Archive Decision

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R Rotorua 4 November 2016 – R 4 – Chair, Mr N McCutcheon

ID: JCA18145

Applicant:
Mr A Coles - Stipendiary Steward

Information Number:
A7891

Hearing Type:
Hearing

New Charge:
Failing to follow a directive by the Stipendiary Steward

Rules:
802(1)(a)

Plea:
admitted

Code:
Thoroughbred

Meet Title:
Racing Rotorua - 4 November 2016

Meet Chair:
NMcCutcheon

Meet Committee Member 1:
ADooley

Race Date:
2016/11/04

Race Number:
R 4

Decision:

As Mr Moody endorsed the Information to the effect that he admitted the breach, the Judicial Committee found that the charge was proved.

Penalty:

Mr Moody was fined $500.

Facts:

Prior to the commencement of the hearing, Mr Moody, the Raceday Starter, advised the committee that he did not wish to be present at the hearing and confirmed that he admitted the breach. Mr Moody endorsed the Information accordingly.

Following the running of Race 4 (FIRST NATIONAL ROTORUA 1560), Information No. A7891 was filed with the Judicial Committee. Mr Coles alleged that Mr Moody wilfully failed to perform the act of removing all horses from the barriers so they could undergo a veterinary examination as directed to do so by the Chairman of Stewards.

Rule 802(1)(a) provides:
A person commits a breach of these Rules who: acts in contravention of or fails to comply  with any provision of these Rules or any Regulations made thereunder, or any policy, notice, direction, instruction, guideline, restriction, requirement or condition given, made or
imposed under these Rules.

Mr Coles said that at the first attempt to start the race the gates failed to open with all of the horses moving forward. Mr Coles said that he contacted the Starter and ordered that all horses be removed from their respective starting stalls and be checked by the Veterinary Surgeon and have the starting stalls checked. He said that however only one horse was removed, checked and cleared to race. A second attempt was made to start the race, but again the gates failed to open. Mr Coles said that he once again directed Mr Moody to remove all of the horses and have them checked by the Veterinary Surgeon, and also have the stalls checked. He said that once again this did not happen, with the start eventually being made manually. Mr Coles said that when questioned on the matter following the running of the race, Mr Moody’s only explanation was that the Jockeys had said that everything was alright but conceded that he had made a mistake.

Submissions for Penalty:

Mr Coles submitted that in his opinion the breach of the Rule was a relatively serious matter as a horse/s could have raced with an injury. He submitted that a fine of not less than $500 be imposed.

Reasons for Penalty:

The committee deemed the non-compliance of the Stipendiary Steward’s directives by Mr Moody to be inexcusable. The matter could have had far-reaching ramifications as a horse or horses could have raced with an injury. This would have been a horse welfare issue and furthermore could have impacted negatively on the horse/s performance in the said race. As a consequence connections and punters interests could have been adversely affected. The penalty to be imposed must be at such a level that it not only suitably penalises the defendant, but also sends a clear message that a directive to Raceday officials by a Stipendiary Steward must be adhered to at all times.

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: f338499704702c15427bc9ee9f264ffa


informantnumber: A7891


horsename:


hearing_racingtype:


startdate: no date provided


newcharge: Failing to follow a directive by the Stipendiary Steward


plea: admitted


penaltyrequired: 1


decisiondate: 07/11/2016


hearing_title: R Rotorua 4 November 2016 - R 4 - Chair, Mr N McCutcheon


charge:


facts:

Prior to the commencement of the hearing, Mr Moody, the Raceday Starter, advised the committee that he did not wish to be present at the hearing and confirmed that he admitted the breach. Mr Moody endorsed the Information accordingly.

Following the running of Race 4 (FIRST NATIONAL ROTORUA 1560), Information No. A7891 was filed with the Judicial Committee. Mr Coles alleged that Mr Moody wilfully failed to perform the act of removing all horses from the barriers so they could undergo a veterinary examination as directed to do so by the Chairman of Stewards.

Rule 802(1)(a) provides:
A person commits a breach of these Rules who: acts in contravention of or fails to comply  with any provision of these Rules or any Regulations made thereunder, or any policy, notice, direction, instruction, guideline, restriction, requirement or condition given, made or
imposed under these Rules.

Mr Coles said that at the first attempt to start the race the gates failed to open with all of the horses moving forward. Mr Coles said that he contacted the Starter and ordered that all horses be removed from their respective starting stalls and be checked by the Veterinary Surgeon and have the starting stalls checked. He said that however only one horse was removed, checked and cleared to race. A second attempt was made to start the race, but again the gates failed to open. Mr Coles said that he once again directed Mr Moody to remove all of the horses and have them checked by the Veterinary Surgeon, and also have the stalls checked. He said that once again this did not happen, with the start eventually being made manually. Mr Coles said that when questioned on the matter following the running of the race, Mr Moody’s only explanation was that the Jockeys had said that everything was alright but conceded that he had made a mistake.


appealdecision:


isappeal:


submissionsfordecision:


reasonsfordecision:


Decision:

As Mr Moody endorsed the Information to the effect that he admitted the breach, the Judicial Committee found that the charge was proved.


sumissionsforpenalty:

Mr Coles submitted that in his opinion the breach of the Rule was a relatively serious matter as a horse/s could have raced with an injury. He submitted that a fine of not less than $500 be imposed.


reasonsforpenalty:

The committee deemed the non-compliance of the Stipendiary Steward’s directives by Mr Moody to be inexcusable. The matter could have had far-reaching ramifications as a horse or horses could have raced with an injury. This would have been a horse welfare issue and furthermore could have impacted negatively on the horse/s performance in the said race. As a consequence connections and punters interests could have been adversely affected. The penalty to be imposed must be at such a level that it not only suitably penalises the defendant, but also sends a clear message that a directive to Raceday officials by a Stipendiary Steward must be adhered to at all times.


penalty:

Mr Moody was fined $500.


hearing_type: Hearing


Rules: 802(1)(a)


Informant: Mr A Coles - Stipendiary Steward


JockeysandTrainer:


Otherperson:


PersonPresent:


Respondent:


StipendSteward:


raceid: 951681626a8f6a713559e07a89356eb9


race_expapproval:


racecancelled: 0


race_noreport: 0


race_emailed1: 0


race_emailed2: 0


race_title: R 4


submittochair:


race_expappcomment:


race_km:


race_otherexp:


race_chair:


race_pm1:


race_pm2:


meetid: 1fc2b2c2915b5f42286417e80e0bb428


meet_expapproval:


meet_noreport: 0


waitingforpublication: 0


meet_emailed1: 0


meet_emailed2: 0


meetdate: 04/11/2016


meet_title: Racing Rotorua - 4 November 2016


meet_expappcomment:


meet_km:


meet_otherexp:


tracklocation: racing-rotorua


meet_racingtype: thoroughbred-racing


meet_chair: NMcCutcheon


meet_pm1: ADooley


meet_pm2: none


name: Racing Rotorua