view raw text
TEST FOR ORAL WAGERING IN CANADA. Everything Is in Readiness for Opening of Meeting at the Maisonneuve Track Today. Montreal, Que.. August 17. That the horse owners are satisfied with the arrangements for the oral betting race meeting which is scheduled to open on Saturday at the Maisonneuve track, was assured yesterday when a meeting of owners and track management took place at the east end course. Small difficulties which had arisen were smoothed out, and everything is now in order for the opening sf the meeting. The horsemen expressed their satisfaction with the conditions, and practically every owner who campaigned at the recent half-mile meetings here will remain for the oral wagering meeting. This assures plenty of racers for the inaugural days sport. Over 100 horses were shipped over from Kempton course at Lnprairie, where if was originally planned to conduct the meeting. Some twenty-f ive" horses ire left at the track, including a number of well-known campaigners which will be shipped across today. There are several owners whose strings are still at Mount Royal, including J. A. Strode with Minda, Dartworth and others, and a number of owners at Deloriniier, all of which will be on hand for Saturdays opening. The management of the Maisonneuve meeting is not perturbed at the announcement that operations will be watched closely by both Dominion and Provincial authorities to see that there is no violation of the "no organized botting" order. "There will positively be no organized betting at the course," said Manager Ilolmau today. "We believe that there are good enough sportsmen in Montreal to support a meeting of this kind without throwing out the gambling end of the sport as the main attraction, which has hitherto been the case. All year the public has been going to the races fully aware that the pari-mutuel machines would take ten per cent of their money each race, no matter what happened. There will be no deadly percentage to combat against in the meeting we are staging. It will be run for sports sake. "The law will not be broken at Maisonneuve, as we plan to conduct this meeting. We have invited a government inspector to be present, and see that everything is in compliance with the law." Advices from Ottawa state that although the enforcement of the law is in the hands of the provincial authorities, the operations at the Maisonneuve track will be watched closely.