The Richmond palladium and sun-telegram. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1907-1939, 1922-10-06
BY FRANK G. MENKE

AUCKLAND, New Zealand, Oct. g.
Boxing and horse racing are the, only
sports in which America and New Zea-
land have a common interest.
They love the ponies here-but not
in the mad, all-consuming way of the
Australian They bet on the four leg
ged whizzers-but they don't do it
to the exclusion of almost all else,
as is the case in Australia
Auckland has but one real course
the Ellerslie track. It's a beautiful
nine furlong affair and is a civic pride.
It's run by private interests-but not
with profit as the underlying motive.
Each year all the earnings of the
track are used in improving the park
which is part of the track and through
which one usually passes to get into
the race course proper. They've been
doing it for some years and, as re-
suit, the Ellerslie track is one of the
beauty spots of the world-infinitely
more so than Belmont, the wonder
track of America"
Wellington Tracks Good
They have good tracks in Yelling
! ton. which is the capital of New Zea-
| land and also in Christchurch and
Dunedin. Those three towns together
with Auckland, are the only four cities
of any size in the Commonwealth.
! Mutual betting, or tote betting as
! they term it here, is the only form of
wagering permitted. The take" is
I121b percent which is divided between
! the government and the racing assoc
iation which happens to be conducting
| the meeting.
Auckland has between % and %
days of racing per year. Wellington
/ has about the same. Christchurch
and Dunedin have shorter meetings.
! The biggest stake of all is the Auck-
| land Cup Race, of two and one-half
miles, which usually is run about
Christmas time and which nets the
winning owner about 1880.
Breed Race Horses.
Horse breeding Is carried on extern
siyely here-but not with the idea of
doing all of the campaigning of the
steeds in New Zealand. Fast looking
youngsters usually are given tryout
/ here and if they show anything worth
while, are shipped to Australia and
raced there where stakes are large
and racing continuous.
! Cleaning was the greatest race
horse ever produced here. He won AZ
out of At races, being second four
times and out of the money but once
in his career. He is all "prepped'
now to add further diadems to his
crown in Australia where he is book
ed for more than a dozen turf clashes
in the season which starts this month.
New Zealand Boxing Council con-
trolls the fistic situation in the Com
monwealth. It's an amateur body.
But its rules are a bit more elastic
than those in the U. S. A. inasmuch
as it permits amateurs and profess
ionals to appear on the same card.
i RepIenish Funds
1 Whenever the association funds
are slow it puts on a show with pros
as headliners. Amateur bouts make
up the preliminaries. The average
purse for the professionals is about
$500 which, the boys usually split on
the 60-40 basis.
In Auckland all the bouts are put
on in the Town Hall which has a big
assembly room which will seat about
5000. They put on such a show the
other night involving lightweight Paul
Demsky, of Australia, and Jack Keen
an, of Auckland. Demsky won on a
foul in the 18th of scheduled round
, battle.
The admission prices were the usua,
ones-$1 to Sand the association
profited several thousand dollars
which it will use to buy medals and
other trophies for winners of amateur
melees.
The most sensational knuckle whirl