1964 and all that.

At last weeks AGM, there was a slight murmur of derision when I suggested that I didn’t think hound trailers would deliberately run their hounds in trails which they were either not entered or qualified.
So , I delved into the past to see what went on in years gone by and this is an extract from the ‘Whitehaven’ from 1964.
” There was a rare old row at Millom last Saturday when Mr Newall’s Brigadier, backed down to favourite, failed to appear at the start. Punters immediately clamoured for a return of their bets, but the bookmakers were reluctant to put their hands into their bags, for they claimed that the hound was under starter’s orders.
The Ulverston area held an inquiry on June 19th.
The recent incident at Millom which resulted in Mr T Newall’s Hensingham hound Brigadier, being suspended by the Ulverston area Committee for failing to line up at the start, has served a useful purpose in pinpointing the failing of rule 65 which lays down that hounds come under starter’s orders 15 minutes before the start of the trail.
At their meeting on last Friday the Ulverston area accepted the explanation from put forward by Mr Newall and his trainer Mr McCarron, to the effect that Brigadier had been taken to a wrong starting point, the trainer being unaware that the slip had been changed from the previous year. Consequently the ban on Brigadier was lifted , but the Committee could take no action with regard to the bets placed on Brigadier which had been backed off the boards.
Sherlock has been reviewing the case but after 52 years the trail has gone cold, not enough oil!