Archive Decision

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Invercargill HRC 22 September 2018 – R 9 – Chair, Mr P Knowles

ID: JCA15216

Applicant:
Mr V Munro - Stipendiary Steward

Respondent(s):
Mr A MacDonald - Horseman (Canada)

Information Number:
A10544

Hearing Type:
Hearing

New Charge:
careless driving

Rules:
869 (3) (b)

Plea:
admitted

Meet Title:
Invercargill HRC - 22 September 2018

Meet Chair:
PKnowles

Meet Committee Member 1:
MConway

Race Date:
2018/09/22

Race Number:
R9

Decision:

Mr MacDonald admitted the breach and it is found proved.

Penalty:

Mr MacDonald is fined $400.

Facts:

Following the running of race 9 the Woodlands Stud Mobile Pace Stewards charged Mr A MacDonald with a breach of r869 (3) (b) – careless driving – in that near the “1250m he allowed his horse Franco Huntington to shift inwards and check BETTOR SENSATION, which broke and lost its chances.”

Rule 869 (3) (b) reads:

               No horseman in any race shall drive:

                              carelessly

Mr MacDonald admitted the breach and appeared at the hearing.

Mr Munro, with the aid of the videos, said Mr MacDonald (FRANCO HUNTINGDON) challenged for the lead from the 1600m mark. Approaching the 1250m mark FRANCO HUNTINGDON shifted inwards and the inside sulky wheel came into contact with the front leg of BETTOR SENSATION. As a result BETTOR SENSATION broke, failed to the recover, and lost all chance.

Mr MacDonald stated FRANCO HUNTINGDON ran inwards on the turn. He had kept him out but when he asked him to go forward, his horse ducked inwards causing the contact. He admitted he was caught off guard by the horse’s sudden inwards shift.

Submissions for Penalty:

Mr Munro said the JCA Penalty guide recommended a 10 drive suspension or a $500 fine as a starting point. He said Mr MacDonald’s record was excellent and his last breach was in 2015. He said the aggravating feature was BETTOR SENSATION lost all chance. He was aware that Mr MacDonald was returning to the USA on the 29th September. He sought a suspension of either 3 days or 2 weeks.

Mr MacDonald confirmed that he was leaving NZ on the 29th September and that he was not driving at any other NZ meetings before leaving. He said any suspension would impact on his driving one of his horses in a major stakes race in the USA.

Reasons for Penalty:

Mr MacDonald was charged with a breach of rule 869 (3) (b) in that he caused interference to another runner. The Stewards sought a suspension of 3 days or 2 weeks. Mr MacDonald admitted the breach and has an excellent record. The aggravating feature is that a horse lost its chances.

Given that Mr McDonald is about to leave the country and there is no guarantee he will drive within the next 2 weeks, a fine is a more appropriate penalty. We take a starting point of $500 which includes any aggravating features. We give credit for his admission of the breach and his excellent record.

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: 773fdaf01e4d7f7e1833430edb8a8d24


informantnumber: A10544


horsename:


hearing_racingtype:


startdate: no date provided


newcharge: careless driving


plea: admitted


penaltyrequired: 1


decisiondate: 25/09/2018


hearing_title: Invercargill HRC 22 September 2018 - R 9 - Chair, Mr P Knowles


charge:


facts:

Following the running of race 9 the Woodlands Stud Mobile Pace Stewards charged Mr A MacDonald with a breach of r869 (3) (b) – careless driving – in that near the “1250m he allowed his horse Franco Huntington to shift inwards and check BETTOR SENSATION, which broke and lost its chances.”

Rule 869 (3) (b) reads:

               No horseman in any race shall drive:

                              carelessly

Mr MacDonald admitted the breach and appeared at the hearing.

Mr Munro, with the aid of the videos, said Mr MacDonald (FRANCO HUNTINGDON) challenged for the lead from the 1600m mark. Approaching the 1250m mark FRANCO HUNTINGDON shifted inwards and the inside sulky wheel came into contact with the front leg of BETTOR SENSATION. As a result BETTOR SENSATION broke, failed to the recover, and lost all chance.

Mr MacDonald stated FRANCO HUNTINGDON ran inwards on the turn. He had kept him out but when he asked him to go forward, his horse ducked inwards causing the contact. He admitted he was caught off guard by the horse’s sudden inwards shift.


appealdecision:


isappeal:


submissionsfordecision:


reasonsfordecision:


Decision:

Mr MacDonald admitted the breach and it is found proved.


sumissionsforpenalty:

Mr Munro said the JCA Penalty guide recommended a 10 drive suspension or a $500 fine as a starting point. He said Mr MacDonald’s record was excellent and his last breach was in 2015. He said the aggravating feature was BETTOR SENSATION lost all chance. He was aware that Mr MacDonald was returning to the USA on the 29th September. He sought a suspension of either 3 days or 2 weeks.

Mr MacDonald confirmed that he was leaving NZ on the 29th September and that he was not driving at any other NZ meetings before leaving. He said any suspension would impact on his driving one of his horses in a major stakes race in the USA.


reasonsforpenalty:

Mr MacDonald was charged with a breach of rule 869 (3) (b) in that he caused interference to another runner. The Stewards sought a suspension of 3 days or 2 weeks. Mr MacDonald admitted the breach and has an excellent record. The aggravating feature is that a horse lost its chances.

Given that Mr McDonald is about to leave the country and there is no guarantee he will drive within the next 2 weeks, a fine is a more appropriate penalty. We take a starting point of $500 which includes any aggravating features. We give credit for his admission of the breach and his excellent record.


penalty:

Mr MacDonald is fined $400.


hearing_type: Hearing


Rules: 869 (3) (b)


Informant: Mr V Munro - Stipendiary Steward


JockeysandTrainer: Mr A MacDonald - Horseman (Canada)


Otherperson:


PersonPresent:


Respondent:


StipendSteward:


raceid: 2da272354afc79b90a7a3c91b9859575


race_expapproval:


racecancelled: 0


race_noreport: 0


race_emailed1: 0


race_emailed2: 0


race_title: R9


submittochair:


race_expappcomment:


race_km:


race_otherexp:


race_chair:


race_pm1:


race_pm2:


meetid: c77291d2d790182fd1c6314a0f17f2b7


meet_expapproval:


meet_noreport: 0


waitingforpublication: 0


meet_emailed1: 0


meet_emailed2: 0


meetdate: 22/09/2018


meet_title: Invercargill HRC - 22 September 2018


meet_expappcomment:


meet_km:


meet_otherexp:


tracklocation: invercargill-hrc


meet_racingtype: harness-racing


meet_chair: PKnowles


meet_pm1: MConway


meet_pm2: none


name: Invercargill HRC