Forbury Park TC 26 October 2017 – R 2 – Chair, Prof G Hall
ID: JCA15814
Meet Title:
Forbury Park TC - 26 October 2017
Meet Chair:
GHall
Race Date:
2017/10/26
Race Number:
R 2
Decision:
As Mr Jones has admitted the breach, it is found to be proved.
Penalty:
Mr Jones is fined the sum of $200 and is reminded of his obligations under the Rules of Harness Racing.
Facts:
Mr Ydgren, alleged that Mr Jones failed to maintain a straight course in the home straight when driving LIFE LAVROS in race 2, the PICK 6 STARTS NOW C, G & E MOBILE PACE.
Rule 869(4) provides:
(4) No horseman shall during any race do anything which interferes or is likely to interfere with his own horse and/or any other horse or its progress.
The passing lanes, false rails and home straight regulations state:
4. In the last lap of any race the leading horse on the running line shall, upon entering the home straight, maintain as straight a course as possible parallel to the running line and allow the trailing horses full access to the expanded inside lane.
Mr Jones admitted the breach and was present at the hearing. He was adamant that he did not require the assistance of a senior horseman.
Mr Ydgren demonstrated on the videos that LIFE LAVROS was the leading horse as the field entered the home straight. When the respondent placed pressure on his horse it ran out early in the run home. It continued to do so for some distance. As a consequence, the horses driven by Mr Orange and Mr D Dunn, respectively, were forced wider on the track.
Mr Jones stated that his horse was green and had a tendency to run out. He said it was the short-priced favourite and it was in the punters’ best interests to drive the horse out rather than to straighten it. He agreed with Mr Ydgren’s comment that he had made no attempt to straighten his horse.
Submissions for Penalty:
Mr Ydgren produced the respondent’s record, which was clear under this rule. He explained that this was Mr Jones 38th drive in New Zealand but he had had over 500 drives in Australia and had driven 60 winners.
Mr Ydgren stated that the respondent had recently received two stewards’ warnings for failing to keep a straight line in the home straight. He acknowledged that the JCA attached little weight to this but it was the background to the charge being laid on this occasion.
Mr Ydgren submitted a fine was appropriate. Mr Jones did not disagree with this. He emphasised he was a junior driver.
Reasons for Penalty:
Mr Jones has been very forthright in his admission that he was aware that LIFE LAVROS was shifting out on the track and that there were horses to his outside but nevertheless he had failed to straighten the horse. His explanation that he was aware he would lose momentum through so doing and did not want to do so because he was driving the favourite is not acceptable. His first obligation is to drive in accordance with the Rules of Harness Racing and this he has failed to do. He should have known better. Whilst he is a junior driver, he has had a number of drives, especially in Australia.
The starting point in the JCA Penalty Guide is a fine of $300.
The breach is at the lower end of mid range. Mr Orange and Mr Dunn have both said their chances were not affected. The respondent is a junior driver and has no previous breaches of this rule. He has admitted the breach and has been open and honest in his comments concerning his drive.
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: d594ea68b7858cf6a30818f780cf6566
informantnumber: A5541
horsename:
hearing_racingtype:
startdate: no date provided
newcharge: Failed to maintain straight course in home straight
plea: admitted
penaltyrequired: 1
decisiondate: 30/10/2017
hearing_title: Forbury Park TC 26 October 2017 - R 2 - Chair, Prof G Hall
charge:
facts:
Mr Ydgren, alleged that Mr Jones failed to maintain a straight course in the home straight when driving LIFE LAVROS in race 2, the PICK 6 STARTS NOW C, G & E MOBILE PACE.
Rule 869(4) provides:
(4) No horseman shall during any race do anything which interferes or is likely to interfere with his own horse and/or any other horse or its progress.
The passing lanes, false rails and home straight regulations state:
4. In the last lap of any race the leading horse on the running line shall, upon entering the home straight, maintain as straight a course as possible parallel to the running line and allow the trailing horses full access to the expanded inside lane.
Mr Jones admitted the breach and was present at the hearing. He was adamant that he did not require the assistance of a senior horseman.
Mr Ydgren demonstrated on the videos that LIFE LAVROS was the leading horse as the field entered the home straight. When the respondent placed pressure on his horse it ran out early in the run home. It continued to do so for some distance. As a consequence, the horses driven by Mr Orange and Mr D Dunn, respectively, were forced wider on the track.
Mr Jones stated that his horse was green and had a tendency to run out. He said it was the short-priced favourite and it was in the punters’ best interests to drive the horse out rather than to straighten it. He agreed with Mr Ydgren’s comment that he had made no attempt to straighten his horse.
appealdecision:
isappeal:
submissionsfordecision:
reasonsfordecision:
Decision:
As Mr Jones has admitted the breach, it is found to be proved.
sumissionsforpenalty:
Mr Ydgren produced the respondent’s record, which was clear under this rule. He explained that this was Mr Jones 38th drive in New Zealand but he had had over 500 drives in Australia and had driven 60 winners.
Mr Ydgren stated that the respondent had recently received two stewards’ warnings for failing to keep a straight line in the home straight. He acknowledged that the JCA attached little weight to this but it was the background to the charge being laid on this occasion.
Mr Ydgren submitted a fine was appropriate. Mr Jones did not disagree with this. He emphasised he was a junior driver.
reasonsforpenalty:
Mr Jones has been very forthright in his admission that he was aware that LIFE LAVROS was shifting out on the track and that there were horses to his outside but nevertheless he had failed to straighten the horse. His explanation that he was aware he would lose momentum through so doing and did not want to do so because he was driving the favourite is not acceptable. His first obligation is to drive in accordance with the Rules of Harness Racing and this he has failed to do. He should have known better. Whilst he is a junior driver, he has had a number of drives, especially in Australia.
The starting point in the JCA Penalty Guide is a fine of $300.
The breach is at the lower end of mid range. Mr Orange and Mr Dunn have both said their chances were not affected. The respondent is a junior driver and has no previous breaches of this rule. He has admitted the breach and has been open and honest in his comments concerning his drive.
penalty:
Mr Jones is fined the sum of $200 and is reminded of his obligations under the Rules of Harness Racing.
hearing_type: Hearing
Rules: 869(4) and Home Straight Regulations
Informant: Mr N Ydgren - Chief Stipendiary Steward
JockeysandTrainer: Mr C Jones - Junior Horseman
Otherperson:
PersonPresent:
Respondent:
StipendSteward:
raceid: ef360b09bc8b5debbdd1e99278d05e4c
race_expapproval:
racecancelled: 0
race_noreport: 0
race_emailed1: 0
race_emailed2: 0
race_title: R 2
submittochair:
race_expappcomment:
race_km:
race_otherexp:
race_chair:
race_pm1:
race_pm2:
meetid: 108bb8dff79413fbd29bb8f9917c7888
meet_expapproval:
meet_noreport: 0
waitingforpublication: 0
meet_emailed1: 0
meet_emailed2: 0
meetdate: 26/10/2017
meet_title: Forbury Park TC - 26 October 2017
meet_expappcomment:
meet_km:
meet_otherexp:
tracklocation: forbury-park-tc
meet_racingtype: harness-racing
meet_chair: GHall
meet_pm1: none
meet_pm2: none
name: Forbury Park TC