Waikato BOP H 17 December 2020 – R 3 – Chair, Mr A Godsalve
ID: JCA15940
Meet Title:
Harness Racing Waikato - 17 December 2020
Meet Chair:
AGodsalve
Race Date:
2020/12/17
Race Number:
R3
Decision:
The Committee find that the charge under Rule 857 (7) (b) - 'fails to obey the Starter's instructions' is proved.
It follows that under these circumstances subsection (a) of the Rule - 'delays the start' could also be considered to have been established by the evidence.
Penalty:
The Committee imposed a fine of $250 on Mr Schumacher.
Facts:
Following the running of Race 3, Mr Muirhead submitted an Information alleging that Mr F Schumacher, driver of NELSON'S BOY 'delayed the start when failing to obey the starter's instructions to maintain his position on the mobile impeding MARY ROBYN which resulted in a false start being declared'.
Mr Schumacher was present at the hearing and acknowledged that:
(a) He understood the Rule, and that
(b) He did not admit the breach.
Rule 857 (7) provides that: No driver shall
(a) delay the start, and/or
(b) fail to obey the starter's instructions.
Submissions for Decision:
Using the available films Mr Muirhead identified the horse NELSON'S BOY, driven by Mr Schumacher prior to the start of Race 3, a mobile start race. He said that during the initial score up NELSON'S BOY had been handy to the barrier, however then had drifted away to be 1/2 length then 1 length away. About 50m from the start the horse was at least 1 1/2 lengths away from the barrier. As a result, the horse behind NELSON'S BOY - MARY ROBYN - could not get up to its position. As a result the starter called a false start. The Stewards' observations were that NELSON'S BOY had not been causing Mr Schumacher any problems and appeared to be 'jogging' prior to the false start. He said there appeared to be no reason why Mr Schumacher had made no effort to get his horse up to the mobile when called upon by the Starter to do so. Mr Muirhead said that the race was delayed by a false start being declared and it had been due to Mr Schumacher's actions.
Mr Schumacher had no questions for Mr Muirhead in cross-examination.
The Starter, Mr D Blakemore said he was the starter for Race 3. He said as the field neared the start he saw that horse 2 (NELSONS' BOY) had started to drop away from the barrier and had gone back on the horse behind it in position 10 (MARY ROBYN). He said he called out ' bring it up to the gate horse 2'. Mr Blakemore said that at starts of races he identified horses by their starting position not the horse or drivers name. He said that the horse in barrier 2 dropped further away and that he had again called out for it to be 'bought up'. Mr Blakemore said that it was clear to him then that the horse on the second row (MARY ROBYN) would not get a fair start and he called a 'false start'.
Mr Schumacher, in cross-examination said to Mr Blakemore 'I didn't hear your first call. I couldn't hear you Danny'.
Mr Muirhead asked Mr Blakemore what he expected of drivers at the start of races. He said he called a false start because he could see after he called out to Mr Schumacher the second time that there was not enough time for him to get into his correct position and allow MARY ROBYN to get into her position behind him. He said he did not observe Mr Schumacher make any attempt to get his horse up to the mobile, he did not seem to react at all. Mr Blakemore said that he was checking the other horses behind the mobile barrier as well at the time so his attention was divided.
Mr Schumacher said that he worked for NELSON'S BOY'S trainer, Mr Mitchell. He said that the horse had only been in the stable a few weeks. He added that in the horse's previous 2 starts when driven by other drivers it had galloped from the mobile when drawn in close. He said he had driven the horse in a trial the previous week when it drew 8 and it had performed satisfactorily. He added that he was being conservative tonight in how he drove the horse. He said he only heard the Starter call out to him once.
Mr Muirhead asked Mr Schumacher what his obligations were in a race. He replied that he was obligated to try and keep up to the gate. He added that he was trying to keep his horse happy, and said he felt if he had slapped the horse with his reins or whip it would have gone off stride. He said that he could understand why a false start had been called.
In summation Mr Muirhead said that he believed it was clear from the evidence and the films that Mr Schumacher had no problems with the horse's racing manners in this race. He said that drivers were obligated to take their position behind the mobile start when requested to do so as the Rules stated. On this occasion Mr Schumacher had failed to do so and had caused a false start.
Mr Schumacher had nothing to say in summary.
Reasons for Decision:
The evidence of the Starter Mr Blakemore is conclusive. It confirmed the impression given by the films that Mr Schumacher had made no real attempt to obey the Starter's instructions. Mr Schumacher has acknowledged that he heard at least one call from the Starter to bring his horse up to the barrier - and the Committee has difficulty in accepting that he did not hear the first call made by Mr Blakemore. In failing to obey the Starter Mr Schumacher has disadvantaged the horse behind him to the extent that a false start had to be declared.
The Committee's observations were that there was an element of intent in Mr Schumacher's actions which clearly cannot be encouraged.
Submissions for Penalty:
Mr Muirhead referred to the JCA Penalty Guide which provides a starting point of a $300 fine or a 6 drive suspension. He said there were no mitigating circumstances and that it was not correct that drivers could choose their starting positions leading up to the start of a race.
Mr Schumacher said that he did not have many drives coming up.
Reasons for Penalty:
The Committee determined to impose a fine as a penalty in this matter. The starting point according to the JCA Penalty Guide is $300. There have been relatively few drivers charged under these Rule provisions, however fines have been between $200-$250 in the past.
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: a3bfc4bb61fd206ae2b5b509f593c55d
informantnumber: A10347
horsename:
hearing_racingtype:
startdate: no date provided
newcharge: Failed to obey starter's orders, delaying the start
plea: denied
penaltyrequired: 1
decisiondate: 20/12/2020
hearing_title: Waikato BOP H 17 December 2020 - R 3 - Chair, Mr A Godsalve
charge:
facts:
Following the running of Race 3, Mr Muirhead submitted an Information alleging that Mr F Schumacher, driver of NELSON'S BOY 'delayed the start when failing to obey the starter's instructions to maintain his position on the mobile impeding MARY ROBYN which resulted in a false start being declared'.
