Reefton TC 10 March 2019 – R 8 – Chair, Mr S Ching
ID: JCA14904
Meet Title:
Reefton TC - 10 March 2019
Meet Chair:
SChing
Meet Committee Member 1:
GClapp
Race Date:
2019/03/10
Race Number:
R8
Decision:
As Mrs Tomlinson had admitted this breach of the Rules it was found to be proved in accordance with Rule 1111(1)(d).
Penalty:
Accordingly, Mrs Tomlinson was fined the sum of $250.
Facts:
Following the running of Race 8, the Greg Topp Betta Electrical Womens Drivers Mobile Pace, an information was filed by Stipendiary Steward Mr S Wallis against Open Horsewoman Mrs A Tomlinson alleging a breach of Rule 869(3) (b) in that she drove carelessly by allowing her drive, SCELTO UNO, to strike the sulky of CLARENDON FALCON near the 1850m causing her horse to break.
Mrs Tomlinson had endorsed on the Information that this breach of the Rules was admitted which she confirmed at the hearing. Mrs Tomlinson also confirmed that she understood the rule she was being charged with.
Rule 869(3)(b) reads as follows:
“(3) No horseman in any race shall drive:-
(b) carelessly:-
Mr Wallis gave evidence and used video coverage, with the assistance of Stipendiary Steward Mr R Quirk, to show that approaching the 1850m Mrs Tomlinson, driving SCELTA UNO, was racing 1 off the pylons and towards the rear of the field. Mr Wallis pointed out Mrs Tomlinson become awkwardly placed to the inside of CLARENDON FALCON, driven by Miss H Clarke. He said that SCELTO UNO, when awkwardly placed on the inside of CLARENDON FALCON, made contact with the sulky of that horse and broke.
Mrs Tomlinson conceded that she had made contact with Miss Clarke’s sulky. She stated that she thought the pace had eased and then made contact. Mrs Tomlinson said SCELTO UNO had broken again at the same point on the track the next time around, again due to an ease in the pace. She said that the trainer had put blinds on SCELTO UNO to get it up on the bit, after its last start. Mrs Tomlinson said that although the horse was racing keenly and wanting to get into the race, was not hard to control.
Mr Wallis stated that the films showed a slight ease in the pace on the second occasion that SCELTO UNO breaks but with this incident it was clear on the films that the pace had not eased but that Mrs Tomlinson had allowed her horse to get up inside CLARENDON FALCON and become awkwardly placed.
Submissions for Penalty:
Mr Wallis stated that Mrs Tomlinson had an impeccable record in regard to this rule and had admitted the breach. He stated that Mrs Tomlinson had driven to date, in 10 races so far this season with 16 last season and 28 drives the season before that. He stated that the JCA Penalty Guide provided a $300 fine or a 6-drive suspension for a mid-range breach of this rule where a driver strikes a wheel. Mr Wallis submitted that there were no aggravating factors to consider as the incident only affected her horse and then only briefly. He submitted that a fine, taking into consideration Mrs Tomlinson’s admission and her impeccable record as mitigation, be imposed.
Mrs Tomlinson said that she would prefer a suspension but agreed with Mr Wallis that to quantify a meaningful suspension would be difficult to calculate due to the number of drives she normally has.
Reasons for Penalty:
The JCA Penalty Guide provides a starting point of a 6-drive suspension or a $300 fine for a breach of this rule. We determined that a fine was an appropriate penalty and adopted the starting point of a $300 fine. This Committee agreed with Mr Wallis that there were no aggravating factors to consider, therefore no uplift in penalty warranted. There were however mitigating factors to consider being Mrs Tomlinson’s impeccable record and her admission of the breach. We determined that a combined discount for these factors was warranted which we set at $50.
We therefore determined that a $250 fine was 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: 89ffa47733c4cbf9b5cd5f8ca8e226ba
informantnumber: A8910
horsename:
hearing_racingtype:
startdate: no date provided
newcharge: Careless driving
plea: admitted
penaltyrequired: 1
decisiondate: 14/03/2019
hearing_title: Reefton TC 10 March 2019 - R 8 - Chair, Mr S Ching
charge:
facts:
Following the running of Race 8, the Greg Topp Betta Electrical Womens Drivers Mobile Pace, an information was filed by Stipendiary Steward Mr S Wallis against Open Horsewoman Mrs A Tomlinson alleging a breach of Rule 869(3) (b) in that she drove carelessly by allowing her drive, SCELTO UNO, to strike the sulky of CLARENDON FALCON near the 1850m causing her horse to break.
