Ashburton TC – 26 December 2009 – Race 8
ID: JCA20640
Hearing Type (Code):
harness-racing
Meet Title:
Ashburton TC - 26 December 2009
Race Date:
2009/12/26
Race Number:
Race 8
Decision:
RACEDAY JUDICIAL COMMITTEE DECISION
--Information No: 68280
--Meeting: Ashburton Trotting Club Date: 26 December 2009
--Venue: Ashburton Raceway, Ashburton Race No: 8
--Rule(s): 864 (2) (d)
--Judicial Committee:
--Chairman: R G McKenzie, Panel Member: K G Hales
--Plea: Not Admitted
--Appearing:
--Informant: N G McIntyre, Stipendiary Steward
--Defendant: J L Stables, Holder of Licence to Train
--DECISION AND REASONS:
--Following the running of Race 8, Harry & Willie of Burdett Real Estate Mobile Pace, an information was filed by Stipendiary Steward, Mr N G McIntyre, against Holder of Licence to Train, Mr J L Stables, alleging a breach of Rule 864 (2) (d) in that “during the running of this race the front near side hopple [on JONNY WILKINSON trained by Mr Stables] came undone which caused the horse to be retired from the race”.
RACEDAY JUDICIAL COMMITTEE DECISION
--Information No: 68280
--Meeting: Ashburton Trotting Club Date: 26 December 2009
--Venue: Ashburton Raceway, Ashburton Race No: 8
--Rule(s): 864 (2) (d)
--Judicial Committee:
--Chairman: R G McKenzie, Panel Member: K G Hales
--Plea: Not Admitted
--Appearing:
--Informant: N G McIntyre, Stipendiary Steward
--Defendant: J L Stables, Holder of Licence to Train
--DECISION AND REASONS:
--Following the running of Race 8, Harry & Willie of Burdett Real Estate Mobile Pace, an information was filed by Stipendiary Steward, Mr N G McIntyre, against Holder of Licence to Train, Mr J L Stables, alleging a breach of Rule 864 (2) (d) in that “during the running of this race the front near side hopple [on JONNY WILKINSON trained by Mr Stables] came undone which caused the horse to be retired from the race”.
--Mr Stables was present at the hearing of the information and indicated that he did not admit the breach.
--Rule 864 provides as follows:
(2) Every horseman, owner, trainer and assistant thereof shall with regard to that horse ensure that:-
(d) all gear is correctly applied and/or affixed so as not to malfunction or come adrift.
Mr McIntyre said that the Stewards had noticed that JONNY WILKINSON had been retired from Race 8 with 800 metres to run. Mr N M Ydgren spoke to the driver, Mr T S Chmiel, upon the horse’s returning to the birdcage. Mr Ydgren noticed that the gear was in good condition however the hopple had come adrift.
--Mr McIntyre showed video replays of the relevant part of the Race. He pointed out JONNY WILKINSON racing in the trail passing the post with a lap to run. The strap on the inside could be seen to not have the loop attached to it. The driver became aware of the problem and could be seen to look down the side of the horse after which he restrained the horse out of the Race. The hopple loop could be seen to be “flapping around”, Mr McIntyre said.
--Mr Stables admitted at the outset that the gear had come adrift during the running. That was obvious, he said. However, he submitted that he had not breached the Rule as he had done everything within his power to ensure that the hopple was attached properly. The strap had been attached to the hopple through the keeper so there was no reason for it to become undone unless the clasp was faulty. The front hopple carrier was, at most, 4 weeks old. The horse only wears hopples on a raceday. He likened what happened to a tyre blowing out without a puncture.
--Following a deliberation, the Committee delivered an oral decision. The Committee noted that the Rule requires that all gear be applied and/or affixed so as not to malfunction or come adrift. It was not disputed, in this case, that the hopple on JONNY WILKINSON had come undone. It was clear from the video replays and Mr Stables readily admitted the fact.
