Winton JC 14 October 2018 – R 7 and R 8 (request for a ruling) – Chair, Prof G Hall
ID: JCA12127
Code:
Thoroughbred
Meet Title:
Winton JC - 14 October 2018
Meet Chair:
GHall
Meet Committee Member 1:
MConway
Race Date:
2018/10/14
Race Number:
R 7
Decision:
We so rule, and advise the Stewards accordingly.
Facts:
Mr Davidson sought a ruling as to whether licensed trainer, Ms J Dalton, could scratch her horses in races 7 and 8 (BEAM ME UP SCOTTY, DAD’S BROTHER and MAC MURDOCH) “due to the extreme wet nature of the track in the home straight”.
Rule 534(2) provides:
(b) If the Stipendiary Steward is not so satisfied, he shall complete an information and file it with the Registrar for the Judicial Committee and the Judicial Committee shall then determine whether there are such circumstances and whether the Trainer or Owner or lessee (as the case may be) or his Agent or its Racing Manager is authorised to scratch the horse after that time. [Amended 1 June 2013]
(c) A material change in the condition of the track, occurring after the scratching deadline (as specified for the relevant Race Meeting in accordance with Rule 510(d)(v) or as amended by NZTR from time to time) on the relevant Race day, shall be deemed by the Stipendiary Steward and the Judicial Committee to constitute such circumstances.
Submissions for Decision:
We first questioned Mr Davidson concerning track conditions. He stated there had been no change in the rating of the track since scratching time. It was a Heavy 10. He added that last night the track had been rated a Slow 8.
Ms Dalton stated there had been only 4 ml of rain overnight so she was surprised that it was a Heavy 10 this morning. She had assumed that it would be on the lighter side of 10. It was not. Jockeys had said to her it was closer to a Heavy 11.
We asked her to comment on the horses she was seeking to late scratch. The first was MAC MURDOCH in race 8. She said the horse was fresh up and did not handle a Heavy 10. She said she had contemplated scratching it this morning but had not done so by 7.30. The horse had never started on a Heavy track. It had previously been scratched when the track was downgraded to Heavy. DAD’S BROTHER had started on a Heavy track. It had not placed and would not be competitive on a Heavy 10 that was closer to an 11. BEAM ME UP SCOTTY had had 2 starts on a Heavy for nothing. It was also in a fresh state. She reiterated Mr Davidson’s comment that it had been a Slow 8 yesterday and she could not understand how 4 ml could turn a track into a Heavy 10 bordering on a Heavy 11.
We asked Mr Davidson to respond. He agreed it was unusual for a track to go from an 8 to a 10 after only 4 ml of rain. Usually he would expect a track to change only by one point with that amount of rain. The caretaker relied on the penetrometer readings, which were averaged for the whole track.
Mr Davidson emphasised it was definitely a track of two halves. It was very inconsistent. From the mile / 1200 metres it was a slow track until the 350 metres. From that point, and especially in the main straight it was a Heavy 11. He agreed with Ms Dalton that the riders were saying it was a 10, borderline 11. It was definitely an 11 in the straight.
Reasons for Decision:
The issue is whether there has been a material change in the track conditions. The track is clearly very inconsistent. This is not disputed by Ms Dalton or Mr Davidson. The jockeys, we are told, have commented on this fact.
Ms Dalton is adamant that the three horses in question will not be competitive in the conditions that prevail. Mr Davidson has agreed that one of the three horses has previously been late scratched when the track was downgraded to heavy.
None of the horses have any wet track form and we are satisfied they will not handle the track. We do not attempt to distinguish between them. We have to balance the fact that the late scratchings will disadvantage the Club with the fact that the betting public will be placing investments on horses that we are told in very clear terms will not be competitive. We have to consider the welfare of the horses and, in particular, the integrity of the racing industry. These factors, and the fact that the track has unusually changed rating by two points after 4 ml of rain overnight, and that it varies in parts from Slow to a Heavy 11 have led to us to conclude that the three horses should be late scratched.
JCA Decision Fields (raw)
Dmitry: This section contains all JCA fields migrated from the raw data.
Data from these fields should be mapped appropriately to display amongst the standard fields above; please make note of any values below that are missing in the above standard fields but should be there.
hearingid: 35ac982da8a4da7e29fd2524f8574916
informantnumber: A8628
horsename:
hearing_racingtype:
startdate: no date provided
newcharge:
plea:
penaltyrequired:
decisiondate: 17/10/2018
hearing_title: Winton JC 14 October 2018 - R 7 and R 8 (request for a ruling) - Chair, Prof G Hall
charge:
facts:
Mr Davidson sought a ruling as to whether licensed trainer, Ms J Dalton, could scratch her horses in races 7 and 8 (BEAM ME UP SCOTTY, DAD’S BROTHER and MAC MURDOCH) “due to the extreme wet nature of the track in the home straight”.
