Ashburton TC 26 October 2020 – R 3 – Chair, Mr R McKenzie
ID: JCA15227
Meet Title:
Ashburton TC - 26 October 2020
Meet Chair:
RMcKenzie
Meet Committee Member 1:
OJarvis
Race Date:
2020/10/26
Race Number:
R3
Decision:
Miss Thornley having admitted the breach, the charge was found proved.
Penalty:
Miss Thornley is fined the sum of $200.
Facts:
Following the running of Race 3, Mt Hutt Trotting Club Mobile Pace, an Information was filed by Chief Stipendiary Steward, Mr N M Ydgren, against Licensed Junior Driver, Miss O G Thornley, alleging that, as the driver of RIVEERED in the race, she drove carelessly near the 900 metres when shifting ground allowed her horse to contact the sulky tyre of GIVEMEWHATINEED (P J Davis) which punctured”.
Miss Thornley had signed the Statement by the Respondent on the Information form indicating that she admitted the breach and she confirmed this at the hearing, at which she was present. She had sought assistance from Licensed Open Driver, Mr L F O’Reilly, prior to pleading to the charge, but waived assistance at the hearing of the charge.
Rule 869 provides as follows:
(3) No driver shall in any race drive:-
(b) carelessly
Mr Ydgren showed video replays of the incident with approximately 900 metres to run. He pointed out RIVEERED, driven by Miss Thornley, racing on the markers and towards the rear of the field. GIVEMEWHATINEED was racing behind and to the outside of RIVEERED. Mr Davis then progressed past RIVEERED. Mr Ydgren submitted that Miss Thornley noticed that DELIGHTFUL GNP had dropped back from the field and she had attempted to make use of the position that had become available behind Mr Davis. She had misjudged the room available to her when shifting out to follow Mr Davis and had contacted Mr Davis’ sulky wheel and punctured the tyre. Miss Thornley had simply made a miscalculation by not restraining back far enough to be able to make the shift safely, Mr Ydgren said.
Miss Thornley said that her horse is not the easiest to steer. He had a boring pole and an outrigger bit. She had thought that there was room to move out but there was not, she said.
Submissions for Penalty:
Mr Ydgren told the Committee that Miss Thornley has held a Junior Driver’s licence since the 2017/2018 season, but is still a relatively inexperienced driver. She has had 20 drives to date in the current season and, last season, had 41 drives. She has a clear record under the rule.
Mr Ydgren referred to the Penalty Guide starting point for careless driving striking a wheel of a 6-drives suspension or a $300 fine. He submitted that the Committee should take into account that Miss Thornley is a Junior Driver, had admitted the breach and had been good to deal with. He submitted that it was a possible aggravating factor that the chances of GIVEMEWHATINEED of finishing in a higher position may have been affected.
Mr Ydgren submitted that the breach could be dealt with by way of a fine rather than a suspension.
Miss Thornley, when asked by the Committee, said that she would prefer a fine to a term of suspension.
Reasons for Penalty:
The Penalty Guide starting point for careless driving hitting a wheel is a 6-drive suspension or a $300 fine. This breach can adequately be dealt with by way of a fine and Miss Thornley is given a discount for her admission of the breach and her very good record. In arriving at penalty, we also take into account her status as a junior driver. We are not satisfied that the consequences to GIVEMEWHATINEED should be regarded as an aggravating factor going to penalty.
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: 788cebec42a98ef8bd1e6911713f5099
informantnumber: A13607
horsename:
hearing_racingtype:
startdate: no date provided
newcharge: Careless Driving
plea: admitted
penaltyrequired: 1
decisiondate: 29/10/2020
hearing_title: Ashburton TC 26 October 2020 - R 3 - Chair, Mr R McKenzie
charge:
facts:
Following the running of Race 3, Mt Hutt Trotting Club Mobile Pace, an Information was filed by Chief Stipendiary Steward, Mr N M Ydgren, against Licensed Junior Driver, Miss O G Thornley, alleging that, as the driver of RIVEERED in the race, she drove carelessly near the 900 metres when shifting ground allowed her horse to contact the sulky tyre of GIVEMEWHATINEED (P J Davis) which punctured”.
