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Court Rules Daily Double Is Legal in New York NEW YORK, N. Y., May 14.— Supreme Court Justice John E. McGeehan has ruled that the Daily Double is legal in New York. He dismissed a petition presented yesterday by Joseph Goldstein, former magistrate, in behalf of Murray Mellmari, president of Rogers Appliances, Inc., 126 East Sixteenth Street, New York City, who contended that this form of wagering was "not pari-mutuel betting on horse races," as permitted under the state constitution. Defendants were the New York State Racing Commission and the five racing associations operating tracks in this state. Assistant Attorney General John Powers represented the commission in the action. After hearing arguments three weeks ago, Justice McGeehan reserved decision and permitted the attorneys to file briefs. Goldstein contended that the Daily Double was not pari-mutuel betting because the tickets are sold manually and not dispensed from machines and recorded on the totali-sator. He charged further that. Daily Double betting is a lottery, that it is indulged in by persons who know nothing about horse racing, indirectly leads to juvenile delinquency and dazzles "scrubwomen and working women." Dismissing the petition, Justice McGeehan noted that while Daily Double betting is not lucrative, perhaps it is at least constitutional. Attorneys for the respondents ridiculed the petitioners claims. They held that the Daily Double was computed in exactly the same way as the odds are established in the machines and therefore constitutes pari-mutuel betting.
