HR Waikato 22 AUGUST 2013 – R 8
ID: JCA17372
Meet Title:
Cambridge HRC - 22 August 2013
Meet Chair:
AGodsalve
Meet Committee Member 1:
BScott
Race Date:
2013/08/22
Race Number:
R8
Decision:
As the breach was admitted we find the charge proved.
Penalty:
The Committee therefore imposes a fine of $200 on Mr Salaivao.
Charge:
Breach of 869(3)(f) - Driving Improperly
Facts:
An information was lodged by Stipendiary Steward, Mr JM Muirhead, against Junior Horseman, Mr M Salaivao, driver of HITCH in race 8, the LIS MARA@NEVELE R STUD JUNIOR DRIVERS MOBILE PACE alleging that Mr Salaivao drove HITCH improperly when he improved into the passing lane a lap early (with 1200m to run).
Mr Salaivao was present at the hearing, assisted by Senior Horseman, Mr P Fergusson and initially advised this Committee that he did not admit the breach. However he subsequently amended his plea and acknowledged on the Information that he did in fact admit the breach.
The appropriate rules were read to Mr Salaivao, as were the Passing Lane Regulations:
Rule 869(3)(f) provides:
‘No horseman in any race shall drive improperly’
Clause 3 of the Passing Lane Regulations provides:
‘Except after entering the home straight for the last time in any race, no horse may use the expanded inside lane in an attempt to pass any other horse or horses or improve its position. Any horse which does so may be disqualified, or relegated under Rule 869(8) and the horseman shall be in breach of Rule 869(3)(f).
Mr Muirhead clarified that due to the particular Regulation under which Mr Salaivao had been charged it was mandatory that he also be charged with ‘improper driving’, in itself a relatively serious breach of the Rules. He added that the Stipendiary Stewards did not view this breach of the Rule as ‘serious’ as such and would reflect that view when it came to submissions on penalty.
Mr Muirhead demonstrated the available video film of the race,which showed that at about the 1200m mark, as the field was entering the home straight for the penultimate time, the horse ‘HITCH’ driven by Mr Salaivao had moved into the passing lane after being ‘slapped up’ by Mr Salaivao to improve its position. Mr Muirhead said that at the time two horses on the outside had started to improve at that time and this may have confused Mr Salaivao. It became clear that Mr Salaivao soon realised his mistake, he may have been alerted by other drivers, and restrained his horse to the position it originally held.
Mr Muirhead added that in the Stewards' opinion Mr Salaivao had shown ‘bad judgement’ and that due to his inexperience had mistakenly thought he was heading for the finishing post at that time.
For his part Mr Salaivao stated that in fact he hadn’t miscounted the rounds, however he acknowledged that he had not been in a trailing position at the time and had ‘pulled the horse up’when he realised what he had done.
For Mr Salaivao, Mr P Fergusson said that while it was clear that Mr Salaivao had gone into the passing lane at the wrong time he felt that the seriousness of the incident was minimal and the charge of ‘improper driving’ was only levelled against Mr Salaivao as there was no other rule to charge him under.
Submissions for Penalty:
Mr Muirhead submitted that Mr Salaivao had shown bad judgement, and while the incident was at the lower end of the scale it was not a good look. He added that Mr Salaivao was a Junior Driver who had had a total of approximately 23 raceday drives, with only 1 being in the current season. He added that the Stewards felt the JCA Penalty Guideline for this breach of 20 drives or a $1000 fine was inappropriate in this matter and submitted that the Stewards believed a fine of between $250-$300 was appropriate.
Mr Fergusson, for Mr Salaivao, stated that he was an inexperienced driver who averaged one race drive a week in Junior Driver races. He added that he was a hard worker and suggested a fine of $200 or two days suspension may be appropriate.
Reasons for Penalty:
The charge is admitted and Mr Salaivao has no previous breaches of these Rules or Regulations.
The Committee accepts the incident was as a result of a mistake on his part and that there was no ‘malice’ intended. We pointed out to Mr Salaivao that the charge of ‘improper driving’ is a serious charge which can call for a large fine or a considerable period of suspension. However, it is clear that the wording of the relevant Regulation leaves the Stewards no option than to charge a Driver with ‘improper driving’.
We felt that due to his inexperience some leniency could be extended to Mr Salaivao in the hope that he would learn from the experience in furthering his career in the industry.
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: fff5e9ba7ea511f4b8ed18f4a651def3
informantnumber: 3954
horsename:
hearing_racingtype:
startdate: no date provided
newcharge:
plea: admitted
penaltyrequired: 1
decisiondate: 19/08/2013
hearing_title: HR Waikato 22 AUGUST 2013 - R 8
charge:
Breach of 869(3)(f) - Driving Improperly
facts:
An information was lodged by Stipendiary Steward, Mr JM Muirhead, against Junior Horseman, Mr M Salaivao, driver of HITCH in race 8, the LIS MARA@NEVELE R STUD JUNIOR DRIVERS MOBILE PACE alleging that Mr Salaivao drove HITCH improperly when he improved into the passing lane a lap early (with 1200m to run).
