NZ Metro TC 23 April 2011 – R 10
ID: JCA13997
Meet Title:
NZ Metro TC - 23 April 2011
Meet Chair:
JPhelan
Meet Committee Member 1:
RMcKenzie
Meet Committee Member 2:
SChing
Race Date:
2011/04/23
Race Number:
R1
Decision:
On resuming the hearing we advised the parties of the reasons for our decision, and that the charge was found to be proved.
Penalty:
On resuming the hearing we advised the parties of our reasons and that Mr Butt was fined the sum of $300.
Charge:
Alleged breach of Rule 869(3)(b).
Facts:
Following the running of Race 10, the Derek Jones (D.G.) Memorial Handicap Trot, an Information was filed by Stipendiary Steward Mr N. M. Ydgren against Junior Horseman Mr R. J. Butt, the driver of “Biddy Bid” (14), alleging a breach of Rule 869(3)(b) in that he drove carelessly.
The charge reads as follows.
“I the above named informant allege that the above named Defendant committed a breach of Rule 869(3)(b) in that driver R. J. Butt (Biddy Bid) shifted ground outwards passing the 300m making contact with Moment of Truth (T. Williams) which broke losing its chance.”
“I the above named informant allege that the above named Defendant committed a breach of Rule 869(3)(b) in that driver R. J. Butt (Biddy Bid) shifted ground outwards passing the 300m making contact with Moment of Truth (T. Williams) which broke losing its chance.”
Rule 869(3)(b) reads as follows,
“(3) No horseman in any race shall drive:-
(b) carelessly..”
“(3) No horseman in any race shall drive:-
(b) carelessly..”
Mr Butt is a Junior Horseman and he was assisted at this hearing by Open Horseman Mr D. J. Butt. Mr Butt had indicated on the Information that this breach of the Rules was not admitted and he confirmed this at the hearing. Mr Butt also agreed that he understood the charge and the Rule it was brought under.
Submissions for Decision:
Mr Ydgren gave evidence and used video coverage to show that on rounding the final bend Mr Butt shifted outwards on to Mr Williams in a manner which caused interference, and causing “Moment of Truth” (18) to gallop.
Stipendiary Steward Mr McIntyre gave evidence that he was the patrol steward at the top of the straight, and that he had a clear and unobstructed view of the event. He said that Mr Williams moved out three wide and Mr Butt came out into the two out line. Mr Butt then tried to push Mr Williams out, and the two were going “wheel to wheel”. On the apex of the corner Mr Butt’s wheel got forward of the disc of Mr Williams’ wheel and came into contact with Mr Williams’ horse’s leg resulting in the horse breaking.
Mr T. M. Williams, the driver of “Moment of Truth”, gave evidence that when he moved out to make a run there was contact from the inside and his horse broke. In answer to questions Mr Williams agreed that there was contact, that this incident happened quickly, and that the movement by Mr Butt was “sharp”.
In cross-examination Mr Williams agreed that Mr Butt was entitled to ease him out to obtain a run. He did not agree that he was moved out gradually or safely.
Mr Butt’s evidence was that he was entitled to push “Moment of Truth” outwards to obtain a run, and that he did so in a gradual and safe manner. Video coverage was used, and Mr Butt showed where he believed he had an advantage that enabled him to move Mr Williams outwards. It was also Mr Butt’s case that Mr Williams had an obligation to allow himself to be moved wider in this situation, and this was just a normal “push out” situation.
After the completion of the evidence we adjourned to consider our decision.
Reasons for Decision:
We reviewed the evidence and the video coverage. The Stipendiary Stewards’ case was that Mr Butt had moved Mr Williams outwards, but that he had done so too quickly, or in what was described as a “sharp” movement. Although pushing a horse wider on the track is allowed at this stage of the race, such a manoeuvre has to be done in a slow and gradual manner, and with safety.
