view raw text
BRITISH COLUMBIA DATES SETTLED. Vancouver. R. C. March 30. Preliminary plans for thirty-five days of racing in Vancouver and Victoria were completed at a recent conference of officials of the Victoria Country Club, the Vancouver Jockey Club and the British Columbia Thoroughbred Association. The three clubs have decided to work together in an effort to make the coming season a memorable one in the annals of racing in the Canadian Northwest, and by their joint efforts the officials of the clubs interested expect to accomplish this end. Dates were assigned for five race meetings. The season will open at the Willows track in Victoria when the Victoria Country Club will race for seven days, starting May 20 and finishing May 27. Then the horsemen will ship here. The Vancouver Jockey Club will hold the first meeting on the mainland at Minoru Park from June 10 to 17. There will be a break of a couple of weeks more in the circuit at this time and the horses-.will not race again until Juno 30. when the British Columbia Thoroughbred Association holds its first meeting. This will wind up on July 7. and then the Vancouver Jockey Club will cut in with seven more days racing from July S to 15. The thoroughbreds will . then get a rest for a couple of weeks until the British Columbia Thoroughbred Association opens up on July 20 for the last meeting of the year, the season closing on August 5. Thomas J. Wellman of Vancouver was selected as presiding judge bv all three clubs, while Robert F. Leighton will act as racing secretary and handi-capper for the circuit. ..Joseph Webber has been engaged to do the starting. The pari-mutuel system of betting will be used and there will be no bookmakers operating at the tracks. Ten machines of the most np-to-date pattern have been ordered. The decision of the British Columbia clubs to conduct betting under the pari-mutuel system exclusively- is putting into practice the policy they declared a year ago. When the Miller bill was before the committee at Ottawa the Pacific coast turfmen were quite definite in the declaration of their willingness to see liookmaking abolished and to confine speculation to the machines, even if -the old method was legalized. George A. Powell was the British Columbia. Thoroughbred Associations spokesman on that occasion, and racing on the coast will be conducted according lo the principles then laid down.
