Auckland TC 11 November 2011 – R 3
ID: JCA13169
Meet Title:
Auckland TC - 11 November 2011
Meet Chair:
GJones
Meet Committee Member 1:
BScott
Race Date:
2011/11/11
Race Number:
R 3
Decision:
The Committee finds the breach proved.
Penalty:
For reasons set out above we impose a suspension commencing at the end of racing on 11 November 2011 and concluding at the end of racing on 9 December 2011. This equates to 5 (Northern) driving days.
Charge:
Alleged breach of Rule 869(3)(b) - Careless Driving
Facts:
Following the running of Race 3, an Information was filed by Stipendiary Steward Mr J Muirhead against Open Horseman Mr I Brownlee, the driver of “LIVE TO ROLL” (12), alleging a breach of Rule 869(3) (b), the Easing Down Rule and in doing so was careless.
The Information alleged that:
“Horseman I Brownlee drove LIVE TO ROLL carelessly causing interference to his own horse when he failed to concede his position when being eased inward inside NO ANGEL (S Reid) racing toward the first bend”.
Rule 869(3) (b) provides that:
“No horseman in any race shall drive carelessly”.
The Easing Down Rules Provide that:
“Any horseman who fails to concede when not in a position to maintain his/her place may be charged under Rule 869 (3) (b) Careless Driving”.
Mr Brownlee indicated to the Judicial Committee (“the Committee”) that he did not admit the breach of the Rule and that he wished to be present at the hearing.
Submissions for Decision:
Mr J Muirhead and Open Horseman Mr S Reid, the driver of NO ANGEL, gave evidence on behalf of the Informant. Mr Muirhead demonstrated the alleged breach by way of video footage. Mr Muirhead said that Mr Brownlee, the driver of LIVE TO ROLL, was positioned at the start of the race 4th on the second line and NO ANGEL left the barrier from four on the front-line. He said that shortly after the start of the race Mr Brownlee hunted his horse up on the inside of NO ANGEL to hold his position. In doing so he caused his own horse, LIVE TO ROLL, to break. Mr Muirhead said that Mr Brownlee should have conceded his position, he took an unnecessary risk and that the break was a direct result of his actions.
Mr Reid said that after the start he attempted to ease NO ANGEL down into the running line and his sulky wheel made contact with LIVE TO ROLL. Mr Reid said that he was entitled to move in and that he expected Mr Brownlee to concede his position.
Mr Brownlee asked Mr Reid under cross examination whether or not he thought the contact between horses was severe. Mr Reid conceded that it was not severe.
Mr Brownlee did not provide any direct evidence in support of his defence. Rather he submitted that his horse had only had four previous race starts and that it was inexperienced. Mr Brownlee said that he knew what was happening and that he did not think that the interference between his drive and NO ANGEL was severe. He conceded that there was contact between the two horses but “nine out of ten times I would have been on the fence without my horse breaking”. At that point the Committee read to Mr Brownlee the Rules relating to Easing Down.
Reasons for Decision:
The fact that LIVE TO ROLL broke is not in dispute. This was clearly demonstrated on the video footage of the incident. The issue is whether Mr Reid was permitted to ease NO ANGEL down due to having a clear advantage over LIVE TO ROLL who was racing on his inside.
The Committee is satisfied on the evidence presented that LIVE TO ROLL broke because Mr Brownlee ‘hunted it up’ and did not concede his position when he ought to have. This was an error of judgement on the part of Mr Brownlee. On that basis Mr Brownlee was careless in that he breached the provisions of the Easing Down Rule.
Submissions for Penalty:
Mr Muirhead submitted the actions of Mr Brownlee were severe in that he put other drivers at risk. He assessed the breach as being at the upper end of seriousness. He submitted that the breach warranted a suspension of at least 1 month and that Mr Brownlee is not entitled to credit for an early plea. Mr Brownlee has previously breached this Rule on 25/08/11 and was suspended for 1 month.
Mr Brownlee submitted that the Committee should take into account the fact that his horse was worst affected as a result of the incident and that there was no malice on his part. He said that he trains 5 horses and they are all ready to race in the next month. He submitted that he was not in a position to pay a fine.
Reasons for Penalty:
The Committee finds that this breach is above mid-range in that the manoeuvre that Mr Brownlee undertook put himself and potentially other drivers and horses at risk. We believe that the risk was avoidable and could have been averted had Mr Brownlee conceded his position. We have taken into account the submissions of all parties and Mr Brownlee's driving record which includes a recent breach of this Rule.
JCA Decision Fields (raw)
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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: 4cf6f538ebc3e5a7dc84cdee7857b9d2
informantnumber: 66821
horsename:
hearing_racingtype:
startdate: no date provided
newcharge:
plea: denied
penaltyrequired: 1
decisiondate: 14/11/2011
hearing_title: Auckland TC 11 November 2011 - R 3
charge:
Alleged breach of Rule 869(3)(b) - Careless Driving
facts:
Following the running of Race 3, an Information was filed by Stipendiary Steward Mr J Muirhead against Open Horseman Mr I Brownlee, the driver of “LIVE TO ROLL” (12), alleging a breach of Rule 869(3) (b), the Easing Down Rule and in doing so was careless.
