Pakuranga HC 4 October 2020 – R 1, 2, 3, 5 & 6 – Chair, Mr G Jones
ID: JCA14006
Code:
Thoroughbred
Meet Title:
Pakuranga HC - 4 October 2020
Meet Chair:
GJones
Meet Committee Member 1:
ASmith
Race Date:
2020/10/04
Race Number:
R1
Decision:
As Mr Downs admitted the breach the Committee found the charge proved.
Penalty:
Mr Downs is fined $500.
Facts:
The Informant, Mr Oatham filed an Information pursuant to Rule 330(3)(c) alleging that Class D rider Mr Downs failed to make the weight for a number of runners, specifically in Races 1, 2, 3, 5 and 6.
Mr Downs was present at the hearing and confirmed his admission of the breach and he advised that he is familiar with the nature of the charge. The Information was endorsed to that effect.
Rule 330(3)(c) provides: “A rider shall not fail to ride a horse at the weight at which it is handicapped to carry”.
Mr Oatham advised that prior to the commencement of the meeting, Mr Downs advised Stewards that he was unable to make the contracted weight for his 5 mounts. He said that three of his mounts were weighted at 68 kg and the other two were weighted at 65 kg.
By way of explanation Mr Downs said that it has been 3 weeks since he last rode and his weight had increased to 74 kg. He said that he had lost 6 kg but could not reduce his weight any further.
Submissions for Penalty:
Mr Oatham said that this is Mr Downs' first breach of the rule within the 120-day reset period. He said that a charge of this nature would normally be dealt with by way of Minor Infringement Notice (MIN), however, given that Mr Downs was unable to make weight for his 5 mounts Stewards elected to proceed by way of an Information.
Mr Oatham advised that there were a number of consequences arising from Mr Downs' failure to make his contracted weight. Firstly, Mr Downs is entitled to a 2 kg allowance in respect of his mounts in Races 1, 2 and 5. Had he been able to use his full allowance, those horses would have been able to carry 2 kg less than their handicapped weight of 68 kg. Secondly, there were no suitable replacement riders available and Mr Downs was permitted to ride all his mounts 2 kg over their handicapped weight. Thirdly, the breaches in respect of Races 3 and 6 were in Prestige Races.
Mr Oatham submitted the breach could be dealt by way of fine. He pointed out that due to there being no replacement riders available Mr Downs rode in each of the races and received his full riding fees.
Mr Downs agreed that a fine, as opposed to a suspension would be an appropriate penalty.
Reasons for Penalty:
The MIN schedule establishes a $100 fine as the starting point for a first breach of this rule. In circumstances where Stewards elect to file and Information, determination of penalties are fact dependant.
The Committee considered the submissions and for consistency took some guidance from previous penalties for similar breaches.
The Committee took into account the fact the breach included two Prestige Races, each carrying stake money of $50,000. As no suitable replacement riders were available Mr Downs was permitted to ride his mounts 2 kg over their carded weight. As a consequence, this put both the betting public and the connections of the horses at a disadvantage. We have treated these as aggravating factors.
We also take note of the fact that Mr Downs was able to ride in all 5 races for which he received his riding fee.
We apply no credit for his admission. To avoid a reoccurrence, with three jumps meeting remaining on the racing calendar this current season, we urge Mr Downs to get his weight under control before accepting engagements at these meetings. This will give connections some confidence that he will be able to meet the contracted weight.
Given the circumstance and balancing the interests of Mr Downs, other stakeholders and consistency we determined that a fine is an appropriate penalty.
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: 8abc97740e2d242bb6166a72dccbe456
informantnumber: A13418
horsename:
hearing_racingtype:
startdate: no date provided
newcharge: Failed to make the contracted weight
plea: admitted
penaltyrequired: 1
decisiondate: 04/10/2020
hearing_title: Pakuranga HC 4 October 2020 – R 1, 2, 3, 5 & 6 – Chair, Mr G Jones
charge:
facts:
The Informant, Mr Oatham filed an Information pursuant to Rule 330(3)(c) alleging that Class D rider Mr Downs failed to make the weight for a number of runners, specifically in Races 1, 2, 3, 5 and 6.
