ILLEGAL RACING.

Taranaki Daily News, 14 February 1922, Page 5

ILLEGAL RACING.

MEETING WITHOUT A PERMIT. CLUB OFFICIALS CONVICTED. By Telegraph.—Press Association. Christchurch, Last 'Night. At the Magistrate’s Court at Culverden to-day, before Mr. H. W. Bundle, S.M., eighteen officials of the Waiau Racing Club were charged with having held a race meeting at Waiau on January 6 without having first obtained a permit from the Minister of Internal Affairs, as required by the Race Meetings Act of 1909. A formal plea of “guilty” was entered. It was explained that two or three years ago, owing to a change of secretary and other officials, a race meeting was held for which, through ignorance of the law on the part of the executive, no permit was obtained. The attention of the club was not called to the omission, and another race meeting was held in 1921. This year the programme was passed by the district committee and the Trotting Association, and the fact of a permit being required did not occur to any member of the executive. There was no doubt that had application for a permit been made it would have been granted without question. His Worship said it was quite clear that the breach was not a wilful one, and in the circumstances he would record a conviction and order each defendant to pay 7s costs.