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! [ MISSOURI SUPREME COURT Upholds Contention That Oral Betting on Horse Racing Is No Violation of Law. Another giant stride was taken yesterday in the creation of a proposed western turf governing body when Joseph A. Murphy received word that the Supreme Court of Missouri had upheld his contention that oral betting was not a violation of law. The decision was the result of test cases in which William Huber was charged with receiving commissions from three men to place bits on horses in a race at the St. Louis County Fair Grounds April 28, 1923. The opinion by Commissioner Higbee, all judges of Division No. 2 concurring, was that: "It is the recording or registering of an actual bet or wager and not a proposition to make a bet that is denounced by the statute." As soon as judge Murphy gets his desk here cleared up he will make a flying trip to St. Lcuis and put in motion the organization of prominent men who have agreed to take control of the racing. It is expected that St. Louis will open with a modern plant with a Derby next spring. With St. Louis and Kansas City organized the western organization can take definite shape.
