NZ Metro TC – 12 February 2010 – Race 10
ID: JCA20531
Hearing Type (Code):
harness-racing
Meet Title:
NZ Metro TC - 12 February 2010
Race Date:
2010/02/12
Race Number:
Race 10
Decision:
Information No: 68078
--Meeting: New Zealand Metropolitan Trotting Club Date: 12 February 2010
--Venue: Addington Raceway, Christchurch Race No: 10
--Rule(s): 303 (2)
--Judicial Committee:
--Chairman: R G McKenzie, Panel Members: J M Phelan and S C Ching
--Plea: Admitted
--Appearing:
--Informant: N G McIntyre, Stipendiary Steward
--Defendant: S D Lethaby, Licensed Open Horseman
--DECISION AND REASONS:
Information No. 68078 was filed by Stipendiary Steward, Mr N G McIntyre, against Licensed Open Horseman, Mr S D Lethaby, alleging a breach of Rule 303 (2) in that Mr Lethaby “misconducted himself in the manner in which he spoke to the Stipendiary Stewards and the language that he used”.
The information was filed with the Registrar on racenight and adjourned as Mr Lethaby had left the course. The information was heard at the meeting of Hororata Trotting Club at Addington Raceway on 26 February 2010.
--
Information No: 68078
--Meeting: New Zealand Metropolitan Trotting Club Date: 12 February 2010
--Venue: Addington Raceway, Christchurch Race No: 10
--Rule(s): 303 (2)
--Judicial Committee:
--Chairman: R G McKenzie, Panel Members: J M Phelan and S C Ching
--Plea: Admitted
--Appearing:
--Informant: N G McIntyre, Stipendiary Steward
--Defendant: S D Lethaby, Licensed Open Horseman
--DECISION AND REASONS:
Information No. 68078 was filed by Stipendiary Steward, Mr N G McIntyre, against Licensed Open Horseman, Mr S D Lethaby, alleging a breach of Rule 303 (2) in that Mr Lethaby “misconducted himself in the manner in which he spoke to the Stipendiary Stewards and the language that he used”.
The information was filed with the Registrar on racenight and adjourned as Mr Lethaby had left the course. The information was heard at the meeting of Hororata Trotting Club at Addington Raceway on 26 February 2010.
--Mr Lethaby was present at the hearing of the information and he indicated that he admitted the breach. The charge of misconduct was found proved accordingly.
--Rule 303 provides as follows:
(2) No person or body who holds a permit or licence under these Rules and no owner, trainer, breeder, stablehand, unlicensed apprentice or racing manager shall misconduct himself or fail to comply with any request, direction, or instruction of any Stipendiary Steward, Racecourse Inspector or Starter.
Mrs K R Williams, Stipendiary Steward, advised at the outset of the hearing that she was representing Mr McIntyre at the hearing.
--Mrs Williams said that, after the running of Race 10 at the meeting of New Zealand Metropolitan Trotting Club at Addington Raceway on 12 February 2010, Mr Lethaby was requested by the Stipendiary Stewards to attend the Stewards’ room regarding an incident in the Race in which his drive, ALL MIGHTY, had broken passing the 900 metres. She said that present in the room were herself, Messrs McIntyre and Renault, Stipendiary Stewards, and the typist, Mrs M Harris.
--
Mrs Williams stated that she questioned Mr Lethaby in relation to the incident. She said that, initially, he was very calm and answered her questions. Mr Lethaby’s manner changed when it was suggested that he may have been responsible for the incident. He became agitated and started to use the “f word” continuously. He was warned by Mrs Williams to watch his language and to calm down or he may be charged with misconduct. He continued to swear and said “this is a fucking joke”. He went to leave the room and was requested by Mrs Williams to remain to which he replied “you can all go and get fucked”. He then left the room, slamming the door as he left.
During the course of the Stewards’ investigation, Mr Lethaby used the “f word” on a number of occasions, in the presence of herself and Mrs Harris, as well as the two other Stipendiary Stewards. Mrs Williams said that the incident was “very embarrassing” for herself and the others in the room. She submitted that it was a serious case of misconduct. It was also of concern that Mr Lethaby had, at no stage, tendered any apology, Mrs Williams said.
--Mr Renault confirmed the version of facts as outlined by Mrs Williams.
