Woodville RC 7 January 2012 – R 1 & 7 (request for a ruling)
ID: JCA17879
Code:
Thoroughbred
Meet Title:
Woodville - Pahiatua RC - 7 January 2012
Meet Chair:
NMoffatt
Meet Committee Member 1:
TUtikere
Race Date:
2012/01/07
Race Number:
R 1 & 7
Decision:
After listening to all parties, the committee ruled that a fair outcome to this dispute, was for a losing riding fee to be paid to Mr Tanaka for COATOFMANYCOLOURS, but there would be no requirement for Ms Tanner to pay the riding fee to Mr Tanaka for FLEMINGTON.
Facts:
An information was lodged by the Stipendiary Stewards for a Request for a Ruling, in that Rider, M Tanaka, be paid the losing riding fees for FLEMINGTON in Race 1, and COATOFMANYCOLOURS in Race 7, as he had been engaged to ride these horses by Trainer, L Tanner.
Rule 330(2) states: Any dispute with reference to the engagement or engagements of a Rider to ride at a particular Race Meeting or Race Meetings shall be determined by a Judicial Committee at the request of a Stipendiary Steward or any of the parties to the dispute.
Submissions for Decision:
Mr Mike Dillon, who acts as Mr Tanaka’s riding agent, sent an email to Mr R Neal of the Racing Integrity Unit yesterday (6th January 2012), requesting that Mr Tanaka be paid riding fees for two horses trained by Ms L Tanner. In this email, he outlined the details of his communications with Ms L Tanner, that led him to believe that Mr Tanaka had been engaged to ride both FLEMINGTON and COATOFMANYCOLOURS.
Mr Tanaka had ridden both of these horses previously at Otaki on November 10th 2011, where he won on COATOFMANYCOLOURS and was placed 2nd on FLEMINGTON. Both horses raced again in December, with Mr N Harris riding COATOFMANYCOLOURS at Trentham, and Mr Riddell riding FLEMINGTON at New Plymouth.
Mr Dillon wrote that he called Ms Tanner on December 30th, and asked her when she was next running both horses. She told him that, depending on track conditions, they would probably be running at Woodville. Mr Dillon rang back on January 3rd, following nominations for Woodville, and Ms Tanner told him that she had engaged Mr Riddell to ride FLEMINGTON. Mr Dillon was annoyed because he had just turned down a request from Trainer, Mr Lynds, for Mr Tanaka to ride a horse in that same race (assuming he was riding FLEMINGTON). At this stage, Mr Dillon still assumed that Mr Tanaka was engaged to ride COATOFMANYCOLOURS, but later on Wednesday, he noticed that Mr R Hurdle had been declared for COATOFMANYCOLOURS. He rang Ms Tanner and a heated discussion ensued.
Mr Dillon said that he had a choice to send Mr Tanaka to ride either at Tauranga or Woodville, and the only reason he sent him to Woodville, was because he believed that he had been engaged to ride two of Ms Tanner’s horses. Under these circumstances, he requested that Mr Tanaka be paid two riding fees by Ms Tanner.
Ms Tanner was given a copy of Mr Dillon’s email, which outlined his version of events. She brought with her to the hearing, Mr Hickman, who had been a “witness” to some of the phone calls between Mr Dillon and Ms Tanner. Both Ms Tanner and Mr Hickman disputed much of what Mr Dillon wrote. While Ms Tanner had difficulty remembering actual dates and times of phone calls, she remained adamant that there was never any intention on her part, for Mr Tanaka to ride FLEMINGTON at Woodville. She said that Mr Tanaka had indicated to her after one particular race, that he didn’t think much of the horse, so she would never consider putting him back on. In relation to COATOFMANYCOLOURS,Tanner did say that she had not rung Mr Dillon back when she said she would, and conceded that she could have been at fault for the confusion surrounding that ride. She had decided to use an apprentice allowance for COATOFMANYCOLOURS, which is why she engaged Mr Hurdle.
At this stage of the hearing, in the presence of all parties, Mr Dillon was contacted via speaker phone. The Chairman outlined what Ms Tanner and Mr Hickman had said in the hearing up to that point. Mr Dillon explained that he took his role of rider engagements very seriously and it was his understanding that if track conditions were right at Woodville, then Mr Tanaka was engaged to ride both FLEMINGTON and COATOFMANYCOLOURS. Mr Neal, for the Racing Integrity Unit, said that there had obviously been a conflict in respect to what had been said between both parties. Looking at each riding engagement separately, Ms Tanner has been “stoic” in her belief that Mr Tanaka was never considered for the ride on FLEMINGTON, but she did admit to some confusion surrounding the ride on COATOFMANYCOLOURS.
