Winton JC 14 October 2018 – R 3 – Chair, Prof G Hall
ID: JCA18090
Code:
Thoroughbred
Meet Title:
Winton JC - 14 October 2018
Meet Chair:
GHall
Meet Committee Member 1:
MConway
Race Date:
2018/10/14
Race Number:
R 3
Decision:
As Mr Murray has admitted the breach, it is found to be proved.
Penalty:
Mr Murray’s culpability is less than in these two cases. He is an apprentice jockey, his record is clear under this rule and he has apologised for his actions We impose a fine of $200 and remind him of his professional obligations.
Facts:
Mr Davidson alleged that Mr Murray misconducted himself by using foul language at the weigh in area.
Mr Davidson stated that the respondent had used an expletive on two occasions in a very loud voice after returnin to the scales to weigh in after race 3. He later explained that Mr Murray had said some f**ing people should not have an f**ing licence. He said this comment was made in his presence although he was not of the view it was made directly to him. He said the comment was not directed at anyone. Mr Murray was taken straight to the Stewards’ room and was spoken to. He said Mr Murray later came back and apologised.
Mr Murray said he was travelling well on the bend, straightening up for the run home and thought he would go close to winning when he received significant interference. He was very frustrated and had had “a brain fade”. He said he did not abuse anyone but accepted he had used the “f word” on more than one occasion.
Mr Walsh stated that Mr Murray gets very frustrated and he had not been at the weigh-in to assist Mr Murray and to defuse the situation. Mr Murray was very keen to win the race and had been badly interfered with. He was riding his partner’s horse. It had been a long winter and Mr Murray was wasting recently.
Submissions for Penalty:
Mr Davidson produced Mr Murray’s record which was clear under this rule. He said he had never had to talk to Mr Murray about his language. He believed a monetary penalty was appropriate and that the level was fact driven. As the words were not directed at anyone, he believed a fine of $300 was appropriate.
When questioned by this Committee, Mr Davidson said there were no other jockeys in the vicinity when Mr Murray used the foul language and he had later apologised to the Stewards.
Mr Walsh reiterated that Mr Murray had been riding his partner’s horse and was extremely frustrated because he thought he had a good chance of winning the race. It was Mr Murray’s first breach of this rule. He immediately regretted his words and had apologised. He submitted a warning was appropriate in this instance.
Mr Murray said he regretted his actions and had apologised. He said Mr Moseley had told him to do this. He emphasised he was on a minimum wage plus percentages and was apprenticed to Mr Tyler.
Reasons for Penalty:
We agree that the penalty under this rule is fact specific. We take into account the context in which the words were spoken. They were not directed at anyone and, in particular, not at the jockey that the respondent thought had caused the interference. As he said, Mr Murray was unaware who was at fault. It appears he was simply letting off steam in a completely inappropriate manner. It was clear this was in a loud voice and within the hearing of Mr Davidson, although Mr Davidson does not believe the words were necessarily directed to him. The words were used in an adjectival or descriptive sense; not as f** you or f** that, which we believe would be a graver example of the use of the “f word”.
We have looked to similar cases for some guidance. In Bothamley 2014 the use of foul and abusive language towards the Clerk of the Scales and a Stipendiary Steward resulted in a $300 fine, while in Callaway 2015 the use of offensive language to another jockey on returning to the birdcage led to a fine of $250.
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: ecbfef62061d27124aa223ebc2429f28
informantnumber: A8626
horsename:
hearing_racingtype:
startdate: no date provided
newcharge: Misconduct
plea: admitted
penaltyrequired: 1
decisiondate: 17/10/2018
hearing_title: Winton JC 14 October 2018 - R 3 - Chair, Prof G Hall
charge:
facts:
Mr Davidson alleged that Mr Murray misconducted himself by using foul language at the weigh in area.
