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ENGLANDS RACE COURSES NOT MODERN An Australian Racing Man Discusses the TTptoDate Equipment in the Antipodes Mr F McEvoy who has been prominently identi ¬ fied with the Australian turf for a quarter of i cen ¬ tury while on a visit in England was interviewed upon racing and equipment of race tracks in Eng ¬ land and Australia AustraliaI I must say the accommodation provided for the public is not so good in England as in Australia There cannot be a difference of opinion on that point among those who are acquainted with both the Mother Country and Colonial courses Racing here started long ago in a modest kind of way and lias gradually grown to what it is Changes were made from time to time and the accommodation has im ¬ proved 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 presentI I do not say you are behind the times The pre ¬ vailing conditions are so different that it is per ¬ haps scarcely quite fair to compare some of your courses with say Flemington and Caulfield Eng ¬ lishmen who have been on the Flemington course agree that the accommodation provided for the pub ¬ lic and the manner in which their conveniences have been studied are superior to anything of the kind in England And I hold that the public should be studied studiedHere Here your stand accommodation is extremely limited In Australia it is not unlimited but it is commodious and anyone who goes into the enclos ¬ ures at Flemington Caulfield Morphettville Perth Coojgardle Kalgoorlie or Randwick does not worry as to whether he will be able to see a race He knows it will lie his own fault if he docs not Can you enter m enclosure in England with the same feeling of confidence The answer must be in the negative If you desire to have a seat here and watch the races in some degree of comfort you must retain your seat all day AAliy should you be compelled to do that It is not for me to suggest remedies but I think I may say without offense that tht managers and stewards of your courses arc improvementsIt 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 nuni l ored and reserved in the stands so that they might l le e booked in advance There would bo no injustice done to anybody but it would be a great conveni ¬ ence I can book seats at a theater and those seats are mine for the whole performance no matter what tihie 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 favorite position from which to view the race You may and you may not You are fortunate jf you do If you dont get into the stand you dont see the nice because the grounds are not made up litre as they are in Australia AustraliaTHEATER THEATER IDEA IS CARRIED OUT OUTIn In the theater you get the sloped floor We have carried out that idea on our race courses There is nn upward slope from the course and that enables everybody to see tho whole race You wpnlrl 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 nat ¬ ural surroundings equal your courses here but the actual race courses and their adjuncts are much in advance of anything I have seen here hereMost Most of our courses are eggshaped with a three or four furlong 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 com ¬ pared with so many race courses here On Mel ¬ bourne Cup day I suppose from 80000 to 100000 onlookers can see the race from start to finish AAe have what is known as the Hill and the view of the race from there is splendid splendidAAith AAith 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 Sundown Park Australia At any rate its first important trial in public was there TTiefewas a lot of prejudice against it and the opinion was practically unanimous that the ex ¬ periment was doomed to failure Experience has shown that it is better to pass judgment after a practical test The starting gate is nor an estab ¬ lished institution in Australia and tht flag is a thing of the past at important meetings meetingsAVe AVe have no difficulty in getting the horses to face the tune They are trained to walk up to it and as soon as it is raised they jump offi In Aus ¬ tralia the starting gate is an emphatic success and it should be in this country I am bound to say that the starting gate is not the success here so far as I have seen it in use that it is in Aus ¬ tralia It is there seldom that the horses are kept more than a minute at the post I cannot re ¬ member for a moment what the average delay at the post in Australia is but it has been carefully worked out and it is so small that it is not wortli serious consideration It is something like a min ¬ ute I think thinkThe The starter is master of the situation That is understood by the jockeys If the necessity arises he 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 tiling 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 countryWe 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 per ¬ fection as possible AVheu the webbing is released it starts an electric bell in the stewards stand which also starts a large clock immediately op ¬ posite 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 around to see the dial dialSPECIAL SPECIAL STAND FOR STEWARDS STEWARDSWe We have a special steward stand for the ex ¬ clusive use of the stewards They watch every de ¬ tail of a nice from it If anything occurs of a sus ¬ picious diameter there is no need for them to go about seeking information They have seen or should have seen everything in the race from be ¬ ginning to en I and any objection or protest as to happenings on the course can be dealt with in a sat ¬ isfactory manlier If the stewards consider it neces ¬ sary they obtain evidence but it is seldom neces ¬ sary saryThe The horses are selddm more than a half mile or threequarters from them and with a strong pair of glasses there is not much chance of anything escaping their notice particularly from the elevated position they occupy In England it is impossible for the stewards on horseback particularly on some courses to see what is happening and when com ¬ plaints are lodged the evidence of interested parties has often to be sifted It is for those connected with English racing to say whether they are entire ¬ ly satisfied with this or whether they think an alteration which would approximate more closely to the Australian method would be an improvement 1 do not suggest that the Australian turf is per ¬ fect It has its faults but the racing is as straight there as anywhere else Of course we have a case now and then that we do not like Racing men in Australia are no more saints than any other section of humanity in that or any other coun ¬ try but the cases which provide legitimate causes for complaint are few and far l etveen A racing man is always in the eye of the public and the slightest mistake is blazoned abroad and the story does tellingIt not grow less in telling It is easy for a man there as here to fall under the suspicion of the public without the slightest cause and although the man may be perfectly in ¬ nocent the public having made up its mind will not be convinced to the contrary Once a racing man HI Australia you are a public man You are forced into that tiosition whether you like it or not The interest in racing and all that appertains to it there is so great that there isno help for it itThe The use of saddle cloths as adopted in Australia is a more in the right direction for it enables everyone to see at a glance what te horse is for the number on the saddle cloth corresiionds with the one on the card Somepersons 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 hnnd to cover the day Xo cloth should be used twice without being washed And again the keyboard used in the paddocks tells you immediately which box shelters the horse you are seeking for and thereby a lot of time is saved