Reasons for Decision:
The committee heard submissions from Ms Tanner, Mr Hickman, Mr Dillon and Mr Neal. Riding engagements pose many problems, and it is not unusual for Judicial Committees to be called upon to rule on rider disputes. It is fair to say that these disputes normally arise from poor communication, and they can be convoluted and confusing to work out. In this instance, there were phone calls involving Mr Dillon and Ms Tanner, and also communication directly between Ms Tanner and Mr Tanaka. The committee did not propose to say who was right and who was wrong in relation to what was said, and on what dates.
Ms Tanner has consistently maintained, that she had no intention whatsoever, to engage Mr Tanaka for the ride on FLEMINGTON. She denied ever telling Mr Dillon that he could ride the horse, however she did accept responsibility for the confusion surrounding the ride on her other horse. Ms Tanner said that she should have rung Mr Dillon back after she decided to engage an apprentice for COATOFMANYCOLOURS. The committee noted that Mr Tanaka is now located in the Waikato region, and Tauranga would likely have been his first choice of riding venue. Mr Dillon’s decision to send him to Woodville, was based on the belief that he would be riding two horses for Ms Tanner.
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: f972a791639c5d213fd8d4be62c78740
informantnumber:
horsename:
hearing_racingtype:
startdate: no date provided
newcharge:
plea:
penaltyrequired:
decisiondate: 01/01/2012
hearing_title: Woodville RC 7 January 2012 - R 1 & 7 (request for a ruling)
charge:
facts:
An information was lodged by the Stipendiary Stewards for a Request for a Ruling, in that Rider, M Tanaka, be paid the losing riding fees for FLEMINGTON in Race 1, and COATOFMANYCOLOURS in Race 7, as he had been engaged to ride these horses by Trainer, L Tanner.
Rule 330(2) states: Any dispute with reference to the engagement or engagements of a Rider to ride at a particular Race Meeting or Race Meetings shall be determined by a Judicial Committee at the request of a Stipendiary Steward or any of the parties to the dispute.
appealdecision:
isappeal:
submissionsfordecision:
Mr Mike Dillon, who acts as Mr Tanaka’s riding agent, sent an email to Mr R Neal of the Racing Integrity Unit yesterday (6th January 2012), requesting that Mr Tanaka be paid riding fees for two horses trained by Ms L Tanner. In this email, he outlined the details of his communications with Ms L Tanner, that led him to believe that Mr Tanaka had been engaged to ride both FLEMINGTON and COATOFMANYCOLOURS.
Mr Tanaka had ridden both of these horses previously at Otaki on November 10th 2011, where he won on COATOFMANYCOLOURS and was placed 2nd on FLEMINGTON. Both horses raced again in December, with Mr N Harris riding COATOFMANYCOLOURS at Trentham, and Mr Riddell riding FLEMINGTON at New Plymouth.
Mr Dillon wrote that he called Ms Tanner on December 30th, and asked her when she was next running both horses. She told him that, depending on track conditions, they would probably be running at Woodville. Mr Dillon rang back on January 3rd, following nominations for Woodville, and Ms Tanner told him that she had engaged Mr Riddell to ride FLEMINGTON. Mr Dillon was annoyed because he had just turned down a request from Trainer, Mr Lynds, for Mr Tanaka to ride a horse in that same race (assuming he was riding FLEMINGTON). At this stage, Mr Dillon still assumed that Mr Tanaka was engaged to ride COATOFMANYCOLOURS, but later on Wednesday, he noticed that Mr R Hurdle had been declared for COATOFMANYCOLOURS. He rang Ms Tanner and a heated discussion ensued.
Mr Dillon said that he had a choice to send Mr Tanaka to ride either at Tauranga or Woodville, and the only reason he sent him to Woodville, was because he believed that he had been engaged to ride two of Ms Tanner’s horses. Under these circumstances, he requested that Mr Tanaka be paid two riding fees by Ms Tanner.
