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Manawatu RC 1 April 2017 – R 6 – Chair, Mrs N Moffatt

ID: JCA16292

Applicant:
Mr J Oatham - Chief Stipendiary Steward

Respondent(s):
Mr M McNab - Licensed Jockey

Information Number:
A8684

Hearing Type:
Hearing

New Charge:
Celebratory Gesture

Rules:
638(2)

Plea:
admitted

Code:
Thoroughbred

Meet Title:
Manawatu RC - 1 April 2017

Meet Chair:
NMoffatt

Meet Committee Member 1:
TUtikere

Race Date:
2017/04/01

Race Number:
R6

Decision:

As the charge was admitted the charge was found to be proved.

Penalty:

Accordingly we imposed a fine of $400.

Facts:

Following Race 6, Courtesy Ford Manawatu Sires’ Produce Stakes, an information was lodged by the Stewards alleging a breach of Rule 638(2) in that jockey M McNab made a celebratory gesture prior to the winning post.

Mr Oatham showed the films of the finish and identified Mr McNab in front of the field. A good two strides short of the winning post Mr McNab could be seen to make a celebratory gesture. Mr Oatham said the films were self-explanatory.

Mr McNab had nothing to add.

Submissions for Penalty:

Mr Oatham said today’s breach of this rule was a first offence for Mr McNab. He said it occurred in a Group 1 race and while the Stewards could understand Mr McNab getting excited over his first win in a Group 1 the rules were in place for a reason, and that was to ensure safety until past the winning post.

In finding comparable cases Mr Oatham referred specifically to a breach in 2014 where rider C Grylls was fined $250 at Te Aroha. Prior to that there had been a number of fines in the vicinity of $300 - $350 over the 2012/13 racing period. The stewards’ submission was for a fine in the region of $300 - $500 for today’s breach.

Mr McNab's only submission on penalty was to request “as little as possible”.

Reasons for Penalty:

In coming to a decision on penalty the committee referred to the Penalty Guide for Judicial Committees which has a starting point of $300 for breaches of Rule 638(2). Aggravating factors were the Group 1 status of today’s race and the nature of Mr McNab’s celebration. It was well short of the winning post when Mr McNab was observed to sit up on his horse and turn to face the crowd. Following that he raised his arm and waved his whip. Mr Oatham is correct in saying this rule is in place for a reason. Mr McNab has a duty to remain in control of his horse until past the finish post. We do not believe he fulfilled that duty today and while we understand Mr McNab’s excitement at winning his first Group 1 race we would expect him to wait until past the finish post before celebrating. We did not consider this a minor breach and the only mitigating factor was Mr McNab’s clear record. Balancing up all factors it was our opinion that a $400 monetary penalty was appropriate for today’s circumstances.

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: d5bd2132ef4b23081b391f6d4d24552a

informantnumber: A8684

horsename:

hearing_racingtype:

startdate: no date provided

newcharge: Celebratory Gesture

plea: admitted

penaltyrequired: 1

decisiondate: 04/04/2017

hearing_title: Manawatu RC 1 April 2017 - R 6 - Chair, Mrs N Moffatt

charge:

facts:

Following Race 6, Courtesy Ford Manawatu Sires’ Produce Stakes, an information was lodged by the Stewards alleging a breach of Rule 638(2) in that jockey M McNab made a celebratory gesture prior to the winning post.

Mr Oatham showed the films of the finish and identified Mr McNab in front of the field. A good two strides short of the winning post Mr McNab could be seen to make a celebratory gesture. Mr Oatham said the films were self-explanatory.

Mr McNab had nothing to add.

appealdecision:

isappeal:

submissionsfordecision:

reasonsfordecision:

Decision:

As the charge was admitted the charge was found to be proved.

sumissionsforpenalty:

Mr Oatham said today’s breach of this rule was a first offence for Mr McNab. He said it occurred in a Group 1 race and while the Stewards could understand Mr McNab getting excited over his first win in a Group 1 the rules were in place for a reason, and that was to ensure safety until past the winning post.

In finding comparable cases Mr Oatham referred specifically to a breach in 2014 where rider C Grylls was fined $250 at Te Aroha. Prior to that there had been a number of fines in the vicinity of $300 - $350 over the 2012/13 racing period. The stewards’ submission was for a fine in the region of $300 - $500 for today’s breach.

Mr McNab's only submission on penalty was to request “as little as possible”.

reasonsforpenalty:

In coming to a decision on penalty the committee referred to the Penalty Guide for Judicial Committees which has a starting point of $300 for breaches of Rule 638(2). Aggravating factors were the Group 1 status of today’s race and the nature of Mr McNab’s celebration. It was well short of the winning post when Mr McNab was observed to sit up on his horse and turn to face the crowd. Following that he raised his arm and waved his whip. Mr Oatham is correct in saying this rule is in place for a reason. Mr McNab has a duty to remain in control of his horse until past the finish post. We do not believe he fulfilled that duty today and while we understand Mr McNab’s excitement at winning his first Group 1 race we would expect him to wait until past the finish post before celebrating. We did not consider this a minor breach and the only mitigating factor was Mr McNab’s clear record. Balancing up all factors it was our opinion that a $400 monetary penalty was appropriate for today’s circumstances.

penalty:

Accordingly we imposed a fine of $400.

hearing_type: Hearing

Rules: 638(2)

Informant: Mr J Oatham - Chief Stipendiary Steward

JockeysandTrainer: Mr M McNab - Licensed Jockey

Otherperson:

PersonPresent:

Respondent:

StipendSteward:

raceid: a3197774502a17f636b0a554fb291f31

race_expapproval:

racecancelled: 0

race_noreport: 0

race_emailed1: 0

race_emailed2: 0

race_title: R6

submittochair:

race_expappcomment:

race_km:

race_otherexp:

race_chair:

race_pm1:

race_pm2:

meetid: f1053cede9dad4a8731374108af69bfa

meet_expapproval:

meet_noreport: 0

waitingforpublication: 0

meet_emailed1: 0

meet_emailed2: 0

meetdate: 01/04/2017

meet_title: Manawatu RC - 1 April 2017

meet_expappcomment:

meet_km:

meet_otherexp:

tracklocation: manawatu-rc

meet_racingtype: thoroughbred-racing

meet_chair: NMoffatt

meet_pm1: TUtikere

meet_pm2: none

name: Manawatu RC