--Mr Stables informed the Committee that the gear was only a few weeks old and that he had taken all appropriate steps to ensure that it was affixed properly. He was unable to give any explanation for the hopple’s coming undone.
--Rule 1008 (b) provides that “any breach of the Rule shall be considered as an offence of strict liability”. That means that the Stipendiary Stewards have to prove no more than the fact that the gear has malfunctioned or come adrift. They have, clearly, discharged that burden in this case.
--Strict liability simply means liability without fault – in other words, the Stipendiary Stewards do not have to prove any fault on Mr Stables’ part. In many cases, it would be impossible for them to do so and the exact cause of a malfunction or gear coming adrift can rarely be determined.
--On the basis that the offence is one of strict liability and the Committee being clearly satisfied that that the hopple on JONNY WILKINSON did come undone, as alleged by the Stipendiary Stewards, the charge was found proved.
--Mr McIntyre recommended a fine of $100 which, he said, was the usual fine for a breach of the Rule.
--Mr Stables had no submissions to make relating to penalty.
--The Committee adjourned to consider penalty. The Committee noted that Mr McIntyre had recommended the usual fine of $100 in this case. However, the Committee believes that the usual fine is for cases where the Defendant admits the charge and does not require a hearing. The Committee believed that the appropriate starting point for a breach of the Rule was, in fact, a fine of $150 which is usually discounted to a fine of $100 in the case of a defendant who admits the charge. In this case, a discount was not appropriate and, therefore, Mr Stables was fined the sum of $150.
--
R G McKenzie K G Hales
CHAIR Committee Member
68280
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: 723cb4c32fb35dc34db56385668dffad
informantnumber:
horsename:
hearing_racingtype: harness-racing
startdate: 26/12/2009
newcharge:
plea:
penaltyrequired:
decisiondate: no date provided
hearing_title: Ashburton TC - 26 December 2009 - Race 8
charge:
facts:
appealdecision:
isappeal:
submissionsfordecision:
reasonsfordecision:
Decision:
RACEDAY JUDICIAL COMMITTEE DECISION
--Information No: 68280
--Meeting: Ashburton Trotting Club Date: 26 December 2009
--Venue: Ashburton Raceway, Ashburton Race No: 8
--Rule(s): 864 (2) (d)
--Judicial Committee:
--Chairman: R G McKenzie, Panel Member: K G Hales
--Plea: Not Admitted
--Appearing:
--Informant: N G McIntyre, Stipendiary Steward
--Defendant: J L Stables, Holder of Licence to Train
--DECISION AND REASONS:
--Following the running of Race 8, Harry & Willie of Burdett Real Estate Mobile Pace, an information was filed by Stipendiary Steward, Mr N G McIntyre, against Holder of Licence to Train, Mr J L Stables, alleging a breach of Rule 864 (2) (d) in that “during the running of this race the front near side hopple [on JONNY WILKINSON trained by Mr Stables] came undone which caused the horse to be retired from the race”.
RACEDAY JUDICIAL COMMITTEE DECISION
--Information No: 68280
--Meeting: Ashburton Trotting Club Date: 26 December 2009
--Venue: Ashburton Raceway, Ashburton Race No: 8
--Rule(s): 864 (2) (d)
--Judicial Committee:
--Chairman: R G McKenzie, Panel Member: K G Hales
--Plea: Not Admitted
--Appearing:
--Informant: N G McIntyre, Stipendiary Steward
--Defendant: J L Stables, Holder of Licence to Train
--DECISION AND REASONS:
--Following the running of Race 8, Harry & Willie of Burdett Real Estate Mobile Pace, an information was filed by Stipendiary Steward, Mr N G McIntyre, against Holder of Licence to Train, Mr J L Stables, alleging a breach of Rule 864 (2) (d) in that “during the running of this race the front near side hopple [on JONNY WILKINSON trained by Mr Stables] came undone which caused the horse to be retired from the race”.
