The Short Title of this Act shall be The Christchurch Racecourse Reserve Act 1878

On the passing of this Act the land described in the Schedule shall, without any conveyance, be vested in a Board of Trustees (hereinafter called the Board), consisting of the following persons: John Thomas Brown, Henry Porcher Lance, George Gatonby Stead, the Honorable William Robinson, Sir John Cracroft Wilson, Lancelot Walker, and William Henry Wynn Williams; and shall be held by them for the purposes of racing as provided by this Act.

The Board shall be a corporate body by the name of The Trustees of the Christchurch Racecourse, with perpetual succession and a common seal, and with full power and authority by that name to sue and be sued in all Courts whatsoever, and shall be capable in law for the purposes and subject to this Act to do and suffer all such acts and things as bodies corporate may do and suffer, with power to take and hold all such lands, tenements, or hereditaments as may be in any manner vested in the Board, either as a site for a racecourse or for any other purpose in connection therewith.

If any member of the Board shall be directly or indirectly concerned in any contract with the Board, or shall receive or be entitled to receive any money or emolument for any work done or to be done for the Board, or shall be absent from the colony for the space of 12 consecutive calendar months, or shall be adjudicated a bankrupt or insolvent, or take the benefit of or be brought under the operation of any Act relating to bankrupt or insolvent debtors, or shall become a public defaulter, or shall become convicted of felony, his seat in such Board shall become vacant.

It shall be lawful for any member, by writing under his hand addressed to the Governor, to resign his seat on the Board, and upon the acknowledgment of the receipt by the Governor of such writing the seat of such member shall become vacant.

If a vacancy occurs in the Board through death, or through any of the reasons aforesaid, it shall be lawful for the Governor to appoint a fit and proper person to fill the vacancy.

It shall be lawful for the Board to set apart a sufficient portion of the said parcel of land as and for the purposes of a racecourse, and from time to time to vary and alter the portion which may for the time being be so set apart, and to set apart another portion of the said parcel of land as a racecourse in lieu thereof.

It shall be lawful for the Board, by deed under their corporate seal, to lease from time to time, at such rent and on such conditions as they may think reasonable, the whole or any part of the said parcel of land specified in the said Schedule, for any term or terms of years not exceeding 7 years at any one time, and on conditions not inconsistent with the purposes of the racecourse.

All moneys received by the Board for the rents, issues, and profits of the said parcel of land shall, after deducting therefrom all necessary expenses incurred in the management thereof, be applied in and towards the cultivation and improvement of the said parcel of land, and in rendering any part thereof that may be set apart as a racecourse suitable for that purpose, and in and towards providing prizes for races to be run on the said racecourse, and generally in and towards the encouragement of the breeding of horses.

The Board shall keep accurate accounts of all sums of money received for rents, issues, and profits on account of the said land, and of all costs, charges, and disbursements in connection with the management and maintenance thereof, and on 31 March in every year, or within 1 week thereafter, the Board shall prepare accounts and a balance-sheet, showing the receipts and disbursements of the Board during the previous year, and the actual financial state of the Board on 31 March in that year; and such accounts and balance-sheet shall be forwarded to the Governor.

It shall be lawful for the Board, and they are hereby authorized and empowered, from time to time to make and alter rules for regulating their own proceedings, for prescribing the conditions on which the public shall be permitted to have access to the said racecourse upon any day when the same shall be used for racing purposes, and for regulating the price for admission on such occasions, for excluding the public from such parts of the said parcel of land as it may be found necessary and desirable to improve or lay down in artificial grasses, for regulating the charges that may be made for the occupation of the said racecourse for the erection of booths or stalls for the sale of refreshments, merchandise, goods, or chattels, and for the admission of horses and vehicles to the said racecourse.