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ADVERSE TO D ELM Alt The AttorneyGeneral of the State of Missouri has rendered a decision that creates an inter ¬ esting racing situation at Bt Louis His con ¬ clusion is that the Fair Grounds and Delmar tracks are under one management and are jointly to be considered as one track and only entitled under tbe law to ninety racing days This would bring their season to a close within a few days and give Einloch dates for the re ¬ mainder of the season The Delmar managers are hearty fighters and will no doubt resort to the courts to have the Attorney Generals de ¬ cision set aside A dispatch from Jefferson City to the Bt Louis Republic gives the follow ¬ ing statement of the case caseFrom From developments which took place here today it is evident that partisans of the Ein ¬ I loch race track St Louis will shortly endeavor CONTINUED nr BEOOND FAAB ADVERSE TO DELMAR Continued from Tlnt Page to close up both Delmar Park and the Fair Grounds on the plea that as both are being operated by the same alleged management they muBt be considered as one track and are therefore entitled to but ninety daya racing between them instead of ninety days each as they claim claimThe The breeders law which governs horse rac ¬ ing in Missouri allots to each track ninety days of racing and specifies that racing on any one track ehall or may be limited to that period Tinder this law the Fair Grounds ran ninety dHjrB each eoasonand proposed to do BO this year wkite Delmar Park also felt itself entitled to another ninety days Thus between them these two tracks would take up the entire racing sea ¬ son for the law allows but 180 days of racing in the etateor from April 15 to November 1 which deducting Sundays means only 180 days of actual racing racingThe The Kinloch Park people being desirous of opening free of opposition applied to Attorney General Crow and Auditor Allen urging that both Delmar and the Fair Grounds tracks be ¬ ing under one alleged management should be considered as one and that both should be con ¬ fined to only ninety days of racing Between them the Fair Grounds and Delmar Park will have raced ninety days on August 13 The Kin loch partisans have asked that the Auditor re ¬ fuse the opposing tracks license to continue after that date Auditor Allen submitted the correspondence on the subject to Attorney Gen ¬ eral Crow who today rendered an opinion on the Auditors questions questionsAuditor Auditor Allen said 11 Late this afternoon I received from Edward C Crow Attorney General his official opinion respecting the proper construction to be placed upon certain portions of what is known as the breeders law providing for the licensing of bookmaking and pool selling upon the several race courses and fafr grounds of the state For some time past evidence has been submitted to me tending to show that tho St Louis Fair Grounds track and the Delmar track are owned and controlled by tho same parties and are practically under one and the same management After submitting all the papers to the Attorney General 1 am in ¬ formed that the Delmar people strenuously deny that their management is the same as that of the fair grounds track and proper atten ¬ tion will be given to whatever evidence they may enbmit Hon Albert O Allen State Auditor Jeffer ¬ son City Mo Dear Sir You have submitted to me the following questions towit First Is it the meaning and intent of the act of the General Assembly containing section 7420 Revised Statutes of Missouri 1899 to limit the time to ninety days in any one year during which license can be issued for making books on any one race track except by consent of the State Auditor Second If there are two race tracks in the same community and locality both of which are controlled by practically the same persons should such tracks be considered as one in de ¬ termining the nnmber of days for licensing bookmakers at said tracks Third On the facts disclossd by tho papers I have transmitted herewith are tho Fair Grounds and the Delmar tracks prima facie shown to be substantially under one manage ¬ ment In reply to your first question permit me to say that you wrote me ajetter recently concern ¬ ing this subject in which you say That no li ¬ cense for a race track meeting with pool selling and bookmaking as an accompaniment has ever been issued to the same association or person for a period of more than ninety days at tho same or different places in one year Your office has been charged with the duty of licensing bookmakers under this law since its first enactment as a statute and being the executive state office upon whom devolved the duty of construing tho act with reference to the period of time for which a license on any one track in one year should ba granted book ¬ makers tho continuous construction of the State Auditor is entitled to and would bo given great weight by the courts in determining the meaning of this statute bocanse it is a well set ¬ tled rule of law that an executive departmental construction of a statute long continued and acquiesced in will often become conclusive The construction executive officers place upon newly enacted laws is also considered by the courts in determining the intention of a statute The auditors office has in this case j always constrnad the act to mean that a license could only be given bookmakers under the breeders bill for ninety days in a year at any one track Considering the history of the period of time at which the breeders law was passed and the construction always placed upon it by tho auditors office and acquiesced in by every one I am of tho opinion it was clearly tha original j intention of the act licensing bookmakers to limit the licences of bookmakers to ninety days upon any one track in a period of one year In reply to your second question allow me to state under the circumstances you state the two tracks should be considered as one in com ¬ puting the nnmber of days for issuance of licenses to bookmakers under the breeders law1 In reply to your third question I beg to say I have examined the papers submitted jby you and am of opinion that from the papers men ¬ tioned it is shown that the Fair Grounds and the Delmar tracks are under one management I bag to remain very truly yours EDWABD C CBOW Attorney General
