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Mutuel Betting Bill Due j For Alabama House Vote Calls for Three-Man Commission To Regulate Sport in State MONTGOMERY, Ala., May 27. A bill to legalize pari-mutuel betting on horse and greyhound racing in Alabama is expected to come up for a vote in the House of Representatives, Monday. The house voted this week against recommitting the measure to the home judiciary committee for a public hearing. The proposal has one or more unique features, including a provision that "pari-mutuel machines must be so operated, and such wagering system so conducted, that any patron making a wager shall have a reasonable opportunity of rescinding the same and of obtaining refunds of such wagers after odds are posted and before the particular race is actually run." Simply put, this means that should a wager be made on a 15-1 chance and the odds drop to 2-to-l before the field is at the post, the bettor can, if he desires, obtain a refund of the amount of his wager, and the same would apply should the odds rise and the bettor desire a refund. Track license fees would be a percentage of the total pari-mutuel pools, ranging from 3 per cent to 7 per cent. Old age pensions and the Department of Education would be the beneficiaries. There is a clause providing for local option by county elections. The measure, which was introduced by Rep. John F. Gillis, of Clarke County, calls for the creation of a three-member state racing commission, to be appointed by the governor with the advice and consent of the Senate. The chairman of the commission would get ,000 a year and the other two members ,500 each. They could appoint a full-time secretary at ,000 annually.
