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On the other hand, many witnesses maintained that unregistered racing is the poor man's recreation, that it meets a strong public demand, that it is just as much entitled to recognition as registered racing, and that to abolish it would inflict great hardship on a large number of participants, while to bring it under the same control as registered racing would, in effect, be to abolish it.
As to the necessity for restriction, however, there was much greater unanimity.
Many staunch supporters of unregistered racing considered that one cause of its present admittedly unsatisfactory condition is that there is too much of it. Most of the witnesses examined on the point favoured a reduction in the number of meetings to one day a week, though some suggested six days a month. These witnesses envisaged no dislocation of the business from such a reduction. On the contrary, they anticipated that while providing ample racing for the horses, and causing little unemployment, it would lead to increased attendances, bigger prize money, and better control of the meetings.
The Commission considers that, while no case has yet been made out for the total abolition of unregistered racing, it has been established that the welfare of the community demands its restriction.
The evidence above referred to justifies the conclusion that a reduction to one unregistered meeting per week would not materially increase unemployment, and would improve conditions throughout.
But the Commission goes further. It considers that the necessity for seeing that business hours are not too greatly entrenched upon demands that in no week, except perhaps Exhibition Carnival week, should racing, registered or unregistered, be permitted on more than two of the six week days.
As registered racing has already absorbed all Saturdays and holidays and, by reason of the superior standard of its meetings and its consequent greater public attractiveness, deserves first consideration, this means, in effect, that unregistered racing should be limited to forty-two week days in the year—a reduction from about one hundred and four.
Such forty-two days are exclusive of the days to be allotted to Trotting as hereinafter recommended.
The Commission further considers that unregistered racing should be limited as far as possible to mid-week. To restrict such racing to Wednesdays or Thursdays should minimise the economic loss necessarily incident to racing in business hours.
The Commission is therefore of opinion that unregistered racing should be prohibited on Mondays, Tuesdays, and Fridays, provision being made for the substitution of one of those days where, in any week, racing on the Wednesday or Thursday of that week becomes impracticable owing to weather conditions.
F—Stipendiary Stewards.
The system of control by stipendiary stewards prevails at all unregistered racecourses. Each club or racing body appoints its own stewards. These are invariably three in number.
The rules of Kedron and such of the other bodies as have printed rules give to the stewards powers of control quite as ample as those exercised in the case of registered racing.
