Archive Decision

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Manawatu HRC 1 March 2016 – R 7 – Chair, Mr P Williams

ID: JCA15862

Applicant:
Mr S Mulcay - Stipendiary Steward

Respondent(s):
Mr D Ferguson - Junior Horseman

Other Person:
Mr L Tidmarsh - Stipendiary Steward, Mr P Ferguson - Open Horseman - assisting Mr D Ferguson

Information Number:
A3779

Hearing Type:
Hearing

New Charge:
Breach of Push Out Rule

Rules:
869(4)(6)

Plea:
admitted

Meet Title:
Manawatu HRC - 1 March 2016

Meet Chair:
PWilliams

Race Date:
2016/03/01

Race Number:
R7

Decision:

As Mr D Ferguson has admitted the breach the charge is found proved.

Penalty:

Mr D Ferguson is fined $175.

Facts:

Following the running of race 7 the “Royden Williams Race Photography Mobile Pace” Information A3779 was filed by Stipendiary Steward Mr S Mulcay alleging a breach of Rule 869 (4)(6)(b)(c) by Junior Horseman Mr D Ferguson. The Information stated “that he shifted “Moulin Bromac” out from a position 3 back on the inner and forced “Jack Bates (K Marshall) to race wider on the track prior to the 1000m”. At the beginning of the hearing Mr D Ferguson confirmed he understood the Rule under which he was charged and also that he admitted the breach of the Rule. He was assisted during the hearing by Open Horseman Mr P Ferguson.

Rule 869 (4) states:-

“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”.

Rule 869(6) states:-

“Subject to sub-rule (4) hereof:-

(b) a horse making a forward movement during any race shall not be forced to race wider on the track;

(c) a horse during a race shall not move ground outwards once the nose of the wider runner coming forward is in line with or past its sulky wheel and until the wider runner going forward is fully past.”

Rule 869(7) states:-

“Sub-rule 6(b) and (c) of this Rule shall apply until 1000m from the finish of the race……”

Submissions for Decision:

Mr Mulcay used the available films to identify Mr Ferguson racing 3 back on the pegs as the field entered the home straight with a lap to run. He said to Mr Ferguson’s outside was “Jack Bates” and as the field raced down the straight the film showed Mr Ferguson turn his horse’s head out an and shift “Jack Bates” wider on the track without causing any interference. Mr Mulcay said the incident occurred at approximately the 1050m mark and was therefore a breach of the “Push Out Rule”.

Both Messrs D and P Ferguson agreed with Mr Mulcay’s interpretation of the films.

Submissions for Penalty:

Mr Mulcay said Mr D Ferguson had not breached this Rule in the previous 12 months and had admitted the breach at the earliest opportunity. Mr Mulcay said he was aware that a penalty of a $200 fine had generally been imposed on senior drivers in the past for a breach of this Rule. He said he was also aware the JCA’s Penalty Guidelines state a starting point for a breach of this Rule is a $250 fine or a 5 drives suspension and that prior to the hearing he had contacted the Co-Chief Stipendiary Steward Mr McIntyre to seek clarification on whether the RIU believed any penalty concessions should be given to Junior Driver’s. He said Mr McIntyre said there had been concessions given to Junior Drivers in recent times but any decision on any breach of the Rules was over to the JCA.

Mr P Ferguson said he was aware of senior drivers being fined $200 for similar breaches of the Rule and submitted that a fine lower than that should be applied in this case. He said this was Mr D Ferguson’s first breach of the Rule which he had readily admitted and he described the incident as a simple misjudgment of where the 1000m mark was.

Reasons for Penalty:

The Committee has reviewed the films of the incident and all the submissions made. There is no dispute between Mr Mulcay and both Messrs D and P Ferguson that with approximately 1050m to run Mr D Ferguson shifted “Moulin Bromac” outwards forcing “Jack Bates” wider onto the track. The Committee believes the severity of the breach of the “Push Out Rule” to be in the low range and notes that Mr Marshall did not suffer any interference. The Committee notes Mr D Ferguson has readily admitted the breach and has not been charged under this Rule in the previous 12 months.

The JCA’s Penalty Guidelines state a starting point for a breach of this Rule is a $250 fine or a 5 drives suspension. However, after consideration of all the matters above and also reviewing the penalties given to “first time offenders” for similar breaches of this Rule over recent months, and in particular the penalty given to Junior Driver B Williamson on 7 February 2016, the Committee believes that on this occasion 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: de16d614095a8bae197ef3debde5cfc6


informantnumber: A3779


horsename:


hearing_racingtype:


startdate: no date provided


newcharge: Breach of Push Out Rule


plea: admitted


penaltyrequired: 1


decisiondate: 03/03/2016


hearing_title: Manawatu HRC 1 March 2016 - R 7 - Chair, Mr P Williams


charge:


facts:

Following the running of race 7 the “Royden Williams Race Photography Mobile Pace” Information A3779 was filed by Stipendiary Steward Mr S Mulcay alleging a breach of Rule 869 (4)(6)(b)(c) by Junior Horseman Mr D Ferguson. The Information stated “that he shifted “Moulin Bromac” out from a position 3 back on the inner and forced “Jack Bates (K Marshall) to race wider on the track prior to the 1000m”. At the beginning of the hearing Mr D Ferguson confirmed he understood the Rule under which he was charged and also that he admitted the breach of the Rule. He was assisted during the hearing by Open Horseman Mr P Ferguson.

