HR Waikato 7 August 2014 – R 1
ID: JCA18080
Meet Title:
Harness Racing Waikato - 7 August 2014
Meet Chair:
BScott
Meet Committee Member 1:
ADooley
Race Date:
2014/08/07
Race Number:
R1
Decision:
Penalty:
Facts:
Following the running of the CHANGEOVER OFF TO A GREAT START MOBILE PACE an Information was filed by Stipendiary Steward Mr S Mulcay against Licensed Horseman Mr Z Butcher alleging that he drove DENNY CRANE during the Race without his safety helmet chin strap secured.
Rule 847(3) provides:
“A horseman shall while seated in the sulky on Race Meeting wear his safety helmet with the chin strap securely fastened.”
Mr Butcher was present and advised the Committee that he did not admit the breach.
Mr Mulcay gave evidence and said that the Stipendiary Steward Mr JM Muirhead reported to him that Mr Butcher did not have the chin strap on his safety helmet securely fastened during the Race. Mr Muirhead had spoken to Mr Butcher immediately after the Race and he apparently said that he wasn’t aware that it was undone.
Mr Mulcay demonstrated the incident by use of the Race Films and showed where the chin strap was not secured at the start and it was in the same position at the end.
Mr Butcher said that he did it up before he went out but he said that Mr McFarlane’s horse bumped into him at the start and this may have caused it to have become undone. He said that he was wearing a skivvy and he did not feel the chin strap.
Mr Butcher acknowledged that the chin strap was not securely fastened during the Race but he said that he was aggrieved by the possible $200.00 fine and that because this was a low key Meeting it was out of kilter with the earnings.
The Committee pointed out to Mr Butcher that securing a safety helmet was a safety issue particularly for him in this instance.
Submissions for Decision:
Mr Mulcay submitted that the evidence clearly showed that the chin strap on Mr Butcher's helmet was not secure and accordingly he was in breach of the Rule.
Reasons for Decision:
The Committee has listened to the evidence and viewed the films. These clearly show that Mr Butcher’s chin strap was not secured during the Race. Mr Butcher has also acknowledged that it was not secured.
Submissions for Penalty:
Mr Mulcay said that the standard fine under the Minor Infringement Scheme was $200.00. He was seeking a fine of that amount.
Mr Butcher said that he was a very busy Driver and he had had close to 600 Drives last season and this had not happened before. He said that he thought that a $200.00 fine was a bit high.
Reasons for Penalty:
We have listened to Mr Butcher and we are aware that he is a very busy and very successful Driver.
This however is a safety issue.
This type of charge is normally dealt with under the Minor Infringement Scheme and it attracts a fine of $200.00. We have checked our Penalty Schedules and we have found five similar charges and in each case the fine was $200.00. One of those was a Driver who is just as busy as Mr Butcher. We have pointed this out to him.
Taking all matters into account and on the basis of being consistent we are going to impose a fine of $200.00 on Mr Butcher.
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: eb870f05f272bed9fa280a71ac6b1098
informantnumber: A3708
horsename:
hearing_racingtype:
startdate: no date provided
newcharge: Driving Without Having his Safety Helmet Properly Secured
plea: denied
penaltyrequired: 1
decisiondate: 05/08/2014
hearing_title: HR Waikato 7 August 2014 – R 1
charge:
facts:
Following the running of the CHANGEOVER OFF TO A GREAT START MOBILE PACE an Information was filed by Stipendiary Steward Mr S Mulcay against Licensed Horseman Mr Z Butcher alleging that he drove DENNY CRANE during the Race without his safety helmet chin strap secured.
Rule 847(3) provides:
“A horseman shall while seated in the sulky on Race Meeting wear his safety helmet with the chin strap securely fastened.”
Mr Butcher was present and advised the Committee that he did not admit the breach.
Mr Mulcay gave evidence and said that the Stipendiary Steward Mr JM Muirhead reported to him that Mr Butcher did not have the chin strap on his safety helmet securely fastened during the Race. Mr Muirhead had spoken to Mr Butcher immediately after the Race and he apparently said that he wasn’t aware that it was undone.
Mr Mulcay demonstrated the incident by use of the Race Films and showed where the chin strap was not secured at the start and it was in the same position at the end.
Mr Butcher said that he did it up before he went out but he said that Mr McFarlane’s horse bumped into him at the start and this may have caused it to have become undone. He said that he was wearing a skivvy and he did not feel the chin strap.
Mr Butcher acknowledged that the chin strap was not securely fastened during the Race but he said that he was aggrieved by the possible $200.00 fine and that because this was a low key Meeting it was out of kilter with the earnings.
The Committee pointed out to Mr Butcher that securing a safety helmet was a safety issue particularly for him in this instance.
appealdecision:
isappeal:
submissionsfordecision:
Mr Mulcay submitted that the evidence clearly showed that the chin strap on Mr Butcher's helmet was not secure and accordingly he was in breach of the Rule.
reasonsfordecision:
The Committee has listened to the evidence and viewed the films. These clearly show that Mr Butcher’s chin strap was not secured during the Race. Mr Butcher has also acknowledged that it was not secured.
Decision:
sumissionsforpenalty:
Mr Mulcay said that the standard fine under the Minor Infringement Scheme was $200.00. He was seeking a fine of that amount.
Mr Butcher said that he was a very busy Driver and he had had close to 600 Drives last season and this had not happened before. He said that he thought that a $200.00 fine was a bit high.
reasonsforpenalty:
We have listened to Mr Butcher and we are aware that he is a very busy and very successful Driver.
This however is a safety issue.
This type of charge is normally dealt with under the Minor Infringement Scheme and it attracts a fine of $200.00. We have checked our Penalty Schedules and we have found five similar charges and in each case the fine was $200.00. One of those was a Driver who is just as busy as Mr Butcher. We have pointed this out to him.
Taking all matters into account and on the basis of being consistent we are going to impose a fine of $200.00 on Mr Butcher.
penalty:
hearing_type: Hearing
Rules: 847(3)
Informant: Mr S Mulcay - Stipendiary Steward
JockeysandTrainer: Mr Z Butcher - Licensed Horseman
Otherperson:
PersonPresent:
Respondent:
StipendSteward:
raceid: 21fd81a694895dd8cf16b25775df3b37
race_expapproval:
racecancelled: 0
race_noreport: 0
race_emailed1: 0
race_emailed2: 0
race_title: R1
submittochair:
race_expappcomment:
race_km:
race_otherexp:
race_chair:
race_pm1:
race_pm2:
meetid: e94fab199bb46536fcc9f5b5a1813430
meet_expapproval:
meet_noreport: 0
waitingforpublication: 0
meet_emailed1: 0
meet_emailed2: 0
meetdate: 07/08/2014
meet_title: Harness Racing Waikato - 7 August 2014
meet_expappcomment:
meet_km:
meet_otherexp:
tracklocation: harness-racing-waikato
meet_racingtype: harness-racing
meet_chair: BScott
meet_pm1: ADooley
meet_pm2: none
name: Harness Racing Waikato