionev about. Racecourse companies were paying enormoas dividends, stakes went up to lavjsii proportions, and the race goers expense* increased in a like measure, but it was :l term of prosperitj and nobodj counted the eosL Time changetll all thin.:-, and the sport is now well on the ebb tide, and all are at their wits ends to redact expenses. The Jockey Clin will not sanction the reduction ot stake values, so promoters have sought 1" BUUeeie the racegoer. Already smarting under uniawiul taxation, he has absolutely refused to be made the victim, ami the promoter is Metaphorically between the devil and the deep sea. "Racehorse owning in England is a rich mans -port; those who make their studs psj their amy are the exception to the rule; the wealthy Old patrons of the game are fa-t dying out. and their loss is keenly felt. Owing to th. suppression of strict betting, an enormous revenue has lieen denied the snort, a- much ot the money slaked on the street permeated throagh the racecourse and its immediate followers. The outlook is a bad one for the sinallei courses, and in aJl probability we shall see some of them losing down in the near future."
