Archive Decision

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Auckland TC 7 October 2016 – R 6 – Chair, Mr A Dooley

ID: JCA12626

Applicant:
Mr J Muirhead - Senior Stipendiary Steward

Respondent(s):
Mr D Butcher - Open Horseman

Information Number:
A7971

Hearing Type:
Hearing

New Charge:
Careless Driving

Rules:
869(3)(b)

Plea:
admitted

Meet Title:
Auckland TC - 7 October 2016

Meet Chair:
ADooley

Meet Committee Member 1:
AGodsalve

Race Date:
2016/10/07

Race Number:
R6

Decision:

As Mr Butcher admitted the breach the Committee find the charge proved.

Penalty:

Accordingly, Mr Butcher was fined $250.

Facts:

Following the running of race 6, Garrards New Zealand Mobile Trot 1700m, an Information was filed pursuant to Rule 869(3)(b). The Informant, Mr Muirhead, alleged that Mr Butcher drove KYVALLEY BLUR carelessly shortly after the start contacting the wheel of the sulky of MONNAY (A Herlihy) puncturing the tyre.

Mr Butcher acknowledged that he understood the Rule and confirmed his admission of the breach.

Rule 869(3)(b) provides : No horseman in any race shall drive carelessly.

Mr Muirhead demonstrated the incident using the available video footage. He identified that KYVALLEY BLUR had drawn the outside of the mobile gate and shortly after the start Mr Butcher eased his drive back. In doing so he made contact with the sulky wheel of MONNAY which resulted in the tyre coming off the rim.

Mr Butcher said he agreed with Mr Muirhead’s interpretation of the incident. He added that at the time he did not realise he was careless.

Submissions for Penalty:

Mr Muirhead said that Mr Butcher had a clear record under this Rule and he was unlucky that the incident occurred. He said Mr Butcher should be given credit for his admission of the breach and his record.

Mr Butcher submitted that a $200 fine would be appropriate for what he described a minor offence. He added that it was about 15 years since he had hit a wheel.

Reasons for Penalty:

The Committee carefully considered all the evidence and submissions presented. The Penalty Guide for Judicial Committees recommends that the starting point for careless driving is a suspension of 10 drives or a $500 fine.

The mitigating factors were Mr Butcher’s frank admission of the breach, his excellent record and we assess the level of carelessness was at the low end. However the consequence of the manoeuvre meant that the chances of MONNAY were affected.

This breach clearly did not warrant a suspension.

After taking into account all the above and placing emphasis on the notable mitigating factors the Committee considered an appropriate penalty was a fine.

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: 40d3ffbbdc116ad58f0eb3144a146342


informantnumber: A7971


horsename:


hearing_racingtype:


startdate: no date provided


newcharge: Careless Driving


plea: admitted


penaltyrequired: 1


decisiondate: 10/10/2016


hearing_title: Auckland TC 7 October 2016 - R 6 - Chair, Mr A Dooley


charge:


facts:

Following the running of race 6, Garrards New Zealand Mobile Trot 1700m, an Information was filed pursuant to Rule 869(3)(b). The Informant, Mr Muirhead, alleged that Mr Butcher drove KYVALLEY BLUR carelessly shortly after the start contacting the wheel of the sulky of MONNAY (A Herlihy) puncturing the tyre.

Mr Butcher acknowledged that he understood the Rule and confirmed his admission of the breach.

Rule 869(3)(b) provides : No horseman in any race shall drive carelessly.

Mr Muirhead demonstrated the incident using the available video footage. He identified that KYVALLEY BLUR had drawn the outside of the mobile gate and shortly after the start Mr Butcher eased his drive back. In doing so he made contact with the sulky wheel of MONNAY which resulted in the tyre coming off the rim.

Mr Butcher said he agreed with Mr Muirhead’s interpretation of the incident. He added that at the time he did not realise he was careless.


appealdecision:


isappeal:


submissionsfordecision:


reasonsfordecision:


Decision:

As Mr Butcher admitted the breach the Committee find the charge proved.


sumissionsforpenalty:

Mr Muirhead said that Mr Butcher had a clear record under this Rule and he was unlucky that the incident occurred. He said Mr Butcher should be given credit for his admission of the breach and his record.

Mr Butcher submitted that a $200 fine would be appropriate for what he described a minor offence. He added that it was about 15 years since he had hit a wheel.


reasonsforpenalty:

The Committee carefully considered all the evidence and submissions presented. The Penalty Guide for Judicial Committees recommends that the starting point for careless driving is a suspension of 10 drives or a $500 fine.

The mitigating factors were Mr Butcher’s frank admission of the breach, his excellent record and we assess the level of carelessness was at the low end. However the consequence of the manoeuvre meant that the chances of MONNAY were affected.

This breach clearly did not warrant a suspension.

After taking into account all the above and placing emphasis on the notable mitigating factors the Committee considered an appropriate penalty was a fine.


penalty:

Accordingly, Mr Butcher was fined $250.


hearing_type: Hearing


Rules: 869(3)(b)


Informant: Mr J Muirhead - Senior Stipendiary Steward


JockeysandTrainer: Mr D Butcher - Open Horseman


Otherperson:


PersonPresent:


Respondent:


StipendSteward:


raceid: 0c237a3a9336e1a3b39ea3a22909601c


race_expapproval:


racecancelled: 0


race_noreport: 0


race_emailed1: 0


race_emailed2: 0


race_title: R6


submittochair:


race_expappcomment:


race_km:


race_otherexp:


race_chair:


race_pm1:


race_pm2:


meetid: 7453c8abdbb339e272724ab529700148


meet_expapproval:


meet_noreport: 0


waitingforpublication: 0


meet_emailed1: 0


meet_emailed2: 0


meetdate: 07/10/2016


meet_title: Auckland TC - 7 October 2016


meet_expappcomment:


meet_km:


meet_otherexp:


tracklocation: auckland-tc


meet_racingtype: harness-racing


meet_chair: ADooley


meet_pm1: AGodsalve


meet_pm2: none


name: Auckland TC