By MICHAEL GUERIN
Mark Purdon does not want to see the colours he has worked so hard to make part of New Zealand's racing history fade away.
The champion trainer is just days away from winning the New Zealand premiership for the first time after being runner-up every season since he started training on his own account five years ago.
But Purdon says he does not want to celebrate his first premiership win knowing his blue with silver stars colours could be about to disappear from so many winning photos.
Trainers using stable colours could come under threat at the annual Harness Racing New Zealand conference which starts in Christchurch today.
One item of correspondence by the Auckland Trotting Club will have HRNZ members voting on whether New Zealand's leading drivers should wear their own colours, as they do in the United States and Europe.
Overseas studies have shown punters are more likely to bet on their favourite driver than their favourite trainer and drivers colours are seen as one way to promote our leading reinsman as the superstars of the industry.
The ATC suggests that initially the top 10 drivers in New Zealand would drive in their own colours.
But Purdon is against the idea.
"I don't like it. I think trainers here are better known than many trainers overseas and I think when a punter is unsure what to bet on the trainer is a major consideration," said Purdon.
"When a young trainer starts out one of the best advertisements he has is his colours. But if he chooses to put a top driver on then he will lose that advantage.
"As a trainer I am proud of my colours. If I am lucky enough to win another New Zealand Cup I want it to be in my colours."
Even if the change is approved at the conference Purdon's colours would not be lost as he is a leading reinsman in his own right.
But most of his stable are driven by Tony Herlihy so they would have to run in different colours.
Former world champion driver Maurice McKendry can see one reason why the change may be a good idea but on the whole was not in favour of it.
"I can see when one trainer has two or three horses in a race how drivers colours might help punters separate them all and it could look better from the punting point of view," said McKendry.
"But I don't really care either way. If it did happen then I would think the top drivers would be better off getting some new, more stylised colours made, like the top drivers have in the US."
The proposed move to drivers colours and a challenge to the push out rule are the two items most likely to cause debate at the HRNZ conference.
The Manawatu Harness Racing Club wants the push out rule scrapped, saying passing lanes mean the rule is no longer needed.
Both McKendry and Purdon would like to see the push out rule slightly modified.
"I think they need to make a change to the starting procedures for horses drawn one on the second line," said McKendry.
"At the moment if you are drawn one on the second line you can get stuck behind a slow beginner, trapped on the markers and have no real chance.
"When your horse is favourite that looks bad.
"I would like to see something like the Victorian system where the horse drawn one on the second line starts behind the horses drawn one and two on the front line so you get a choice of who to follow."
But Purdon is not in favour of the Victorian system, saying it is too messy and can lead to interference if two horses head for the same gap.
"I think we need to change the push out rule to allow a horse to come off the markers into the running line when the horse outside it is struggling to maintain its place.
"If a horse outside you is not going well enough to stay in its position then you should be allowed to push your way out and in front of it. But I still think horses making ground three wide in a race should be allowed to advance without being pushed out."
While revising the push out rule would be popular with many, the Manawatu club's move to have it scrapped is likely to fail.
Racing: Colourful clash at conference
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