Rule 534(2) provides:
(b) If the Stipendiary Steward is not so satisfied, he shall complete an information and file it with the Registrar for the Judicial Committee and the Judicial Committee shall then determine whether there are such circumstances and whether the Trainer or Owner or lessee (as the case may be) or his Agent or its Racing Manager is authorised to scratch the horse after that time. [Amended 1 June 2013]
(c) A material change in the condition of the track, occurring after the scratching deadline (as specified for the relevant Race Meeting in accordance with Rule 510(d)(v) or as amended by NZTR from time to time) on the relevant Race day, shall be deemed by the Stipendiary Steward and the Judicial Committee to constitute such circumstances.
appealdecision:
isappeal:
submissionsfordecision:
We first questioned Mr Davidson concerning track conditions. He stated there had been no change in the rating of the track since scratching time. It was a Heavy 10. He added that last night the track had been rated a Slow 8.
Ms Dalton stated there had been only 4 ml of rain overnight so she was surprised that it was a Heavy 10 this morning. She had assumed that it would be on the lighter side of 10. It was not. Jockeys had said to her it was closer to a Heavy 11.
We asked her to comment on the horses she was seeking to late scratch. The first was MAC MURDOCH in race 8. She said the horse was fresh up and did not handle a Heavy 10. She said she had contemplated scratching it this morning but had not done so by 7.30. The horse had never started on a Heavy track. It had previously been scratched when the track was downgraded to Heavy. DAD’S BROTHER had started on a Heavy track. It had not placed and would not be competitive on a Heavy 10 that was closer to an 11. BEAM ME UP SCOTTY had had 2 starts on a Heavy for nothing. It was also in a fresh state. She reiterated Mr Davidson’s comment that it had been a Slow 8 yesterday and she could not understand how 4 ml could turn a track into a Heavy 10 bordering on a Heavy 11.
We asked Mr Davidson to respond. He agreed it was unusual for a track to go from an 8 to a 10 after only 4 ml of rain. Usually he would expect a track to change only by one point with that amount of rain. The caretaker relied on the penetrometer readings, which were averaged for the whole track.
Mr Davidson emphasised it was definitely a track of two halves. It was very inconsistent. From the mile / 1200 metres it was a slow track until the 350 metres. From that point, and especially in the main straight it was a Heavy 11. He agreed with Ms Dalton that the riders were saying it was a 10, borderline 11. It was definitely an 11 in the straight.
reasonsfordecision:
The issue is whether there has been a material change in the track conditions. The track is clearly very inconsistent. This is not disputed by Ms Dalton or Mr Davidson. The jockeys, we are told, have commented on this fact.
Ms Dalton is adamant that the three horses in question will not be competitive in the conditions that prevail. Mr Davidson has agreed that one of the three horses has previously been late scratched when the track was downgraded to heavy.
None of the horses have any wet track form and we are satisfied they will not handle the track. We do not attempt to distinguish between them. We have to balance the fact that the late scratchings will disadvantage the Club with the fact that the betting public will be placing investments on horses that we are told in very clear terms will not be competitive. We have to consider the welfare of the horses and, in particular, the integrity of the racing industry. These factors, and the fact that the track has unusually changed rating by two points after 4 ml of rain overnight, and that it varies in parts from Slow to a Heavy 11 have led to us to conclude that the three horses should be late scratched.
Decision:
We so rule, and advise the Stewards accordingly.
sumissionsforpenalty:
reasonsforpenalty:
penalty:
hearing_type: Request Ruling
Rules: 534(2)(b) and (c)
Informant:
JockeysandTrainer:
Otherperson:
PersonPresent: Ms J Dalton - Licensed Trainer
Respondent:
StipendSteward: Mr M Davidson - Stipendiary Steward
raceid: b0c95f2c6bc3ac8254c0b403b5e5ecf0
race_expapproval:
racecancelled: 0
race_noreport: 0
race_emailed1: 0
race_emailed2: 0
race_title: R 7
submittochair:
race_expappcomment:
race_km:
race_otherexp:
race_chair:
race_pm1:
race_pm2:
meetid: 9150d3c74b3be3e4cba672e354141cb7
meet_expapproval:
meet_noreport: 0
waitingforpublication: 0
meet_emailed1: 0
meet_emailed2: 0
meetdate: 14/10/2018
meet_title: Winton JC - 14 October 2018
meet_expappcomment:
meet_km:
meet_otherexp:
tracklocation: winton-jc
meet_racingtype: thoroughbred-racing
meet_chair: GHall
meet_pm1: MConway
meet_pm2: none
name: Winton JC