The Chronicle

BULAWAYO, Friday, March 22, 1968 — The battle to hold horse-racing in Bulawayo on Sundays is still on.

Members of the Matabeleland Owners and Trainers’ Association intend seeking an interview with the Minister of Internal Affairs, Mr WJ Harper, to tell him why there are 16 “free’ Sundays in Mashonaland Turf Club’s racing year.

The reason is that these are “unwanted, valueless Saturdays, of no use to the Mashonaland club or to any other racing body”, said Charles Masterson, chairman of the association, yesterday.

Mr Masterson was commenting on a letter sent to Bulawayo City Council by Mr Harper saying there were 16 Sundays when the Mashonaland Turf Club did not hold a meeting.

It seemed far more sensible for the Bulawayo club to hold meetings on those free Saturdays “offering sufficiently substantial prizes to attract large entries and thus build up from this as funds increase”.

Mr Masterson said: “We agree there are 16 available Saturdays but with the exception of December 28, all are mid-month Saturdays and valueless from the promotion on racing events.

“December 28 is no good either because Salisbury always has a big meeting just before and after and soon after this day (on Boxing Day and New Year’s Day).

“The ‘plum days’, such as Easter and Rhodes and Founders and Christmas and New Year are all taken up by Mashonaland Turf Club.

On Wednesday the Bulawayo City Council agreed not to “kill” the chances of a racing revival by removing “the straights”, from the racecourse and building flats on them.