TROUBLES OF RACING.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume L, Issue 60, 11 September 1907, Page 3

TROUBLES OF RACING.

The confused and confusing details oi * racing establishment occupied the Magistrate's Court .yesterday, when Edijar 11. Russell, trainer ,of Westown, sued F. Montague Mills, farmer, oi l)n*i.ta, for £l4B las Id. Mr Quilliain appeared lor the plaintill', and Mr Grey Jor the defendant. The plaintill stated that in consequence of a conversation with the de icudant, he took charge of Southern lioss on September Utli to train. Hi kept him till July oth, when he was sold. He considered £2 a week was a reasonable ciurge. Defendant spoke to him jusi !, c f 01 . e the New Plymouth Christmas meeting about remuneration, and promised to divide the stakes after payment of foes, etc. Between Seplem'uer i)th and the following July oth Southern Cross won about £3OB. Diefendant had not oii'ored him half the slakes. No one was present when (heir conversation took place. Ho Indued Mr Mills' l'angaroa from lSth January, WO7, until July flth last. No J'vraiigciiii'iit was made about remuneration. After tin- New Plymouth Christmas meeting he applied to the defendant at different times for money, and got in all t'l-22 as shown in the* statement of claim. The moneys were paid on ..ecount of Mills' indebtedness generally. Witness paid jockeys' foes, lit; kept no memoranda, but made up lus ckuiin from enquiries at the railway olnces, and so forth. The details were lue Ik-si he could do. To Mr Grey: H e ,-lid not render an account. Ho denied having asked Mills ior the loan of Southern Cross to "hackabout,' and stated he never offered -UUO for the horse. Never said to .Mills, •Naikato is starling at Avon r dale; if he wins I'll give you £IOO for southern Cross." Kept no account whatever. He remembered meetingdefendant in the Imperial Hotel just before the New Plymouth Christmas meeting. Uid not oiler £7O for Southern Cross then. He had been told one morning that he had offered £7O for Southern Cross, but he couldn't remember it. U,jn't think the defendant would remember much about it, cither lie never could get ;;.n agreement with Mi Mills that stakes should he shared, llie owner paying nominationss, acceptances, and riding fees. The defendant, F. M. Mills, gavo evidence of a conversation early in last Septcn,ber, ,wheu plaintiff asked Mm to lease Southern Cross. lie declined, as he wanted to sell him. At a subsequent interview Russell cmic to him and asked the price of Southern Cross. Witness said lie wanted £IOO. Russell said he was sure to win at Avondalo with \,aikato, and would pav then. In t,ie meantime he would "hack the horse about to reduce his condition. Witness agreed. Waikato did not wii. so plaintiff had not the necessary money, and promised to arrange for another to buy the horse. Things went «n until just before the New Plymouth i Christmas meeting, when Russell offered him £7O for the horse. He refused but said he would take £7O now, and £3O out of the first winnings. Russell then suggested nominating the horse, as lie felt sure he could win a race. Ho would throw in the training fees, and ifter all other expenses were paid he vould be content to share the winnings Vitness agreed to this, in order to cubic Russell to buy. Witness stated he amounts paid to Russell by ],i m

wore £4O more than shown by plaintiff. At Feilding, just before the last race Russell came to him and said, "We're halving this, aren't we? No !mcssin<*" He answered, "Of course," and Russell siid that would do. He had never had an account from Russell for training. They often talked of having a se|uirin<>x>]>. holme the sale Russell suggosfed nominating the horse for Wellington and Christe-hurch. Witness said "Xo; I'll nominate him no more. I'm finished with the game, and am going away.' lie o persuaded, however to nominate Southern Cross 'both at Wellington and Christchureh. Russell had had Pangaroa on the same terms as Southern Cross. Pangaroa, a mare for whom he had refused £20?). was sold at £lB. To Mr Quilliun: Their joint interest in the horse had not been registered He (lid not know that this was corrupt practice. He did not know that the arrangement rendered him liable to utter disqualification, and to refund all stakes to the clubs at whose meeting they had been won. He was not well up m racing law. He considered himself liable for half the travelling and other expenses when Russell took his own and witness' horses to different meetings. The scheme to divide the gains was favored by him as givin« Russell a chance to buy Southern Cross as originally arranged. Russell had never brought him an account . He had paid several jockeys. He never knew how much Russell had paid, or how much there was to pay. To the S.M.: Expected Russell to pay out 0/ advances the jockeys' fees, board and other expenses, and 'to get an account of the outgoings of those who rode the horses. Re-examined: liy Russell's undertaking to "thrown in the training fees" he understood that Russell would not make the usual charges for training. James Hawkins stated that Russell' often told him he had Southern Cross on halves with Mr Mills, and that lie could be bought for £IOO. Mr ftrcy said the onus of proof lav on the plaintiff, who hqd admitted several instances in which the claim was incorrect, and had also admitted that he had included in the claim charges' for Ids own horses. The claijm was a grossly exaggerated demand, as the railway tariff showed. He submitted that the plaintiff had failed to prove his claim. It would have been a matter lor comment had Hawkins remembered exactly how, when, and where the conversation took place which was sworn to by him. Hawkins' evidence clinched the defendant's evidence. He pointed to the fact that Russell had paid jockeys and made other disbursements which did not come within the routine of an ordinary trainer, anel he submitted that Russell hid not been engaged as a trainer at a weekly remuneration. The alleged breach of the racing law 'did not enter into this action. Mr Quilliani contended that in a case like this, where the evidence of fhe two parties was so conflicting the Magistrate would give his decision on the side of the probabilities, and these were on the side of the plaintiff. The <lefcudant wanted the court to believe thai (lie plaintiff, who depended on training for his livelihood, had entered into a compact to ruin himself and every horse he trained. Horse-owners and trainers were secretive people, too, and he found it h.rd to believe that Russell would go into the hotel and tell cverv Biek Tt/m and Harry that he was brcakinp the rules of racing by running undei this niin-aislered agreement. AVas jj likely, cither, (hat the plaintiff wouU, have tillered into such a swindle? The S.M. said the evidence was con tradictory, but there were two mail facts. The plaintiff sti.ted he had tin horses to train on the ordinary terms and the delendant averred that {he horses were hell on (he other terms sharing the winni,:-.... Where fTier, was contradict;. • ii'-.. tj,is. it W as If,, praclico to nonsuit lh- niaintiff. rales. one side could produce' corroborative evidence. There were' no circumstance to Kid him to the determination o which had the truth on its side. IT, would like to have sellleel the niaUconce and for all. but he could not ,|. so. The- plaintiff must be nonsuited lie suggested that counsi-1 could inv, the matter settled. The nonsuit woiffi he grnnte-d without cosls, as the ele fendant's ease had not been too satis factory, either.