Mr Davidson stated that the respondent had used an expletive on two occasions in a very loud voice after returnin to the scales to weigh in after race 3. He later explained that Mr Murray had said some f**ing people should not have an f**ing licence. He said this comment was made in his presence although he was not of the view it was made directly to him. He said the comment was not directed at anyone. Mr Murray was taken straight to the Stewards’ room and was spoken to. He said Mr Murray later came back and apologised.
Mr Murray said he was travelling well on the bend, straightening up for the run home and thought he would go close to winning when he received significant interference. He was very frustrated and had had “a brain fade”. He said he did not abuse anyone but accepted he had used the “f word” on more than one occasion.
Mr Walsh stated that Mr Murray gets very frustrated and he had not been at the weigh-in to assist Mr Murray and to defuse the situation. Mr Murray was very keen to win the race and had been badly interfered with. He was riding his partner’s horse. It had been a long winter and Mr Murray was wasting recently.
appealdecision:
isappeal:
submissionsfordecision:
reasonsfordecision:
Decision:
As Mr Murray has admitted the breach, it is found to be proved.
sumissionsforpenalty:
Mr Davidson produced Mr Murray’s record which was clear under this rule. He said he had never had to talk to Mr Murray about his language. He believed a monetary penalty was appropriate and that the level was fact driven. As the words were not directed at anyone, he believed a fine of $300 was appropriate.
When questioned by this Committee, Mr Davidson said there were no other jockeys in the vicinity when Mr Murray used the foul language and he had later apologised to the Stewards.
Mr Walsh reiterated that Mr Murray had been riding his partner’s horse and was extremely frustrated because he thought he had a good chance of winning the race. It was Mr Murray’s first breach of this rule. He immediately regretted his words and had apologised. He submitted a warning was appropriate in this instance.
Mr Murray said he regretted his actions and had apologised. He said Mr Moseley had told him to do this. He emphasised he was on a minimum wage plus percentages and was apprenticed to Mr Tyler.
reasonsforpenalty:
We agree that the penalty under this rule is fact specific. We take into account the context in which the words were spoken. They were not directed at anyone and, in particular, not at the jockey that the respondent thought had caused the interference. As he said, Mr Murray was unaware who was at fault. It appears he was simply letting off steam in a completely inappropriate manner. It was clear this was in a loud voice and within the hearing of Mr Davidson, although Mr Davidson does not believe the words were necessarily directed to him. The words were used in an adjectival or descriptive sense; not as f** you or f** that, which we believe would be a graver example of the use of the “f word”.
We have looked to similar cases for some guidance. In Bothamley 2014 the use of foul and abusive language towards the Clerk of the Scales and a Stipendiary Steward resulted in a $300 fine, while in Callaway 2015 the use of offensive language to another jockey on returning to the birdcage led to a fine of $250.
penalty:
Mr Murray’s culpability is less than in these two cases. He is an apprentice jockey, his record is clear under this rule and he has apologised for his actions We impose a fine of $200 and remind him of his professional obligations.
hearing_type: Hearing
Rules: 340
Informant: Mr M Davidson - Stipendiary Steward
JockeysandTrainer: Mr B Murray - Class B Rider
Otherperson: Mr D Walsh - Apprentice Jockey Mentor, assisting Mr Murray
PersonPresent:
Respondent:
StipendSteward:
raceid: 6ef84a8c46e1046cf173438cfc627d3d
race_expapproval:
racecancelled: 0
race_noreport: 0
race_emailed1: 0
race_emailed2: 0
race_title: R 3
submittochair:
race_expappcomment:
race_km:
race_otherexp:
race_chair:
race_pm1:
race_pm2:
meetid: 9150d3c74b3be3e4cba672e354141cb7
meet_expapproval:
meet_noreport: 0
waitingforpublication: 0
meet_emailed1: 0
meet_emailed2: 0
meetdate: 14/10/2018
meet_title: Winton JC - 14 October 2018
meet_expappcomment:
meet_km:
meet_otherexp:
tracklocation: winton-jc
meet_racingtype: thoroughbred-racing
meet_chair: GHall
meet_pm1: MConway
meet_pm2: none
name: Winton JC