Limit of Fourteen Days a Year.: Proposed for Canadian Courses in Same Municipality -Tracks Should be Fifty Miles Apart., Daily Racing Form, 1917-01-23

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LIMIT OF FOURTEEN DAYS A YEAR. Proposed for Canadian Courses in Same Municipality — Tracks Should Bo Fifty Miles Apart. Toronto. Out.. January 22.— The Toronto Globe prints the following dispatch from Ottawa: "Olive- Wilcox. M. P. South Essex, has given notice of an amendment to the crimianl code designed to stop the menace of steadily -increasing numbers of race tracks in Canada. "The Miller bill of 1010 limited race meetings on any one track to fourteen days in any one year, but it did not limit the number of tracks, consequently the race -track men have got around the time limitation by establishing new tracks, each one of which is entitled to bold fourteen elays of racing each year, tin- teital number of days of racing in Canada each year now being several times more than it was before the Miller bill was fussed. "In Windsor. Ont..- for instance, there are now four established tracks, and a fifth one is planned. Mr. Wilcox says one track made S123.0OO clear profit for the promoters at one meeting last ye pr. Bis amendment provides that there shall be only fourteon days of racing each year in any one county or municipality, and no track shall operate within fifty miles of another track." Francis Nelson Comments. Concerning this dispatch Francis Nelson, who will doubtless be the C.niadiaa Lacing ilSOOl lotJOUS steward on the various tracks this year, has the following cimmeiit to make in the Globe: "The Ottawa dispatches are not very clear as t the method by which Oliver Wilcox, M. P.. for South Essex, expects to attain his worthy object of preventing the unlimited establishment of race courses in Canada. The fact that he has now three — not four — tracks in his constituency will hardly be coach* reel by Montreal and Ottawa interests as a valid reason why they should go out of business, even if they were built since the Miller bill was passed in 1010. They would be inclined to ■Uggesl that they shoulel not be sacrificed because the Ontario authorities have seen fit to license practically every applicant. "His provision that there shall be only fourteen days of racing each year in any county or municipality does not appear to be accompanied by direction as to which of the three Windsor tracks, for inst.inee-. should have those fourteen days. There-will be no rush to establish race courses or any similar undertakings unless there is promise of large- profits, and if Mr. Wilcox goes to the root of the situatW.n he will have- to deal with that aspect. "The Grant Hugh Blwuues and other alien promoters and speculators are apparently stronger than Mr. Wilcox and the other well-wishers of racing, and can get whatever eipportunity they seek. They would give Canada the go-by with their enterprises, though, if their prospective profits were limited to a reasonable figure, for they represent the get-rich-qiih-k ieleas solely. A pros ision that racial saaocM-tieins Shall not pay more than seen or ten per cent dividends tee their shareholders, the excess going tee the encouragement of breeding by tin- ini n-ase of purses, will do meire fee acceiinplish what Mr. Wilcox aims at than all the regulations that can be devised," —


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Library of Congress Record: https://lccn.loc.gov/unk82075800