Otago RC 22 March 2012 – R 6
ID: JCA13529
Code:
Thoroughbred
Meet Title:
Otago RC - 22 March 2012
Meet Chair:
GHall
Meet Committee Member 1:
DSteel
Race Date:
2012/03/22
Race Number:
R6
Decision:
As the respondent admitted the breach, we find it proved.
Penalty:
Mr Walters is fined the sum of $400.
Charge:
Mr Walters attempted to weigh out in a modified vest.
Facts:
Mr Ray produced the respondent’s body protector. It was evident that padding was missing from the bottom portion and from a couple of sections across the shoulders. Mr Ray said Mr Walters did have weight issues but had not approached the stewards on the day. He said once the stewards had been alerted to the breach, the respondent had co-operated fully.
Mr Richards spoke on the respondent’s behalf. He said Mr Walters told him he had realised the night before that he was likely to be over-weight and had just panicked. Mr Walters confirmed this and said he believed the advantage he would have gained would not have been more than between a ¼ to ½ a kg. He said he had a non-modified vest at home and, because he was under pressure to make the weight, he had brought the one that was before us today.
Submissions for Penalty:
Mr Ray submitted that a penalty of $500 was appropriate. There was a degree of premeditation with respect to this breach. He said it had been well publicised that jockeys were not to tamper with the vests as it was a health and safety issue. He said there were also insurance implications if there was an injury and the correct vest was not being worn.
Mr Richards said that the respondent was only an apprentice and that $500 would be a large amount for him.
Reasons for Penalty:
We agree with Mr Ray that there is a health and safety issue involved with this breach. It is evident to us that the respondent has ridden in earlier races today wearing the modified vest. There is also an element of cheating even though the weight advantage would appear to be minimal. He has been open and honest before us, saying he has “messed up”. He certainly has; the correct way to deal with the matter was to bring his weight issues to the attention of the stewards as soon as possible on the day.
The Penalty Guide recommendation is a starting point of $600, but we note that the majority of breaches over the past season have been in the $250 to $350 range. We start at $600 and give the respondent credit for his ready admission of the breach and the fact that he is an apprentice.
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: 41b15383f08304420cb7be9932231023
informantnumber: 5243
horsename:
hearing_racingtype:
startdate: no date provided
newcharge:
plea: admitted
penaltyrequired: 1
decisiondate: 22/03/2012
hearing_title: Otago RC 22 March 2012 - R 6
charge:
Mr Walters attempted to weigh out in a modified vest.
facts:
Mr Ray produced the respondent’s body protector. It was evident that padding was missing from the bottom portion and from a couple of sections across the shoulders. Mr Ray said Mr Walters did have weight issues but had not approached the stewards on the day. He said once the stewards had been alerted to the breach, the respondent had co-operated fully.
Mr Richards spoke on the respondent’s behalf. He said Mr Walters told him he had realised the night before that he was likely to be over-weight and had just panicked. Mr Walters confirmed this and said he believed the advantage he would have gained would not have been more than between a ¼ to ½ a kg. He said he had a non-modified vest at home and, because he was under pressure to make the weight, he had brought the one that was before us today.
appealdecision:
isappeal:
submissionsfordecision:
reasonsfordecision:
Decision:
As the respondent admitted the breach, we find it proved.
sumissionsforpenalty:
Mr Ray submitted that a penalty of $500 was appropriate. There was a degree of premeditation with respect to this breach. He said it had been well publicised that jockeys were not to tamper with the vests as it was a health and safety issue. He said there were also insurance implications if there was an injury and the correct vest was not being worn.
Mr Richards said that the respondent was only an apprentice and that $500 would be a large amount for him.
reasonsforpenalty:
We agree with Mr Ray that there is a health and safety issue involved with this breach. It is evident to us that the respondent has ridden in earlier races today wearing the modified vest. There is also an element of cheating even though the weight advantage would appear to be minimal. He has been open and honest before us, saying he has “messed up”. He certainly has; the correct way to deal with the matter was to bring his weight issues to the attention of the stewards as soon as possible on the day.
The Penalty Guide recommendation is a starting point of $600, but we note that the majority of breaches over the past season have been in the $250 to $350 range. We start at $600 and give the respondent credit for his ready admission of the breach and the fact that he is an apprentice.
penalty:
Mr Walters is fined the sum of $400.
hearing_type: Hearing
Rules: 610(4)
Informant: Mr A Ray - Stipendiary Steward
JockeysandTrainer: Mr K C Walters - Apprentice Jockey
Otherperson: Mr P Richards - Licensed Trainer
PersonPresent:
Respondent:
StipendSteward:
raceid: 0c3793ee05d21436d899baedb227c9a5
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: c928d9f1bb78b100749aa9283025513c
meet_expapproval:
meet_noreport: 0
waitingforpublication: 0
meet_emailed1: 0
meet_emailed2: 0
meetdate: 22/03/2012
meet_title: Otago RC - 22 March 2012
meet_expappcomment:
meet_km:
meet_otherexp:
tracklocation: otago-rc
meet_racingtype: thoroughbred-racing
meet_chair: GHall
meet_pm1: DSteel
meet_pm2: none
name: Otago RC