Mrs Tomlinson had endorsed on the Information that this breach of the Rules was admitted which she confirmed at the hearing. Mrs Tomlinson also confirmed that she understood the rule she was being charged with.
Rule 869(3)(b) reads as follows:
“(3) No horseman in any race shall drive:-
(b) carelessly:-
Mr Wallis gave evidence and used video coverage, with the assistance of Stipendiary Steward Mr R Quirk, to show that approaching the 1850m Mrs Tomlinson, driving SCELTA UNO, was racing 1 off the pylons and towards the rear of the field. Mr Wallis pointed out Mrs Tomlinson become awkwardly placed to the inside of CLARENDON FALCON, driven by Miss H Clarke. He said that SCELTO UNO, when awkwardly placed on the inside of CLARENDON FALCON, made contact with the sulky of that horse and broke.
Mrs Tomlinson conceded that she had made contact with Miss Clarke’s sulky. She stated that she thought the pace had eased and then made contact. Mrs Tomlinson said SCELTO UNO had broken again at the same point on the track the next time around, again due to an ease in the pace. She said that the trainer had put blinds on SCELTO UNO to get it up on the bit, after its last start. Mrs Tomlinson said that although the horse was racing keenly and wanting to get into the race, was not hard to control.
Mr Wallis stated that the films showed a slight ease in the pace on the second occasion that SCELTO UNO breaks but with this incident it was clear on the films that the pace had not eased but that Mrs Tomlinson had allowed her horse to get up inside CLARENDON FALCON and become awkwardly placed.
appealdecision:
isappeal:
submissionsfordecision:
reasonsfordecision:
Decision:
As Mrs Tomlinson had admitted this breach of the Rules it was found to be proved in accordance with Rule 1111(1)(d).
sumissionsforpenalty:
Mr Wallis stated that Mrs Tomlinson had an impeccable record in regard to this rule and had admitted the breach. He stated that Mrs Tomlinson had driven to date, in 10 races so far this season with 16 last season and 28 drives the season before that. He stated that the JCA Penalty Guide provided a $300 fine or a 6-drive suspension for a mid-range breach of this rule where a driver strikes a wheel. Mr Wallis submitted that there were no aggravating factors to consider as the incident only affected her horse and then only briefly. He submitted that a fine, taking into consideration Mrs Tomlinson’s admission and her impeccable record as mitigation, be imposed.
Mrs Tomlinson said that she would prefer a suspension but agreed with Mr Wallis that to quantify a meaningful suspension would be difficult to calculate due to the number of drives she normally has.
reasonsforpenalty:
The JCA Penalty Guide provides a starting point of a 6-drive suspension or a $300 fine for a breach of this rule. We determined that a fine was an appropriate penalty and adopted the starting point of a $300 fine. This Committee agreed with Mr Wallis that there were no aggravating factors to consider, therefore no uplift in penalty warranted. There were however mitigating factors to consider being Mrs Tomlinson’s impeccable record and her admission of the breach. We determined that a combined discount for these factors was warranted which we set at $50.
We therefore determined that a $250 fine was an appropriate penalty.
penalty:
Accordingly, Mrs Tomlinson was fined the sum of $250.
hearing_type: Hearing
Rules: 869 (3) (b)
Informant: S Wallis- Stipendiary Steward
JockeysandTrainer: A Tomlinson- Open Horsewoman
Otherperson: Mr R Quirk - Stipendiary Steward
PersonPresent:
Respondent:
StipendSteward:
raceid: db392469873ab8c9934aed8546a24041
race_expapproval:
racecancelled: 0
race_noreport: 0
race_emailed1: 0
race_emailed2: 0
race_title: R8
submittochair:
race_expappcomment:
race_km:
race_otherexp:
race_chair:
race_pm1:
race_pm2:
meetid: e421eb52be61346bc83ea865c05ae5ba
meet_expapproval:
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waitingforpublication: 0
meet_emailed1: 0
meet_emailed2: 0
meetdate: 10/03/2019
meet_title: Reefton TC - 10 March 2019
meet_expappcomment:
meet_km:
meet_otherexp:
tracklocation: reefton-tc
meet_racingtype: harness-racing
meet_chair: SChing
meet_pm1: GClapp
meet_pm2: none
name: Reefton TC