--Mr Lethaby stated that he recalled using the “f word” only twice, but acknowledged that he should not have used it. He said that he was “pretty fired up”. He had initially been quite calm but Mrs Williams’ attitude towards him was “poor”, which upset him. She had raised her voice needlessly, he said. He became very frustrated and said some things he ought not to have said and now regretted. In the circumstances, he did not intend to apologise to Mrs Williams.
--Mrs Williams denied that she had raised her voice to Mr Lethaby. This was supported by Messrs Renault and McIntyre.
--Mrs Williams recommended that a fine of $500 be imposed. She referred to the penalties in a number of earlier cases.
--Mr Lethaby told the Committee that he is an apprentice blacksmith and his earnings are “not that high”. He asked the Committee to consider a suspension.
--The Committee noted that the JCA Penalty Guide recommended a starting point of a fine of $500 for misconduct involving “grossly offensive behaviour”. The Committee was satisfied that Mr Lethaby’s conduct on this occasion was in that category. The Committee viewed the seriousness of Mr Lethaby’s conduct as being at the upper end of the scale. It is totally unacceptable for a horseman, in any circumstances, to use language directed at Stipendiary Stewards such as used by Mr Lethaby and to behave in the manner that he did. The Stewards have an important role in the running of a race meeting and they must be able to carry out that role and are entitled to expect the cooperation of horsemen in the carrying out of their duties.
--Taking a fine of $500 as a starting point, the Committee then had regard to a number of factors. Aggravating factors were, firstly, the serious nature of the language and behaviour on this occasion and, secondly, that Mr Lethaby appeared to show no remorse. Mitigating factors were Mr Lethaby’s admission of the breach and his previous good record. The Committee took all of those matters into account as well as Mr Lethaby’s financial circumstances which, he assured the Committee, were not great.
--Taking all of those matters into account, the Committee decided that a fine of $650 was appropriate and Mr Lethaby was fined the sum of $650 accordingly.
--
R G McKenzie J M Phelan and S C Ching
CHAIR Committee Members
68078
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: 980adcd63716b9d11212a16f50d27dd4
informantnumber:
horsename:
hearing_racingtype: harness-racing
startdate: 12/02/2010
newcharge:
plea:
penaltyrequired:
decisiondate: no date provided
hearing_title: NZ Metro TC - 12 February 2010 - Race 10
charge:
facts:
appealdecision:
isappeal:
submissionsfordecision:
reasonsfordecision:
Decision:
Information No: 68078
--Meeting: New Zealand Metropolitan Trotting Club Date: 12 February 2010
--Venue: Addington Raceway, Christchurch Race No: 10
--Rule(s): 303 (2)
--Judicial Committee:
--Chairman: R G McKenzie, Panel Members: J M Phelan and S C Ching
--Plea: Admitted
--Appearing:
--Informant: N G McIntyre, Stipendiary Steward
--Defendant: S D Lethaby, Licensed Open Horseman
--DECISION AND REASONS:
Information No. 68078 was filed by Stipendiary Steward, Mr N G McIntyre, against Licensed Open Horseman, Mr S D Lethaby, alleging a breach of Rule 303 (2) in that Mr Lethaby “misconducted himself in the manner in which he spoke to the Stipendiary Stewards and the language that he used”.
The information was filed with the Registrar on racenight and adjourned as Mr Lethaby had left the course. The information was heard at the meeting of Hororata Trotting Club at Addington Raceway on 26 February 2010.
--
Information No: 68078
--Meeting: New Zealand Metropolitan Trotting Club Date: 12 February 2010
--Venue: Addington Raceway, Christchurch Race No: 10
--Rule(s): 303 (2)
--Judicial Committee:
--Chairman: R G McKenzie, Panel Members: J M Phelan and S C Ching
--Plea: Admitted
--Appearing:
--Informant: N G McIntyre, Stipendiary Steward
--Defendant: S D Lethaby, Licensed Open Horseman
--DECISION AND REASONS:
Information No. 68078 was filed by Stipendiary Steward, Mr N G McIntyre, against Licensed Open Horseman, Mr S D Lethaby, alleging a breach of Rule 303 (2) in that Mr Lethaby “misconducted himself in the manner in which he spoke to the Stipendiary Stewards and the language that he used”.
The information was filed with the Registrar on racenight and adjourned as Mr Lethaby had left the course. The information was heard at the meeting of Hororata Trotting Club at Addington Raceway on 26 February 2010.
--Mr Lethaby was present at the hearing of the information and he indicated that he admitted the breach. The charge of misconduct was found proved accordingly.