Ms Tanner was given a copy of Mr Dillon’s email, which outlined his version of events. She brought with her to the hearing, Mr Hickman, who had been a “witness” to some of the phone calls between Mr Dillon and Ms Tanner. Both Ms Tanner and Mr Hickman disputed much of what Mr Dillon wrote. While Ms Tanner had difficulty remembering actual dates and times of phone calls, she remained adamant that there was never any intention on her part, for Mr Tanaka to ride FLEMINGTON at Woodville. She said that Mr Tanaka had indicated to her after one particular race, that he didn’t think much of the horse, so she would never consider putting him back on. In relation to COATOFMANYCOLOURS,Tanner did say that she had not rung Mr Dillon back when she said she would, and conceded that she could have been at fault for the confusion surrounding that ride. She had decided to use an apprentice allowance for COATOFMANYCOLOURS, which is why she engaged Mr Hurdle.
At this stage of the hearing, in the presence of all parties, Mr Dillon was contacted via speaker phone. The Chairman outlined what Ms Tanner and Mr Hickman had said in the hearing up to that point. Mr Dillon explained that he took his role of rider engagements very seriously and it was his understanding that if track conditions were right at Woodville, then Mr Tanaka was engaged to ride both FLEMINGTON and COATOFMANYCOLOURS. Mr Neal, for the Racing Integrity Unit, said that there had obviously been a conflict in respect to what had been said between both parties. Looking at each riding engagement separately, Ms Tanner has been “stoic” in her belief that Mr Tanaka was never considered for the ride on FLEMINGTON, but she did admit to some confusion surrounding the ride on COATOFMANYCOLOURS.
reasonsfordecision:
The committee heard submissions from Ms Tanner, Mr Hickman, Mr Dillon and Mr Neal. Riding engagements pose many problems, and it is not unusual for Judicial Committees to be called upon to rule on rider disputes. It is fair to say that these disputes normally arise from poor communication, and they can be convoluted and confusing to work out. In this instance, there were phone calls involving Mr Dillon and Ms Tanner, and also communication directly between Ms Tanner and Mr Tanaka. The committee did not propose to say who was right and who was wrong in relation to what was said, and on what dates.
Ms Tanner has consistently maintained, that she had no intention whatsoever, to engage Mr Tanaka for the ride on FLEMINGTON. She denied ever telling Mr Dillon that he could ride the horse, however she did accept responsibility for the confusion surrounding the ride on her other horse. Ms Tanner said that she should have rung Mr Dillon back after she decided to engage an apprentice for COATOFMANYCOLOURS. The committee noted that Mr Tanaka is now located in the Waikato region, and Tauranga would likely have been his first choice of riding venue. Mr Dillon’s decision to send him to Woodville, was based on the belief that he would be riding two horses for Ms Tanner.
Decision:
After listening to all parties, the committee ruled that a fair outcome to this dispute, was for a losing riding fee to be paid to Mr Tanaka for COATOFMANYCOLOURS, but there would be no requirement for Ms Tanner to pay the riding fee to Mr Tanaka for FLEMINGTON.
sumissionsforpenalty:
reasonsforpenalty:
penalty:
hearing_type: Request Ruling
Rules: 330(2)
Informant:
JockeysandTrainer:
Otherperson:
PersonPresent: Ms L Tanner - Licensed Trainer, Mr L Hickman, Mr R Neal - Stipendiary Steward
Respondent:
StipendSteward: Mr N Goodwin - Stipendiary Steward
raceid: 05b3cbcc6bdf624fdea7325f2dc79977
race_expapproval:
racecancelled: 0
race_noreport: 0
race_emailed1: 0
race_emailed2: 0
race_title: R 1 & 7
submittochair:
race_expappcomment:
race_km:
race_otherexp:
race_chair:
race_pm1:
race_pm2:
meetid: 3f0b3b6cf57755b1bd597830afa9a244
meet_expapproval:
meet_noreport: 0
waitingforpublication: 0
meet_emailed1: 0
meet_emailed2: 0
meetdate: 07/01/2012
meet_title: Woodville - Pahiatua RC - 7 January 2012
meet_expappcomment:
meet_km:
meet_otherexp:
tracklocation: woodville-pahiatua-rc
meet_racingtype: thoroughbred-racing
meet_chair: NMoffatt
meet_pm1: TUtikere
meet_pm2: none
name: Woodville - Pahiatua RC