392 



RACING, STAKEHOLDERS AND STEWARDS. 



Clerk of the 

 Course 

 usually 

 Stakeholder. 



Has no right 

 to the stakes. 



Ground of 

 action against 

 Stakeholder. 



Position of 

 Stakeholder 

 towards the 

 parties, if the 

 Race is not 

 to be, or can- 

 not be, run. 



The Countess also filed a Bill in the Court of the Yice- 

 Chancellor of England, stating* that the personal .estate 

 was sufficient, and praying the executor might be re- 

 strained from selling or removing the Racehorse, or 'the 

 stallion " Emperor," or the Racing Stud of the late Earl, 



The executor by his 'petition prayed the direction of 

 Yice-Ohancellor Knight Bruce's Court as to the manner 

 in which these two Horses and the Stud should be dealt 

 with, and that the Dowager Countess might be ordered 

 to concur in any sale which the Court might direct, and 

 for the injunction as to erasing the name of the Race- 

 horse from the Race Book, or otherwise depreciating his 

 value. 



An arrangement was eventually made between the 

 parties, and in the meantime an undertaking was given 

 on behalf of the Countess, that no step should be taken to 

 " scratch" or withdraw the Racehorse from the Book (m). 



The Clerk of flie Course is usually the Stakeholder at 

 Races, and he is bound to retain the Stake till some party 

 be clearly entitled to receive it ; and if he pays it to a 

 party not entitled to it, he is still liable to pay -it to the 

 party who has a proper title to it, and until all disputes 

 are settled he is the proper person to keep it (;?). 



But he has no rigJd to the Stakes till he gets the money 

 into his hands ; he is never more than a mere Stakeholder. 

 Indeed, if he could bring actions for unpaid Stakes, he 

 would be liable to have actions brought against him for 

 every Stake that was won, whether he had received it or 

 not; and his situation would not be a very enviable one(o). 



In order to enable one of the parties to maintain an 

 action against a Stakeholder to recover the amount of 

 Stakes deposited with him to abide the determination of 

 the Stewards, the plaintiff must either have the decision 

 in his favour, or show that it was no longer practicable to 

 obtain it {jy). 



The position of the Stakeholder towards the parties, 

 where the Race has not and cannot be run, is that of a 

 debtor to each party for the amount deposited by each. 

 It appears, therefore, that in that case a specific demand 

 of ■ the Stake fi'om the Stakeholder is unnecessary ; but 



{»)) Kcppclx. Coxjitess Boxcagcr of 

 Albemarle^ before Vice -Chancellor 

 Knight Bruce, Feb. 18, 1850. 



(/*) Burrough v. Skinner, 5 Burr. 

 2639 ; Marnjat v. Broderick, 2 M. 



& W. 369. 



(o) Per Patteson, J., Charlton v. 

 Hill, 5 C. & P. 147. 



{}j) Brown v. Occrbury, 25 L. J., 

 Ex. 169. 