Rule 869 (4) states:-

“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”.

Rule 869(6) states:-

“Subject to sub-rule (4) hereof:-

(b) a horse making a forward movement during any race shall not be forced to race wider on the track;

(c) a horse during a race shall not move ground outwards once the nose of the wider runner coming forward is in line with or past its sulky wheel and until the wider runner going forward is fully past.”

Rule 869(7) states:-

“Sub-rule 6(b) and (c) of this Rule shall apply until 1000m from the finish of the race……”


appealdecision:


isappeal:


submissionsfordecision:

Mr Mulcay used the available films to identify Mr Ferguson racing 3 back on the pegs as the field entered the home straight with a lap to run. He said to Mr Ferguson’s outside was “Jack Bates” and as the field raced down the straight the film showed Mr Ferguson turn his horse’s head out an and shift “Jack Bates” wider on the track without causing any interference. Mr Mulcay said the incident occurred at approximately the 1050m mark and was therefore a breach of the “Push Out Rule”.

Both Messrs D and P Ferguson agreed with Mr Mulcay’s interpretation of the films.


reasonsfordecision:


Decision:

As Mr D Ferguson has admitted the breach the charge is found proved.

sumissionsforpenalty:

Mr Mulcay said Mr D Ferguson had not breached this Rule in the previous 12 months and had admitted the breach at the earliest opportunity. Mr Mulcay said he was aware that a penalty of a $200 fine had generally been imposed on senior drivers in the past for a breach of this Rule. He said he was also aware the JCA’s Penalty Guidelines state a starting point for a breach of this Rule is a $250 fine or a 5 drives suspension and that prior to the hearing he had contacted the Co-Chief Stipendiary Steward Mr McIntyre to seek clarification on whether the RIU believed any penalty concessions should be given to Junior Driver’s. He said Mr McIntyre said there had been concessions given to Junior Drivers in recent times but any decision on any breach of the Rules was over to the JCA.

Mr P Ferguson said he was aware of senior drivers being fined $200 for similar breaches of the Rule and submitted that a fine lower than that should be applied in this case. He said this was Mr D Ferguson’s first breach of the Rule which he had readily admitted and he described the incident as a simple misjudgment of where the 1000m mark was.


reasonsforpenalty:

The Committee has reviewed the films of the incident and all the submissions made. There is no dispute between Mr Mulcay and both Messrs D and P Ferguson that with approximately 1050m to run Mr D Ferguson shifted “Moulin Bromac” outwards forcing “Jack Bates” wider onto the track. The Committee believes the severity of the breach of the “Push Out Rule” to be in the low range and notes that Mr Marshall did not suffer any interference. The Committee notes Mr D Ferguson has readily admitted the breach and has not been charged under this Rule in the previous 12 months.

The JCA’s Penalty Guidelines state a starting point for a breach of this Rule is a $250 fine or a 5 drives suspension. However, after consideration of all the matters above and also reviewing the penalties given to “first time offenders” for similar breaches of this Rule over recent months, and in particular the penalty given to Junior Driver B Williamson on 7 February 2016, the Committee believes that on this occasion a fine is an appropriate penalty.


penalty:

Mr D Ferguson is fined $175.

hearing_type: Hearing


Rules: 869(4)(6)


Informant: Mr S Mulcay - Stipendiary Steward


JockeysandTrainer: Mr D Ferguson - Junior Horseman


Otherperson: Mr L Tidmarsh - Stipendiary Steward, Mr P Ferguson - Open Horseman - assisting Mr D Ferguson


PersonPresent:


Respondent:


StipendSteward:


raceid: fe56b10d3e559bc1254183c414d8ce67


race_expapproval:


racecancelled: 0


race_noreport: 0


race_emailed1: 0


race_emailed2: 0


race_title: R7


submittochair:


race_expappcomment:


race_km:


race_otherexp:


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meetid: dba862a005972de428b041c022adadef


meet_expapproval:


meet_noreport: 0


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meet_emailed1: 0


meet_emailed2: 0


meetdate: 01/03/2016


meet_title: Manawatu HRC - 1 March 2016


meet_expappcomment:


meet_km:


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tracklocation: manawatu-hrc


meet_racingtype: harness-racing


meet_chair: PWilliams


meet_pm1: none


meet_pm2: none


name: Manawatu HRC