Auckland TC 14 December 2019 – R 1 – Chair, Mr G Jones
ID: JCA12990
Meet Title:
Auckland TC - 14 December 2019
Meet Chair:
GJones
Meet Committee Member 1:
ADooley
Race Date:
2019/12/14
Race Number:
R1
Decision:
Pursuant to Rule 1111(1) (d) as Mr Butcher admitted the breach the Committee found the charge proved.
Penalty:
Accordingly, Mr Butcher's licence to drive in races was suspended for 1 day commencing after racing on 14 December until after racing on 19 December 2019. In addition Mr Butcher is fined the sum of $200.
Facts:
Following the running of Race 1, the Breckon Farms Mobile Pace 2200, an information was filed by Chief Stipendiary Steward Mr Ydgren alleging Open Horseman Mr Z Butcher, breached Rule 869 (3) (b) in that he drove carelessly causing interference to LOUIE THE HORSE (A Butt) near the 100 metres with resultant interference to MIGHTY LOOEE (P Ferguson).
Mr Butcher endorsed the Information ‘I do admit the breach of the rule’. At the commencement of the hearing he confirmed his plea and that he understood the rule and the nature of the charge.
Rule 869 (3)(b) provides:
No driver in any race shall drive carelessly.
Using available video footage Mr Ydgren identified the horses involved in the incident namely, THE EMPRESS (Z Butcher), LOUIE THE HORSE (A Butt), and MIGHTY LOOEE (D P Ferguson). He pointed out that as the field entered the home straight THE EMPRESS was racing in a 3 wide position in 5th place. Passing the 150 metre mark, he said Mr Butcher allowed THE EMPRESS to shift inwards and in doing so caused interference to LOUIE THE HORSE which was racing on its inner near the marker line. This resulted in LOUIE THE HORSE momentarily locking sulky wheels with MIGHTY LOOEE which was racing slightly behind that runner.
Mr Ydgren added that it would have been more prudent of Mr Butcher to have shifted outwards, thus avoiding contact. He also said that the affected horses were well back in the running at the time of the interference.
Mr Butcher said that he totally accepted Mr Ydgen’s interpretation of the incident. He said that when he shifted inwards he did not realise that Mr Butt's horse was on his inner; and added that although he caused interference he felt that LOUIE THE HORSE was weakening at the time.
Submissions for Penalty:
Mr Ydgren submitted that Mr Butcher is a very busy driver who has had 468 drives during the past season (2018/19) and to date this season (2019/20) he has had 153 drives. He said that his driving record was excellent having last breached this rule on 27 March 2019.
Mr Ydgren said that the JCA penalty guide has a starting point of a 10-drive suspension and/or $500 fine. He said Stewards assessed the level of carelessness to be low to mid range due to two horses being checked. He added that it was unlikely the affected horses would have finished in a stake bearing place. He submitted a 2-day suspension would be an appropriate penalty.
Mr Butcher submitted that his level of carelessness was low range and asked the Committee to consider a fine and suspension. He did not seek a deferment to any proposed penalty.
In Response Mr Ydgren advised that due to Mr Butcher’s excellent record, Stewards would not oppose a combined suspension and fine in this case.
It was established that Mr Butcher generally has 6 drives per meeting.
Reasons for Penalty:
The JCA Penalty Guide provides a starting point of a 10-drive suspension and / or a $500 fine for a breach of this rule.
After taking into account the submissions of both the Informant and Respondent; noting the race film and the resultant impact on the affected runners the Committee has determined the level of carelessness to be low to mid range. Although the chances of LOUIE THE HORSE and MIGHTY LOOEE were diminished, they were well back in the running at the time of the incident and it was apparent they were not going to finish in a stake bearing place.
After affording Mr Butcher credit for his excellent record and admission of the breach we determined that a combined suspension and fine is an appropriate penalty in the circumstances of this case. In calculating the suspension we equated his 6 drives per meeting to be commensurate with 1 meeting.
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: 724ae0d22fc48b745955be056bbc4a6e
informantnumber: A12951
horsename:
hearing_racingtype:
startdate: no date provided
newcharge: Careless driving
plea: admitted
penaltyrequired: 1
decisiondate: 14/12/2019
hearing_title: Auckland TC 14 December 2019 – R 1 – Chair, Mr G Jones
charge:
facts:
Following the running of Race 1, the Breckon Farms Mobile Pace 2200, an information was filed by Chief Stipendiary Steward Mr Ydgren alleging Open Horseman Mr Z Butcher, breached Rule 869 (3) (b) in that he drove carelessly causing interference to LOUIE THE HORSE (A Butt) near the 100 metres with resultant interference to MIGHTY LOOEE (P Ferguson).