Mr Salaivao was present at the hearing, assisted by Senior Horseman, Mr P Fergusson and initially advised this Committee that he did not admit the breach. However he subsequently amended his plea and acknowledged on the Information that he did in fact admit the breach.
The appropriate rules were read to Mr Salaivao, as were the Passing Lane Regulations:
Rule 869(3)(f) provides:
‘No horseman in any race shall drive improperly’
Clause 3 of the Passing Lane Regulations provides:
‘Except after entering the home straight for the last time in any race, no horse may use the expanded inside lane in an attempt to pass any other horse or horses or improve its position. Any horse which does so may be disqualified, or relegated under Rule 869(8) and the horseman shall be in breach of Rule 869(3)(f).
Mr Muirhead clarified that due to the particular Regulation under which Mr Salaivao had been charged it was mandatory that he also be charged with ‘improper driving’, in itself a relatively serious breach of the Rules. He added that the Stipendiary Stewards did not view this breach of the Rule as ‘serious’ as such and would reflect that view when it came to submissions on penalty.
Mr Muirhead demonstrated the available video film of the race,which showed that at about the 1200m mark, as the field was entering the home straight for the penultimate time, the horse ‘HITCH’ driven by Mr Salaivao had moved into the passing lane after being ‘slapped up’ by Mr Salaivao to improve its position. Mr Muirhead said that at the time two horses on the outside had started to improve at that time and this may have confused Mr Salaivao. It became clear that Mr Salaivao soon realised his mistake, he may have been alerted by other drivers, and restrained his horse to the position it originally held.
Mr Muirhead added that in the Stewards' opinion Mr Salaivao had shown ‘bad judgement’ and that due to his inexperience had mistakenly thought he was heading for the finishing post at that time.
For his part Mr Salaivao stated that in fact he hadn’t miscounted the rounds, however he acknowledged that he had not been in a trailing position at the time and had ‘pulled the horse up’when he realised what he had done.
For Mr Salaivao, Mr P Fergusson said that while it was clear that Mr Salaivao had gone into the passing lane at the wrong time he felt that the seriousness of the incident was minimal and the charge of ‘improper driving’ was only levelled against Mr Salaivao as there was no other rule to charge him under.
appealdecision:
isappeal:
submissionsfordecision:
reasonsfordecision:
Decision:
As the breach was admitted we find the charge proved.
sumissionsforpenalty:
Mr Muirhead submitted that Mr Salaivao had shown bad judgement, and while the incident was at the lower end of the scale it was not a good look. He added that Mr Salaivao was a Junior Driver who had had a total of approximately 23 raceday drives, with only 1 being in the current season. He added that the Stewards felt the JCA Penalty Guideline for this breach of 20 drives or a $1000 fine was inappropriate in this matter and submitted that the Stewards believed a fine of between $250-$300 was appropriate.
Mr Fergusson, for Mr Salaivao, stated that he was an inexperienced driver who averaged one race drive a week in Junior Driver races. He added that he was a hard worker and suggested a fine of $200 or two days suspension may be appropriate.
reasonsforpenalty:
The charge is admitted and Mr Salaivao has no previous breaches of these Rules or Regulations.
The Committee accepts the incident was as a result of a mistake on his part and that there was no ‘malice’ intended. We pointed out to Mr Salaivao that the charge of ‘improper driving’ is a serious charge which can call for a large fine or a considerable period of suspension. However, it is clear that the wording of the relevant Regulation leaves the Stewards no option than to charge a Driver with ‘improper driving’.
We felt that due to his inexperience some leniency could be extended to Mr Salaivao in the hope that he would learn from the experience in furthering his career in the industry.
penalty:
The Committee therefore imposes a fine of $200 on Mr Salaivao.
hearing_type: Hearing
Rules: Rule 869 (3) (f), Passing Lane Regulations, Clause 3
Informant: Mr JM Muirhead - Stipendiary Steward
JockeysandTrainer: Mr M Salaivao - Junior Horseman
Otherperson: Mr P Ferguson - Senior Horseman assisting Mr Salaivao
PersonPresent:
Respondent:
StipendSteward:
raceid: 061000d682442d0a7c2af48f3b859261
race_expapproval:
racecancelled: 0
race_noreport: 0
race_emailed1: 0
race_emailed2: 0
race_title: R8
submittochair:
race_expappcomment:
race_km:
race_otherexp:
race_chair:
race_pm1:
race_pm2:
meetid: 843f50918975e750897d4543694c4539
meet_expapproval:
meet_noreport: 0
waitingforpublication: 0
meet_emailed1: 0
meet_emailed2: 0
meetdate: 22/08/2013
meet_title: Cambridge HRC - 22 August 2013
meet_expappcomment:
meet_km:
meet_otherexp:
tracklocation: cambridge-hrc
meet_racingtype: harness-racing
meet_chair: AGodsalve
meet_pm1: BScott
meet_pm2: none
name: Cambridge HRC