Mr Schumacher was present at the hearing and acknowledged that:
(a) He understood the Rule, and that
(b) He did not admit the breach.
Rule 857 (7) provides that: No driver shall
(a) delay the start, and/or
(b) fail to obey the starter's instructions.
appealdecision:
isappeal:
submissionsfordecision:
Using the available films Mr Muirhead identified the horse NELSON'S BOY, driven by Mr Schumacher prior to the start of Race 3, a mobile start race. He said that during the initial score up NELSON'S BOY had been handy to the barrier, however then had drifted away to be 1/2 length then 1 length away. About 50m from the start the horse was at least 1 1/2 lengths away from the barrier. As a result, the horse behind NELSON'S BOY - MARY ROBYN - could not get up to its position. As a result the starter called a false start. The Stewards' observations were that NELSON'S BOY had not been causing Mr Schumacher any problems and appeared to be 'jogging' prior to the false start. He said there appeared to be no reason why Mr Schumacher had made no effort to get his horse up to the mobile when called upon by the Starter to do so. Mr Muirhead said that the race was delayed by a false start being declared and it had been due to Mr Schumacher's actions.
Mr Schumacher had no questions for Mr Muirhead in cross-examination.
The Starter, Mr D Blakemore said he was the starter for Race 3. He said as the field neared the start he saw that horse 2 (NELSONS' BOY) had started to drop away from the barrier and had gone back on the horse behind it in position 10 (MARY ROBYN). He said he called out ' bring it up to the gate horse 2'. Mr Blakemore said that at starts of races he identified horses by their starting position not the horse or drivers name. He said that the horse in barrier 2 dropped further away and that he had again called out for it to be 'bought up'. Mr Blakemore said that it was clear to him then that the horse on the second row (MARY ROBYN) would not get a fair start and he called a 'false start'.
Mr Schumacher, in cross-examination said to Mr Blakemore 'I didn't hear your first call. I couldn't hear you Danny'.
Mr Muirhead asked Mr Blakemore what he expected of drivers at the start of races. He said he called a false start because he could see after he called out to Mr Schumacher the second time that there was not enough time for him to get into his correct position and allow MARY ROBYN to get into her position behind him. He said he did not observe Mr Schumacher make any attempt to get his horse up to the mobile, he did not seem to react at all. Mr Blakemore said that he was checking the other horses behind the mobile barrier as well at the time so his attention was divided.
Mr Schumacher said that he worked for NELSON'S BOY'S trainer, Mr Mitchell. He said that the horse had only been in the stable a few weeks. He added that in the horse's previous 2 starts when driven by other drivers it had galloped from the mobile when drawn in close. He said he had driven the horse in a trial the previous week when it drew 8 and it had performed satisfactorily. He added that he was being conservative tonight in how he drove the horse. He said he only heard the Starter call out to him once.
Mr Muirhead asked Mr Schumacher what his obligations were in a race. He replied that he was obligated to try and keep up to the gate. He added that he was trying to keep his horse happy, and said he felt if he had slapped the horse with his reins or whip it would have gone off stride. He said that he could understand why a false start had been called.
In summation Mr Muirhead said that he believed it was clear from the evidence and the films that Mr Schumacher had no problems with the horse's racing manners in this race. He said that drivers were obligated to take their position behind the mobile start when requested to do so as the Rules stated. On this occasion Mr Schumacher had failed to do so and had caused a false start.
Mr Schumacher had nothing to say in summary.
reasonsfordecision:
The evidence of the Starter Mr Blakemore is conclusive. It confirmed the impression given by the films that Mr Schumacher had made no real attempt to obey the Starter's instructions. Mr Schumacher has acknowledged that he heard at least one call from the Starter to bring his horse up to the barrier - and the Committee has difficulty in accepting that he did not hear the first call made by Mr Blakemore. In failing to obey the Starter Mr Schumacher has disadvantaged the horse behind him to the extent that a false start had to be declared.
The Committee's observations were that there was an element of intent in Mr Schumacher's actions which clearly cannot be encouraged.
Decision:
The Committee find that the charge under Rule 857 (7) (b) - 'fails to obey the Starter's instructions' is proved.
It follows that under these circumstances subsection (a) of the Rule - 'delays the start' could also be considered to have been established by the evidence.
sumissionsforpenalty:
Mr Muirhead referred to the JCA Penalty Guide which provides a starting point of a $300 fine or a 6 drive suspension. He said there were no mitigating circumstances and that it was not correct that drivers could choose their starting positions leading up to the start of a race.
Mr Schumacher said that he did not have many drives coming up.
reasonsforpenalty:
The Committee determined to impose a fine as a penalty in this matter. The starting point according to the JCA Penalty Guide is $300. There have been relatively few drivers charged under these Rule provisions, however fines have been between $200-$250 in the past.
penalty:
The Committee imposed a fine of $250 on Mr Schumacher.
hearing_type: Hearing
Rules: Rule 857(7)(a)&(b)
Informant: Mr J Muirhead - Senior Stipendiary Steward
JockeysandTrainer: Mr F Schumacher-Driver of NELSON'S BOY
Otherperson: Mr D Blakemore-Official race starter
PersonPresent:
Respondent:
StipendSteward:
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race_title: R3
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meetdate: 17/12/2020
meet_title: Harness Racing Waikato - 17 December 2020
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meet_chair: AGodsalve
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name: Harness Racing Waikato