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1 j I 1 1 1 I 1 1 i : : ! i s i ! : i ! : i . I p 1 1 1 : J i i . . i ! t 1 ENGLANDS RACE COURSES ARE NOT MODERN. An Australian Racinj Man Enlightens Londoners On Up-to-Date Equipment in the Antipodes. Mr. F. McEvoy, who has been prominently identified with the Australian turf for a quarter of a century, while on a visit in England was interviewed by a reporter for the London Sporting Life to whom he talked, thus interestingly upon racing and equipment of race tracks in England and Australia: "I must say the accomodation provided for the public is not so good here as in Australia. There cannot be a difference of opinion on that point among those who are acquainted with both the Mother Country and Colinial courses. Racing here started long ago in a very modest kind of way, and lias gradually grown to what it is. Changes were made from time to time, and the accommodation has improved, no doubt, but everybody knows that, if some of the popular race courses were to be laid out now they would have an altogether different appearance when finished to that which they now present. 1 do not say you are behind the times. The prevailing conditions are so ctiiferent that it is perhaps scarcely quite fair to compare some of your courses with, say Fleming-ton and Caulfield. Englishmen who have been on the Flemington course agree that the accommodation provided for the public, and the manner in which their convenience has been studied, the superior to anything of the kind in England. And 1 hold that the public should be studied! "Here your stand accommodation is extremely limited. In Australia it is not unlimited, but it is very commodious, and anyone who goes into the enclosures at Flemington, Caulfield. Morphettville, Perth. Coolgardie. Kalgoorlie. or Uandwiel: does not worry as to whether he will be able to see a race, lie knows it will be his own fault if he does not. Can you enter an enclosure in England with the same feeling of confidence? The answer must be in the ntgative. If you desire to have a seat here and watch the races in some degree of comfort, you must retain your seat all day. Why should you be compelled to do that? It is not for me to suggest remedies, but I think 1 may say without offense that the managers and stewards of your courses an? slow to make improvements. It would be easy to at once effect an alteration which would be appreciated by the patrons of the turf in this country. I would have the seats numbered and reserved in the stands, so that they might be booked in advance. There would be no injustice done to anybody, but it would be a great convenience. I can book seats at a theatre, and those seats are mine for the whole performance, no matter what time I enter. Why should I not be able to do the same on a race course? If you now stroll into the paddock to see the horses you have to hurry back in the hope of getting a favorable position from which to view the nice. You may and you may not. You are fortunate if you do. Jf you dont get in the stand, you dont see the race, because the grounds are not made up here as they are in Australia. "In the theater you get the sloped floor. We have carried out that idea on our race courses. There is an upward slope from the course, and that enables everybody to see the whole race. You would be surprised, if you have not seen the Flemington course, if you were to visit it. The lovely lawns, the flower beds, the stands, refreshment rooms, dressing rooms, and all other requirements leave nothing to be desired. I do not say that the natural surroundings equal your courses hero, but the actual race courses and its adjuncts are much in advance of anything I have seen here. Most of our courses are eggsliaped, with a three or four furlongs finishing straight. The spectators are so placed that they can watch the horses from the start until they have passed the post. You do not lose sight of them at interesting periods of a race. That is another advantage we have as compared with so many race courses here. On Melbourne Cup day I suppose from 80,000 to 100,000 onlookers can see the race from start to finish. We have what is known as the Hill, and the view of the race from there is splendid. "With us the starting gate is a success, and we would not think of returning to the old method of starting with a flag. The starting gate was, I think, first used at Sandown Park Australia, at any rate, its first important trial in public was there. There was a lot of prejudice against it, and the opinion was practically unanimous that the ex- periment was doomed to failure. Experience lias shown that it is better to pass judgment after a practical test. The starting gate is now an established institution in Australia, and the flag is a thing of the past at important meetings. We have no difficulty in getting the horses to face the tape. They are trained to walls up to it ,and as soon as it is raised they jump off. In Australia the start-i ing gate is an emphatic success, and so it should be in this country. I am bound to say that the start-I ing gate is not the success here, so far as I have seen it in use, that it is in Australia. It is there very seldom that the horses are kept more than a minute at the post. I cannot remember for the moment what the average delay at the post in Australia is, but it lias been carefully worked out, and it is so small that it is not worth serious consideration. It is something like a minute, I think. "The starter is master of the situation. That is understood by the jockeys. If the necessity arises lie reports a jockey to the stewards, who back up the starter, and suspend or otherwise deal with the boy. The starting gate is the proper thing, and, given Australian conditions, there is no comparison between the two methods of starting. As I said before, I cannot understand the delays at the post in this country. "We attach more importance to time tests than you do here in England. The times of every race are taken, and the method adopted is as near perfection as possible. When the webbing is re-. leased it starts an electric bell in the stewards stand, which also starts a large clock immediately opposite the winning post, and as the horses flash past, the man in the box stops the clock. The public at the meeting attach great importance to the times and flock round to see the dial, "We have a special elevated stand for the ex-i elusive use of the stewards. They watch every detail of a race from it. If anything occurs of a suspicious character there is no need for them to go about seeking information. They have seen, or should have seen, everything in the race from begin-j ning to end, and any objection or protest as to hap-I pollings on the course can be dealt, with in a satisfactory manner. If the stewards consider it necessary they obtain evidence, but it is seldom necessary. The horses are seldom more than a half mile or six furlongs from them, and with a strong pair of glasses there is not much chance of any-1 thing escaping their notice, particularly from the elevated position they occupy. In England it is impossible for the stewards on horseback, particular-1 ly on some courses, to see what is happening, and when complaints are lodged the evidence of inter- ested parties has often to be sifted. It is for those connected with English racing to say whether they are entirely satisfied with this, or whether they think an alteration which would approximate more closely to the Australian method would be an improvement. "I do not suggest that the Australian turf is perfect. It has its faults, but the racing is as straight there as anywhere else. Of course, we have a case now and then that wo do not like. Rac-r ing men in Australia are no more saints than any other section of humanity in that or any other country, but the cases which provide legitimate Continued on second page. ENGLANDS RACE COURSES ARE NOT MODERN. Continued from first page. causes for complaint are few and far between. A racing man is always in the eye of the public and the slightest mistake is blazoned abroad, and the story does not grow less in telling. It is very easy for a man there, as here, to fall under the suspicion of the public without the sligiitest cause, and although the man may be perfectly innocent, the public, having made up its mind, will not be convinced to the contrary. Once a racing man in Australia, you are a public man. You are forced into that position whether you like it or not. The interest in racing and all that appertains to it there is so great that there is no help for it. "The use of saddle cloths as adopted in Australia is a move in the right direction, for it enables everyone to see at a glance what the horse is, for the number on the saddle cloth corresponds with the one on the card. Some persons take exception owing to the chances of contagious diseases, but that can easily be guarded against by fumigation, or seeing that sufficient cloths are on hand to cover the day. Xo cloth should be used twice without being washed. And. again, the keyboard used in the paddocks tells yon immediately which box shelters the horse you are seeking for and thereby a lot of time is saved." Since we have adopted many of the devices spoken of by Mr. McEvoy, the American tracks are, as will be seen from his conversation, far ahead of those in England. In many respects we are more advanced even than Australia, but in the matter of correct timing they have us, to use the parlance of the turf, "beaten to a standstill."