Miss Thornley had signed the Statement by the Respondent on the Information form indicating that she admitted the breach and she confirmed this at the hearing, at which she was present. She had sought assistance from Licensed Open Driver, Mr L F O’Reilly, prior to pleading to the charge, but waived assistance at the hearing of the charge.
Rule 869 provides as follows:
(3) No driver shall in any race drive:-
(b) carelessly
Mr Ydgren showed video replays of the incident with approximately 900 metres to run. He pointed out RIVEERED, driven by Miss Thornley, racing on the markers and towards the rear of the field. GIVEMEWHATINEED was racing behind and to the outside of RIVEERED. Mr Davis then progressed past RIVEERED. Mr Ydgren submitted that Miss Thornley noticed that DELIGHTFUL GNP had dropped back from the field and she had attempted to make use of the position that had become available behind Mr Davis. She had misjudged the room available to her when shifting out to follow Mr Davis and had contacted Mr Davis’ sulky wheel and punctured the tyre. Miss Thornley had simply made a miscalculation by not restraining back far enough to be able to make the shift safely, Mr Ydgren said.
Miss Thornley said that her horse is not the easiest to steer. He had a boring pole and an outrigger bit. She had thought that there was room to move out but there was not, she said.
appealdecision:
isappeal:
submissionsfordecision:
reasonsfordecision:
Decision:
Miss Thornley having admitted the breach, the charge was found proved.
sumissionsforpenalty:
Mr Ydgren told the Committee that Miss Thornley has held a Junior Driver’s licence since the 2017/2018 season, but is still a relatively inexperienced driver. She has had 20 drives to date in the current season and, last season, had 41 drives. She has a clear record under the rule.
Mr Ydgren referred to the Penalty Guide starting point for careless driving striking a wheel of a 6-drives suspension or a $300 fine. He submitted that the Committee should take into account that Miss Thornley is a Junior Driver, had admitted the breach and had been good to deal with. He submitted that it was a possible aggravating factor that the chances of GIVEMEWHATINEED of finishing in a higher position may have been affected.
Mr Ydgren submitted that the breach could be dealt with by way of a fine rather than a suspension.
Miss Thornley, when asked by the Committee, said that she would prefer a fine to a term of suspension.
reasonsforpenalty:
The Penalty Guide starting point for careless driving hitting a wheel is a 6-drive suspension or a $300 fine. This breach can adequately be dealt with by way of a fine and Miss Thornley is given a discount for her admission of the breach and her very good record. In arriving at penalty, we also take into account her status as a junior driver. We are not satisfied that the consequences to GIVEMEWHATINEED should be regarded as an aggravating factor going to penalty.
penalty:
Miss Thornley is fined the sum of $200.
hearing_type: Hearing
Rules: 869(3)(b)
Informant: N M Ydgren, Chief Stipendiary Steward
JockeysandTrainer: O G Thornley, Licensed Junior Driver
Otherperson:
PersonPresent:
Respondent:
StipendSteward:
raceid: 0f98c5b7401b8c8cd877ea7f5dcbc1dc
race_expapproval:
racecancelled: 0
race_noreport: 0
race_emailed1: 0
race_emailed2: 0
race_title: R3
submittochair:
race_expappcomment:
race_km:
race_otherexp:
race_chair:
race_pm1:
race_pm2:
meetid: f6620babd7aee531fc4ddbb12928296e
meet_expapproval:
meet_noreport: 0
waitingforpublication: 0
meet_emailed1: 0
meet_emailed2: 0
meetdate: 26/10/2020
meet_title: Ashburton TC - 26 October 2020
meet_expappcomment:
meet_km:
meet_otherexp:
tracklocation: ashburton-tc
meet_racingtype: harness-racing
meet_chair: RMcKenzie
meet_pm1: OJarvis
meet_pm2: none
name: Ashburton TC