Mr Butt’s defence to the charge was that he had an advantage over Mr Williams, and that he did move him wider on the track in a gradual manner. The problem was caused, Mr Butt submitted, because Mr Williams did not allow himself to be moved outwards when he had an obligation to allow this to happen.
We preferred the evidence of Mr Williams and the Stipendiary Stewards and were satisfied that Mr Butt did move out quickly and sharply when it was not safe to do so, and that he had therefore driven carelessly.
Submissions for Penalty:
In relation to penalty Mr Ydgren advised that Mr Butt had a previous conviction in October 2010 under Rule 869(4) when he had been fined $200 but no previous relevant breaches under Rule 869(3)(b). Mr Ydgren also referred to the Penalty Guide which recommends a $400 fine and/or a two week suspension as a starting point for a penalty in the circumstances of this case. Mr Ydgren said that he assessed this breach as being mid-range and submitted that a fine of between $350 and $400 would be appropriate in this case.
Mr Butt had no submissions to make with regard to penalty.
We adjourned to consider the matter of penalty.
Reasons for Penalty:
In relation to penalty we took into account that Mr Butt has a relatively good record and we agreed that the breach was in the mid-range of seriousness. It was also relevant that Mr Butt is a Junior Horseman. We looked at the Penalty Guide and previous penalties imposed under this Rule and considered that the penalty recommended by the Stipendiary Stewards was on the high side. We decided that Mr Butt would be fined the sum of $300 in this case.
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: 892b6aba53e384432ce015fd91299f98
informantnumber: 68600
horsename:
hearing_racingtype:
startdate: no date provided
newcharge:
plea: denied
penaltyrequired: 1
decisiondate: 14/04/2011
hearing_title: NZ Metro TC 23 April 2011 - R 10
charge:
Alleged breach of Rule 869(3)(b).
facts:
Following the running of Race 10, the Derek Jones (D.G.) Memorial Handicap Trot, an Information was filed by Stipendiary Steward Mr N. M. Ydgren against Junior Horseman Mr R. J. Butt, the driver of “Biddy Bid” (14), alleging a breach of Rule 869(3)(b) in that he drove carelessly.
The charge reads as follows.
“I the above named informant allege that the above named Defendant committed a breach of Rule 869(3)(b) in that driver R. J. Butt (Biddy Bid) shifted ground outwards passing the 300m making contact with Moment of Truth (T. Williams) which broke losing its chance.”
“I the above named informant allege that the above named Defendant committed a breach of Rule 869(3)(b) in that driver R. J. Butt (Biddy Bid) shifted ground outwards passing the 300m making contact with Moment of Truth (T. Williams) which broke losing its chance.”
Rule 869(3)(b) reads as follows,
“(3) No horseman in any race shall drive:-
(b) carelessly..”
“(3) No horseman in any race shall drive:-
(b) carelessly..”
Mr Butt is a Junior Horseman and he was assisted at this hearing by Open Horseman Mr D. J. Butt. Mr Butt had indicated on the Information that this breach of the Rules was not admitted and he confirmed this at the hearing. Mr Butt also agreed that he understood the charge and the Rule it was brought under.
appealdecision:
isappeal:
submissionsfordecision:
Mr Ydgren gave evidence and used video coverage to show that on rounding the final bend Mr Butt shifted outwards on to Mr Williams in a manner which caused interference, and causing “Moment of Truth” (18) to gallop.
Stipendiary Steward Mr McIntyre gave evidence that he was the patrol steward at the top of the straight, and that he had a clear and unobstructed view of the event. He said that Mr Williams moved out three wide and Mr Butt came out into the two out line. Mr Butt then tried to push Mr Williams out, and the two were going “wheel to wheel”. On the apex of the corner Mr Butt’s wheel got forward of the disc of Mr Williams’ wheel and came into contact with Mr Williams’ horse’s leg resulting in the horse breaking.
Mr T. M. Williams, the driver of “Moment of Truth”, gave evidence that when he moved out to make a run there was contact from the inside and his horse broke. In answer to questions Mr Williams agreed that there was contact, that this incident happened quickly, and that the movement by Mr Butt was “sharp”.