Mr Downs was present at the hearing and confirmed his admission of the breach and he advised that he is familiar with the nature of the charge. The Information was endorsed to that effect.
Rule 330(3)(c) provides: “A rider shall not fail to ride a horse at the weight at which it is handicapped to carry”.
Mr Oatham advised that prior to the commencement of the meeting, Mr Downs advised Stewards that he was unable to make the contracted weight for his 5 mounts. He said that three of his mounts were weighted at 68 kg and the other two were weighted at 65 kg.
By way of explanation Mr Downs said that it has been 3 weeks since he last rode and his weight had increased to 74 kg. He said that he had lost 6 kg but could not reduce his weight any further.
appealdecision:
isappeal:
submissionsfordecision:
reasonsfordecision:
Decision:
As Mr Downs admitted the breach the Committee found the charge proved.
sumissionsforpenalty:
Mr Oatham said that this is Mr Downs' first breach of the rule within the 120-day reset period. He said that a charge of this nature would normally be dealt with by way of Minor Infringement Notice (MIN), however, given that Mr Downs was unable to make weight for his 5 mounts Stewards elected to proceed by way of an Information.
Mr Oatham advised that there were a number of consequences arising from Mr Downs' failure to make his contracted weight. Firstly, Mr Downs is entitled to a 2 kg allowance in respect of his mounts in Races 1, 2 and 5. Had he been able to use his full allowance, those horses would have been able to carry 2 kg less than their handicapped weight of 68 kg. Secondly, there were no suitable replacement riders available and Mr Downs was permitted to ride all his mounts 2 kg over their handicapped weight. Thirdly, the breaches in respect of Races 3 and 6 were in Prestige Races.
Mr Oatham submitted the breach could be dealt by way of fine. He pointed out that due to there being no replacement riders available Mr Downs rode in each of the races and received his full riding fees.
Mr Downs agreed that a fine, as opposed to a suspension would be an appropriate penalty.
reasonsforpenalty:
The MIN schedule establishes a $100 fine as the starting point for a first breach of this rule. In circumstances where Stewards elect to file and Information, determination of penalties are fact dependant.
The Committee considered the submissions and for consistency took some guidance from previous penalties for similar breaches.
The Committee took into account the fact the breach included two Prestige Races, each carrying stake money of $50,000. As no suitable replacement riders were available Mr Downs was permitted to ride his mounts 2 kg over their carded weight. As a consequence, this put both the betting public and the connections of the horses at a disadvantage. We have treated these as aggravating factors.
We also take note of the fact that Mr Downs was able to ride in all 5 races for which he received his riding fee.
We apply no credit for his admission. To avoid a reoccurrence, with three jumps meeting remaining on the racing calendar this current season, we urge Mr Downs to get his weight under control before accepting engagements at these meetings. This will give connections some confidence that he will be able to meet the contracted weight.
Given the circumstance and balancing the interests of Mr Downs, other stakeholders and consistency we determined that a fine is an appropriate penalty.
penalty:
Mr Downs is fined $500.
hearing_type: Hearing
Rules: Rule 330(3)(c)
Informant: Mr J Oatham - Chief Stipendiary Steward
JockeysandTrainer: Mr N Downs - Class D Rider
Otherperson:
PersonPresent:
Respondent:
StipendSteward:
raceid: 44ab1d2862753ad8636d5812961df4f0
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: a346c672c30da9810726169c44e1fc4a
meet_expapproval:
meet_noreport: 0
waitingforpublication: 0
meet_emailed1: 0
meet_emailed2: 0
meetdate: 04/10/2020
meet_title: Pakuranga HC - 4 October 2020
meet_expappcomment:
meet_km:
meet_otherexp:
tracklocation: pakuranga-hc
meet_racingtype: thoroughbred-racing
meet_chair: GJones
meet_pm1: ASmith
meet_pm2: none
name: Pakuranga HC