A RACING CASE.

Wairarapa Age, Volume XXV, Issue 10713, 5 September 1913, Page 5

A RACING CASE.

LEASE OF A HORSE. {By Telegraph—Fress Association.) i"" INVERiOARGILL, Last. Night. At the Supreme Court before Mr Joshua Williams, David Andrew Mitchell sued the executors in the estate of John Beck (deceased) for £285 10s. Beck was the owner of the racehorse Magdala and entered into an agreement with plaintiff to lease the horse to him for the Grand National meeting in 1912, on condition that plaintiff paid all fees, including training expenses and gave Beck one half of any stakes won. Magdala won the Winter Cup and Beck received £SOO, less £l4 10s riding fees. Beck had since died, but prior to death he had filed a statement of defence, alleging that plaintiff had not carried out all the conditions, among which was a Vferbal agreement to put £lO on the horse if Beck had not returned to the Dominion in time to invest that sum. Beck arrived at the Bluff on Monday and the race was run on Tuesday. Counsel for the Executors argued that -the transaction ca*ne within section 71 of the Gaming Act,. «nd that no action could be maintained for the money won by way of stakes relating to a horse-raco. Anything arising out of an unenforceable contract was also unforceable. Counsel for plaintiff contended that section 71 applied to monies held by the stakeholder, and that the court would not assist a fraud, where a reasonable interpretation of the statutes would obviate it. His Honour said that Mitchell had fulfilled the conditions which he was to perform, and he did not think the agreement wwats t invalid. Plaintiff was hot suing for money on a horse race and not paid, tm-fc for money vi'liich had been won and paid to Beck, who was bound to account for it. Section 71 of the Act applied only where money was won by a "horse race, and not paid to ih© winner. If the section applied in this case, it would be an illegal thing for two persons to own a horse jointly and .share its winnings. Judggiven for plaintiff with costs.