Municipally Owned Track Profitable, Daily Racing Form, 1911-03-24

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MUNICIPALLY OWNED TRACK PROFITABLE. London, Eng., March 12. The race course on which the St. Lcger has been run every year since 1778 belongs to the municipality of the town of Don-caster, which has furnished .1911.sh0,000 a year as stake motley, besides paying all fees, such as clerks of scales; judges, handicappers and so on, and yet has managed to clear a profit of nearly 00,000 a year from the races. The corporation runs the whole thing In conjunction with the Jockey Club, wliicil Is responsible for the technical side of the racing; and Doncaster is one of the few municipalities in the world that not merely derives revenue from a race Course, but actually runs the race meeting. The finances of the races are In charge of thcborough accountant, the town clerk is tlte legal adviser of the officers of the meeting, and the borough surveyor and his staff attend to keeping the race course, the stands and the approaches in proper condition. Of course, the actual revenue which the municipality of Doncaster draws from the Doncaster race meeting and from the St. Lcger race contributes only a small proportion of the wealth which reaches the town and its inhabitants each year .through hundreds of other channels in collection with these races, and it may be said of the people Of Doncaster that they have been all well-to-do, while the rates and taxes have been fifty per cent, less than the average minimum rate of other English towns and cities. IIOw closely the good people of Doncaster were Idcnilfied with the race meeting is shown by the fact that until comparatively recent times the line peal of bells" of the grand old parish church of Don-castor used to be rang on St. Leger day and was generally rung when the winner passed the post.


Persistent Link: https://drf.uky.edu/catalog/1910s/drf1911032401/drf1911032401_2_12
Local Identifier: drf1911032401_2_12
Library of Congress Record: https://lccn.loc.gov/unk82075800