Rangiora HRC 21 December 2014 – R 3
ID: JCA16191
Meet Title:
Rangiora HRC - 21 December 2014
Meet Chair:
KHales
Meet Committee Member 1:
SChing
Race Date:
2014/12/21
Race Number:
R3
Decision:
As Mr Holmes has admitted the breach of the rule it is thereby deemed to be proved.
Penalty:
Mr Holmes is fined $250.
Facts:
It was alleged that Mr Holmes in the "J R's Bar & Grill Home of the $10 Roast Pace" drove carelessly in the first bend by allowing his horse to strike the sulky wheel of "Baron Von Dracula" with the tyre going flat as a consequence.
The breach of the rule was admitted by Mr Holmes, and he endorsed the information stating that he did not wish to be present at the hearing.
The incident was shown to the hearing from the video coverage. The video coverage showed that Mr Holmes allowed his horse to get too close to "the sulky of "Baron Von Dracula" and the consequences that followed.
Submissions for Penalty:
Mr Wallis stated that Mr Holmes is a "busy driver", having had 114 drives in the current season and 379 drives in the 2013/2014 season. He also said that Mr Holmes has a good record having last been charged pursuant to this rule in January 2014, when he was fined $700 in a Group race. However, Mr Wallis said that it was quite a different fact situation. Having said that, Mr Wallis agreed that at the time of the incident, that Mr Holmes was effectively "half carting", and that the punctured tyre on the sulky of "Baron Von Dracula" may have had an effect on that horse's chances.
Mr Wallis submitted that a fine of $200 would be appropriate.
Reasons for Penalty:
The fact situation in this case was clear. Mr Holmes ("Captain Thunderjet") was following "Baron Von Dracula" (C Thornley) as the field came to the first bend. Both horses had clear racing room. However, Mr Holmes was following closely, and at the relevant time could be said to be "half carting". However, as a result of what appears to have been indecision on Mr Holmes' part, his horse's legs struck the sulky wheel of "Baron Von Dracula" with the tyre of the outside sulky wheel being punctured.
We note that Mr Holmes is described as a "busy driver", having had 114 drives so far this season and 379 in the last season. He has one previous breach in January of this year which was in a Group race when he was fined $700. We are told that the fact situation was, however, quite different. Mr Wallis has submitted that a fine of $200 should be imposed.
The starting point for penalty as set out in the Judicial Control Authority's Penalty Guide for Judicial Committees is a fine of $400 or a suspension of 8 drives.
However, we are bound to consider the aggravating and mitigating factors before arriving at a penalty.
The aggravating factors are that another horse was affected by virtue of having to run a significant part of the race with a flat tyre, coupled with our assessment that the degree of carelessness was "mid-range". Those two factors call for an uplift on the starting point of $100, making the starting point, $500.
Against that, we must consider the mitigating factors, which are Mr Holmes' excellent record, and his early admission of the breach. We also accept that he made an error of judgement which is unusual for a driver of Mr Holmes' experience.
The combination of the mitigating factors enables us to allow Mr Holmes a somewhat generous discount on our starting point, of $250.
JCA Decision Fields (raw)
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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: c7d280a99eaae36cb2615fbd87171ff3
informantnumber: A6331
horsename:
hearing_racingtype:
startdate: no date provided
newcharge: Careless driving
plea: admitted
penaltyrequired: 1
decisiondate: 13/12/2014
hearing_title: Rangiora HRC 21 December 2014 - R 3
charge:
facts:
It was alleged that Mr Holmes in the "J R's Bar & Grill Home of the $10 Roast Pace" drove carelessly in the first bend by allowing his horse to strike the sulky wheel of "Baron Von Dracula" with the tyre going flat as a consequence.
The breach of the rule was admitted by Mr Holmes, and he endorsed the information stating that he did not wish to be present at the hearing.
The incident was shown to the hearing from the video coverage. The video coverage showed that Mr Holmes allowed his horse to get too close to "the sulky of "Baron Von Dracula" and the consequences that followed.
appealdecision:
isappeal:
submissionsfordecision:
reasonsfordecision:
Decision:
As Mr Holmes has admitted the breach of the rule it is thereby deemed to be proved.
sumissionsforpenalty:
Mr Wallis stated that Mr Holmes is a "busy driver", having had 114 drives in the current season and 379 drives in the 2013/2014 season. He also said that Mr Holmes has a good record having last been charged pursuant to this rule in January 2014, when he was fined $700 in a Group race. However, Mr Wallis said that it was quite a different fact situation. Having said that, Mr Wallis agreed that at the time of the incident, that Mr Holmes was effectively "half carting", and that the punctured tyre on the sulky of "Baron Von Dracula" may have had an effect on that horse's chances.
Mr Wallis submitted that a fine of $200 would be appropriate.
reasonsforpenalty:
The fact situation in this case was clear. Mr Holmes ("Captain Thunderjet") was following "Baron Von Dracula" (C Thornley) as the field came to the first bend. Both horses had clear racing room. However, Mr Holmes was following closely, and at the relevant time could be said to be "half carting". However, as a result of what appears to have been indecision on Mr Holmes' part, his horse's legs struck the sulky wheel of "Baron Von Dracula" with the tyre of the outside sulky wheel being punctured.
We note that Mr Holmes is described as a "busy driver", having had 114 drives so far this season and 379 in the last season. He has one previous breach in January of this year which was in a Group race when he was fined $700. We are told that the fact situation was, however, quite different. Mr Wallis has submitted that a fine of $200 should be imposed.
The starting point for penalty as set out in the Judicial Control Authority's Penalty Guide for Judicial Committees is a fine of $400 or a suspension of 8 drives.
However, we are bound to consider the aggravating and mitigating factors before arriving at a penalty.
The aggravating factors are that another horse was affected by virtue of having to run a significant part of the race with a flat tyre, coupled with our assessment that the degree of carelessness was "mid-range". Those two factors call for an uplift on the starting point of $100, making the starting point, $500.
Against that, we must consider the mitigating factors, which are Mr Holmes' excellent record, and his early admission of the breach. We also accept that he made an error of judgement which is unusual for a driver of Mr Holmes' experience.
The combination of the mitigating factors enables us to allow Mr Holmes a somewhat generous discount on our starting point, of $250.
penalty:
Mr Holmes is fined $250.
hearing_type: Hearing
Rules: Rule 869(3), No Horseman in any race shall drive:, (b)Carelessly
Informant: Mr S Wallis - Stipendiary Steward
JockeysandTrainer: R Holmes-Open Horseman
Otherperson:
PersonPresent:
Respondent:
StipendSteward:
raceid: b36d8c607d40534196e311d5e517f580
race_expapproval:
racecancelled: 0
race_noreport: 0
race_emailed1: 0
race_emailed2: 0
race_title: R3
submittochair:
race_expappcomment:
race_km:
race_otherexp:
race_chair:
race_pm1:
race_pm2:
meetid: 53624242ccb5d3e83f9fa7bb10155ffd
meet_expapproval:
meet_noreport: 0
waitingforpublication: 0
meet_emailed1: 0
meet_emailed2: 0
meetdate: 21/12/2014
meet_title: Rangiora HRC - 21 December 2014
meet_expappcomment:
meet_km:
meet_otherexp:
tracklocation: rangiora-hrc
meet_racingtype: harness-racing
meet_chair: KHales
meet_pm1: SChing
meet_pm2: none
name: Rangiora HRC