In cross-examination Mr Williams agreed that Mr Butt was entitled to ease him out to obtain a run. He did not agree that he was moved out gradually or safely.
Mr Butt’s evidence was that he was entitled to push “Moment of Truth” outwards to obtain a run, and that he did so in a gradual and safe manner. Video coverage was used, and Mr Butt showed where he believed he had an advantage that enabled him to move Mr Williams outwards. It was also Mr Butt’s case that Mr Williams had an obligation to allow himself to be moved wider in this situation, and this was just a normal “push out” situation.
After the completion of the evidence we adjourned to consider our decision.
reasonsfordecision:
We reviewed the evidence and the video coverage. The Stipendiary Stewards’ case was that Mr Butt had moved Mr Williams outwards, but that he had done so too quickly, or in what was described as a “sharp” movement. Although pushing a horse wider on the track is allowed at this stage of the race, such a manoeuvre has to be done in a slow and gradual manner, and with safety.
Mr Butt’s defence to the charge was that he had an advantage over Mr Williams, and that he did move him wider on the track in a gradual manner. The problem was caused, Mr Butt submitted, because Mr Williams did not allow himself to be moved outwards when he had an obligation to allow this to happen.
We preferred the evidence of Mr Williams and the Stipendiary Stewards and were satisfied that Mr Butt did move out quickly and sharply when it was not safe to do so, and that he had therefore driven carelessly.
Decision:
On resuming the hearing we advised the parties of the reasons for our decision, and that the charge was found to be proved.
sumissionsforpenalty:
In relation to penalty Mr Ydgren advised that Mr Butt had a previous conviction in October 2010 under Rule 869(4) when he had been fined $200 but no previous relevant breaches under Rule 869(3)(b). Mr Ydgren also referred to the Penalty Guide which recommends a $400 fine and/or a two week suspension as a starting point for a penalty in the circumstances of this case. Mr Ydgren said that he assessed this breach as being mid-range and submitted that a fine of between $350 and $400 would be appropriate in this case.
Mr Butt had no submissions to make with regard to penalty.
We adjourned to consider the matter of penalty.
reasonsforpenalty:
In relation to penalty we took into account that Mr Butt has a relatively good record and we agreed that the breach was in the mid-range of seriousness. It was also relevant that Mr Butt is a Junior Horseman. We looked at the Penalty Guide and previous penalties imposed under this Rule and considered that the penalty recommended by the Stipendiary Stewards was on the high side. We decided that Mr Butt would be fined the sum of $300 in this case.
penalty:
On resuming the hearing we advised the parties of our reasons and that Mr Butt was fined the sum of $300.
hearing_type: Hearing
Rules: Rule 869(3)(b)
Informant: Mr N. M. Ydgren - Stipendiary Steward
JockeysandTrainer: Mr R. J. Butt - Junior Horseman
Otherperson: Mr D. J. Butt - Open Horseman
PersonPresent:
Respondent:
StipendSteward:
raceid: cc30fe6b8102c2b7b27815fc8f9594f4
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: 9ce62f150f012408adb6bbec4d1c49a5
meet_expapproval: approved
meet_noreport: 0
waitingforpublication: 0
meet_emailed1: 0
meet_emailed2: 0
meetdate: 23/04/2011
meet_title: NZ Metro TC - 23 April 2011
meet_expappcomment:
meet_km: [{"Comment": [], "MemberRole": "Panel member 2 ", "MemberID": "SChing", "Member": "", "OtherExpenses": "0", "KMs": "0", "Total": "0.0", "kmprice": 0.0, "Approved": "on"}]
meet_otherexp:
tracklocation: nz-metro-tc
meet_racingtype: harness-racing
meet_chair: JPhelan
meet_pm1: RMcKenzie
meet_pm2: SChing
name: NZ Metro TC