--Mr Stables was present at the hearing of the information and indicated that he did not admit the breach.
--Rule 864 provides as follows:
(2) Every horseman, owner, trainer and assistant thereof shall with regard to that horse ensure that:-
(d) all gear is correctly applied and/or affixed so as not to malfunction or come adrift.
Mr McIntyre said that the Stewards had noticed that JONNY WILKINSON had been retired from Race 8 with 800 metres to run. Mr N M Ydgren spoke to the driver, Mr T S Chmiel, upon the horse’s returning to the birdcage. Mr Ydgren noticed that the gear was in good condition however the hopple had come adrift.
--Mr McIntyre showed video replays of the relevant part of the Race. He pointed out JONNY WILKINSON racing in the trail passing the post with a lap to run. The strap on the inside could be seen to not have the loop attached to it. The driver became aware of the problem and could be seen to look down the side of the horse after which he restrained the horse out of the Race. The hopple loop could be seen to be “flapping around”, Mr McIntyre said.
--Mr Stables admitted at the outset that the gear had come adrift during the running. That was obvious, he said. However, he submitted that he had not breached the Rule as he had done everything within his power to ensure that the hopple was attached properly. The strap had been attached to the hopple through the keeper so there was no reason for it to become undone unless the clasp was faulty. The front hopple carrier was, at most, 4 weeks old. The horse only wears hopples on a raceday. He likened what happened to a tyre blowing out without a puncture.
--Following a deliberation, the Committee delivered an oral decision. The Committee noted that the Rule requires that all gear be applied and/or affixed so as not to malfunction or come adrift. It was not disputed, in this case, that the hopple on JONNY WILKINSON had come undone. It was clear from the video replays and Mr Stables readily admitted the fact.
--Mr Stables informed the Committee that the gear was only a few weeks old and that he had taken all appropriate steps to ensure that it was affixed properly. He was unable to give any explanation for the hopple’s coming undone.
--Rule 1008 (b) provides that “any breach of the Rule shall be considered as an offence of strict liability”. That means that the Stipendiary Stewards have to prove no more than the fact that the gear has malfunctioned or come adrift. They have, clearly, discharged that burden in this case.
--Strict liability simply means liability without fault – in other words, the Stipendiary Stewards do not have to prove any fault on Mr Stables’ part. In many cases, it would be impossible for them to do so and the exact cause of a malfunction or gear coming adrift can rarely be determined.
--On the basis that the offence is one of strict liability and the Committee being clearly satisfied that that the hopple on JONNY WILKINSON did come undone, as alleged by the Stipendiary Stewards, the charge was found proved.
--Mr McIntyre recommended a fine of $100 which, he said, was the usual fine for a breach of the Rule.
--Mr Stables had no submissions to make relating to penalty.
--The Committee adjourned to consider penalty. The Committee noted that Mr McIntyre had recommended the usual fine of $100 in this case. However, the Committee believes that the usual fine is for cases where the Defendant admits the charge and does not require a hearing. The Committee believed that the appropriate starting point for a breach of the Rule was, in fact, a fine of $150 which is usually discounted to a fine of $100 in the case of a defendant who admits the charge. In this case, a discount was not appropriate and, therefore, Mr Stables was fined the sum of $150.
--
R G McKenzie K G Hales
CHAIR Committee Member
68280
sumissionsforpenalty:
reasonsforpenalty:
penalty:
hearing_type: Old Hearing
Rules: 864.2.d, 1008.b
Informant:
JockeysandTrainer:
Otherperson:
PersonPresent:
Respondent:
StipendSteward:
raceid: 1059d93fc7b229847237176f4e7df1cf
race_expapproval:
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race_noreport: 0
race_emailed1: 0
race_emailed2: 0
race_title: Race 8
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meetdate: 26/12/2009
meet_title: Ashburton TC - 26 December 2009
meet_expappcomment:
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tracklocation: ashburton-tc
meet_racingtype: harness-racing
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name: Ashburton TC