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Massachusetts Supreme Court Dismisses Daily Double Suit BOSTON, Mass., June 9. — The* Massachusetts Supreme Court today dismissed a 6,025,000 "citizens suit" against two horse racing and three dog racing tracks brought by Joseph E. Donovan, Jr., an attorney, and ruled that Daily Double betting is both constitutional and a form of pari-mutuel betting; Donovan contended that all Daily Double wagering conducted by the tracks violated the 1934 racing statute in that the law authorized only pari-mutuel betting. He claimed that the Daily Double was combination betting and not pari-mutuel. Donovan, who is a son of a former Boston municipal court judge, acted under an old Massachusetts law which allows any citizen to sue for damages if a loser in unlawful gambling fails to bring suit within three months. His claim for 6,025,000 was based on the Daily Double take at the five tracks in 1947. He has another suit pending for triple damages on the 1948 take. ! In an opinion written by Justice Henry T. Lummus, the court held that the 1934 law "was intended to permit the Daily Double as part of the pari-mutuel system of betting." It said further that use of betting machines and the totalisator was not necessarily a part of the pari-mutuel system. Defendants in the case were.the Eastern Racing Association, operators* of Suffolk Downs; The Bay State Harness Racing and Breeding Association, Inc., at Foxboro, and three dog racing tracks.
