‘KEEP RACING PURE’

Hauraki Plains Gazette, Volume 52, Issue 3256, 28 April 1943, Page 3

‘KEEP RACING PURE’

MAGISTRATE’S COMMENT

UNLAWFUL TRESPASS INCIDENT AT RACES AT PAEROA “The idea is, of course, to keep racing pure and no doubt this has something to do with the improvement of the breeding of racehorses, but I doubt if the argument applies in this case,” commented Mr W. H. Freeman, S.M., in the Te Aroha Court on Thursday when Reginald Athol Hobson (Mr F. E. Burns) was charged with that while he was an excluded person he had been on the Paeroa racecourse during the meeting of the Bay of Plenty Racing Club. A plea' of guilty was entered by Mr Burns who submitted, however, that his client was a young man who, although he had been involved in a court case some seven years ago, had paid the penalty and since completely rehabilitated himself. He was married and had two young children. , “He has paid off his mistake by every legal and moral standard. He is good enough to fight for his country and good enough to vote but in the eyes of this racing club he is not good enough to frequent its course. I could echo the wish expressed by my more famous namesake and make it apply to any club which makes such a rule,” declared Mr Burns, adding that defendant’s previous trouble had, in any case, no direct bearing on racing.

His Worship entered a conviction and ordered defendant to pay costs only. Another Offender

A similar charge was lodged against Henry Lennard .Slight, who was also put off the racecourse at Paeroa. He had been convicted for trespassing following the Te Aroha meeting. “I suppose he picked up the amount of his fine on the course,” Mr Freeman remarked, imposing £2 and costs 10s in this case.