Mr Butcher endorsed the Information ‘I do admit the breach of the rule’. At the commencement of the hearing he confirmed his plea and that he understood the rule and the nature of the charge.
Rule 869 (3)(b) provides:
No driver in any race shall drive carelessly.
Using available video footage Mr Ydgren identified the horses involved in the incident namely, THE EMPRESS (Z Butcher), LOUIE THE HORSE (A Butt), and MIGHTY LOOEE (D P Ferguson). He pointed out that as the field entered the home straight THE EMPRESS was racing in a 3 wide position in 5th place. Passing the 150 metre mark, he said Mr Butcher allowed THE EMPRESS to shift inwards and in doing so caused interference to LOUIE THE HORSE which was racing on its inner near the marker line. This resulted in LOUIE THE HORSE momentarily locking sulky wheels with MIGHTY LOOEE which was racing slightly behind that runner.
Mr Ydgren added that it would have been more prudent of Mr Butcher to have shifted outwards, thus avoiding contact. He also said that the affected horses were well back in the running at the time of the interference.
Mr Butcher said that he totally accepted Mr Ydgen’s interpretation of the incident. He said that when he shifted inwards he did not realise that Mr Butt's horse was on his inner; and added that although he caused interference he felt that LOUIE THE HORSE was weakening at the time.
appealdecision:
isappeal:
submissionsfordecision:
reasonsfordecision:
Decision:
Pursuant to Rule 1111(1) (d) as Mr Butcher admitted the breach the Committee found the charge proved.
sumissionsforpenalty:
Mr Ydgren submitted that Mr Butcher is a very busy driver who has had 468 drives during the past season (2018/19) and to date this season (2019/20) he has had 153 drives. He said that his driving record was excellent having last breached this rule on 27 March 2019.
Mr Ydgren said that the JCA penalty guide has a starting point of a 10-drive suspension and/or $500 fine. He said Stewards assessed the level of carelessness to be low to mid range due to two horses being checked. He added that it was unlikely the affected horses would have finished in a stake bearing place. He submitted a 2-day suspension would be an appropriate penalty.
Mr Butcher submitted that his level of carelessness was low range and asked the Committee to consider a fine and suspension. He did not seek a deferment to any proposed penalty.
In Response Mr Ydgren advised that due to Mr Butcher’s excellent record, Stewards would not oppose a combined suspension and fine in this case.
It was established that Mr Butcher generally has 6 drives per meeting.
reasonsforpenalty:
The JCA Penalty Guide provides a starting point of a 10-drive suspension and / or a $500 fine for a breach of this rule.
After taking into account the submissions of both the Informant and Respondent; noting the race film and the resultant impact on the affected runners the Committee has determined the level of carelessness to be low to mid range. Although the chances of LOUIE THE HORSE and MIGHTY LOOEE were diminished, they were well back in the running at the time of the incident and it was apparent they were not going to finish in a stake bearing place.
After affording Mr Butcher credit for his excellent record and admission of the breach we determined that a combined suspension and fine is an appropriate penalty in the circumstances of this case. In calculating the suspension we equated his 6 drives per meeting to be commensurate with 1 meeting.
penalty:
Accordingly, Mr Butcher's licence to drive in races was suspended for 1 day commencing after racing on 14 December until after racing on 19 December 2019. In addition Mr Butcher is fined the sum of $200.
hearing_type: Hearing
Rules: Rule 869(3)(b)
Informant: Mr N Ydgren - Chief Stipendiary Steward
JockeysandTrainer: Mr Z Butcher - Driver of THE EMPRESS
Otherperson:
PersonPresent:
Respondent:
StipendSteward:
raceid: 6b3b25f9b2f7769d4a846917ead9daa2
race_expapproval:
racecancelled: 0
race_noreport: 0
race_emailed1: 0
race_emailed2: 0
race_title: R1
submittochair:
race_expappcomment:
race_km:
race_otherexp:
race_chair:
race_pm1:
race_pm2:
meetid: 588f8b57c9fa1600049c9f739bed42d6
meet_expapproval:
meet_noreport: 0
waitingforpublication: 0
meet_emailed1: 0
meet_emailed2: 0
meetdate: 14/12/2019
meet_title: Auckland TC - 14 December 2019
meet_expappcomment:
meet_km:
meet_otherexp:
tracklocation: auckland-tc
meet_racingtype: harness-racing
meet_chair: GJones
meet_pm1: ADooley
meet_pm2: none
name: Auckland TC