--Rule 303 provides as follows:
(2) No person or body who holds a permit or licence under these Rules and no owner, trainer, breeder, stablehand, unlicensed apprentice or racing manager shall misconduct himself or fail to comply with any request, direction, or instruction of any Stipendiary Steward, Racecourse Inspector or Starter.
Mrs K R Williams, Stipendiary Steward, advised at the outset of the hearing that she was representing Mr McIntyre at the hearing.
--Mrs Williams said that, after the running of Race 10 at the meeting of New Zealand Metropolitan Trotting Club at Addington Raceway on 12 February 2010, Mr Lethaby was requested by the Stipendiary Stewards to attend the Stewards’ room regarding an incident in the Race in which his drive, ALL MIGHTY, had broken passing the 900 metres. She said that present in the room were herself, Messrs McIntyre and Renault, Stipendiary Stewards, and the typist, Mrs M Harris.
--
Mrs Williams stated that she questioned Mr Lethaby in relation to the incident. She said that, initially, he was very calm and answered her questions. Mr Lethaby’s manner changed when it was suggested that he may have been responsible for the incident. He became agitated and started to use the “f word” continuously. He was warned by Mrs Williams to watch his language and to calm down or he may be charged with misconduct. He continued to swear and said “this is a fucking joke”. He went to leave the room and was requested by Mrs Williams to remain to which he replied “you can all go and get fucked”. He then left the room, slamming the door as he left.
During the course of the Stewards’ investigation, Mr Lethaby used the “f word” on a number of occasions, in the presence of herself and Mrs Harris, as well as the two other Stipendiary Stewards. Mrs Williams said that the incident was “very embarrassing” for herself and the others in the room. She submitted that it was a serious case of misconduct. It was also of concern that Mr Lethaby had, at no stage, tendered any apology, Mrs Williams said.
--Mr Renault confirmed the version of facts as outlined by Mrs Williams.
--Mr Lethaby stated that he recalled using the “f word” only twice, but acknowledged that he should not have used it. He said that he was “pretty fired up”. He had initially been quite calm but Mrs Williams’ attitude towards him was “poor”, which upset him. She had raised her voice needlessly, he said. He became very frustrated and said some things he ought not to have said and now regretted. In the circumstances, he did not intend to apologise to Mrs Williams.
--Mrs Williams denied that she had raised her voice to Mr Lethaby. This was supported by Messrs Renault and McIntyre.
--Mrs Williams recommended that a fine of $500 be imposed. She referred to the penalties in a number of earlier cases.
--Mr Lethaby told the Committee that he is an apprentice blacksmith and his earnings are “not that high”. He asked the Committee to consider a suspension.
--The Committee noted that the JCA Penalty Guide recommended a starting point of a fine of $500 for misconduct involving “grossly offensive behaviour”. The Committee was satisfied that Mr Lethaby’s conduct on this occasion was in that category. The Committee viewed the seriousness of Mr Lethaby’s conduct as being at the upper end of the scale. It is totally unacceptable for a horseman, in any circumstances, to use language directed at Stipendiary Stewards such as used by Mr Lethaby and to behave in the manner that he did. The Stewards have an important role in the running of a race meeting and they must be able to carry out that role and are entitled to expect the cooperation of horsemen in the carrying out of their duties.
--Taking a fine of $500 as a starting point, the Committee then had regard to a number of factors. Aggravating factors were, firstly, the serious nature of the language and behaviour on this occasion and, secondly, that Mr Lethaby appeared to show no remorse. Mitigating factors were Mr Lethaby’s admission of the breach and his previous good record. The Committee took all of those matters into account as well as Mr Lethaby’s financial circumstances which, he assured the Committee, were not great.
--Taking all of those matters into account, the Committee decided that a fine of $650 was appropriate and Mr Lethaby was fined the sum of $650 accordingly.
--
R G McKenzie J M Phelan and S C Ching
CHAIR Committee Members
68078
sumissionsforpenalty:
reasonsforpenalty:
penalty:
hearing_type: Old Hearing
Rules: 303.2
Informant:
JockeysandTrainer:
Otherperson:
PersonPresent:
Respondent:
StipendSteward:
raceid: 906f3699cabb4363fc2399eece9843cb
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race_title: Race 10
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meetdate: 12/02/2010
meet_title: NZ Metro TC - 12 February 2010
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