The Information alleged that:
“Horseman I Brownlee drove LIVE TO ROLL carelessly causing interference to his own horse when he failed to concede his position when being eased inward inside NO ANGEL (S Reid) racing toward the first bend”.
Rule 869(3) (b) provides that:
“No horseman in any race shall drive carelessly”.
The Easing Down Rules Provide that:
“Any horseman who fails to concede when not in a position to maintain his/her place may be charged under Rule 869 (3) (b) Careless Driving”.
Mr Brownlee indicated to the Judicial Committee (“the Committee”) that he did not admit the breach of the Rule and that he wished to be present at the hearing.
appealdecision:
isappeal:
submissionsfordecision:
Mr J Muirhead and Open Horseman Mr S Reid, the driver of NO ANGEL, gave evidence on behalf of the Informant. Mr Muirhead demonstrated the alleged breach by way of video footage. Mr Muirhead said that Mr Brownlee, the driver of LIVE TO ROLL, was positioned at the start of the race 4th on the second line and NO ANGEL left the barrier from four on the front-line. He said that shortly after the start of the race Mr Brownlee hunted his horse up on the inside of NO ANGEL to hold his position. In doing so he caused his own horse, LIVE TO ROLL, to break. Mr Muirhead said that Mr Brownlee should have conceded his position, he took an unnecessary risk and that the break was a direct result of his actions.
Mr Reid said that after the start he attempted to ease NO ANGEL down into the running line and his sulky wheel made contact with LIVE TO ROLL. Mr Reid said that he was entitled to move in and that he expected Mr Brownlee to concede his position.
Mr Brownlee asked Mr Reid under cross examination whether or not he thought the contact between horses was severe. Mr Reid conceded that it was not severe.
Mr Brownlee did not provide any direct evidence in support of his defence. Rather he submitted that his horse had only had four previous race starts and that it was inexperienced. Mr Brownlee said that he knew what was happening and that he did not think that the interference between his drive and NO ANGEL was severe. He conceded that there was contact between the two horses but “nine out of ten times I would have been on the fence without my horse breaking”. At that point the Committee read to Mr Brownlee the Rules relating to Easing Down.
reasonsfordecision:
The fact that LIVE TO ROLL broke is not in dispute. This was clearly demonstrated on the video footage of the incident. The issue is whether Mr Reid was permitted to ease NO ANGEL down due to having a clear advantage over LIVE TO ROLL who was racing on his inside.
The Committee is satisfied on the evidence presented that LIVE TO ROLL broke because Mr Brownlee ‘hunted it up’ and did not concede his position when he ought to have. This was an error of judgement on the part of Mr Brownlee. On that basis Mr Brownlee was careless in that he breached the provisions of the Easing Down Rule.
Decision:
The Committee finds the breach proved.
sumissionsforpenalty:
Mr Muirhead submitted the actions of Mr Brownlee were severe in that he put other drivers at risk. He assessed the breach as being at the upper end of seriousness. He submitted that the breach warranted a suspension of at least 1 month and that Mr Brownlee is not entitled to credit for an early plea. Mr Brownlee has previously breached this Rule on 25/08/11 and was suspended for 1 month.
Mr Brownlee submitted that the Committee should take into account the fact that his horse was worst affected as a result of the incident and that there was no malice on his part. He said that he trains 5 horses and they are all ready to race in the next month. He submitted that he was not in a position to pay a fine.
reasonsforpenalty:
The Committee finds that this breach is above mid-range in that the manoeuvre that Mr Brownlee undertook put himself and potentially other drivers and horses at risk. We believe that the risk was avoidable and could have been averted had Mr Brownlee conceded his position. We have taken into account the submissions of all parties and Mr Brownlee's driving record which includes a recent breach of this Rule.
penalty:
For reasons set out above we impose a suspension commencing at the end of racing on 11 November 2011 and concluding at the end of racing on 9 December 2011. This equates to 5 (Northern) driving days.
hearing_type: Hearing
Rules: 869(3)(b)
Informant: Mr J Muirhead - Stipendiary Steward
JockeysandTrainer: Mr I Brownlee - Open Horseman
Otherperson: Mr S Reid - Open Horseman
PersonPresent:
Respondent:
StipendSteward:
raceid: 75f0407ada79d7f6d30d9b4974d899e3
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: 83a83acd05e863bd67db865e91e4ce2e
meet_expapproval:
meet_noreport: 0
waitingforpublication: 0
meet_emailed1: 0
meet_emailed2: 0
meetdate: 11/11/2011
meet_title: Auckland TC - 11 November 2011
meet_expappcomment:
meet_km:
meet_otherexp:
tracklocation: auckland-tc
meet_racingtype: harness-racing
meet_chair: GJones
meet_pm1: BScott
meet_pm2: none
name: Auckland TC