Auckland TC 15 July 2020 – R 1 – Chair, Mr G Jones
ID: JCA11481
Meet Title:
Auckland TC - 15 July 2020
Meet Chair:
GJones
Race Date:
2020/07/15
Race Number:
R 1
Decision:
As Mr Hadley admitted the breach it is deemed to be proved.
Penalty:
Mr Hadley’s Amateur Licence to drive in races was suspended from end of racing on 15 July 2020 until after racing on 29 July 2020 (inclusive) and he was also fined the sum of $250. The two meetings encompassed by the suspension are the Cambridge meeting on 22 July 2020 and the Auckland meeting on 29 July 2020.
Facts:
This charge arises from the running of Race 1, the Lonestar AP Open Now Mobile Pace 1700m. An information was filed by Senior Stipendiary Steward Mr Muirhead alleging Amateur Horseman Mr B Hadley, breached Rule 869 (3)(b) “in that he drove FORTUNE SMILES carelessly allowing the mare to shift ground outward from inside the 800 metres to a 3-wide position allowing the trailing EXPRESS PLAY to improve to its inside with 550 metres to run ”.
Mr Hadley endorsed the Information ‘I do admit the breach of the rule’. At the commencement of the hearing he confirmed his admission and advised that he understood the nature of the charge.
Rule 869 (3)(b) provides:
No horseman in any race shall drive carelessly.
Mr Muirhead used head and side on video films to demonstrate the incident. He stated that as the field approached the 800-metre mark FORTUNE SMILES was in the lead and on the back of that runner, in the trail was EXPRESS PLAY. He said that at this point Mr Hadley commenced an outward movement. He continued the movement for about 250 metres until his drive was still in the lead, but in a 3-wide position. Mr Muirhead said that this enabled EXPRESS PLAY to improve on the inside of FORTUNE SMILES and compete for the lead. Mr Muirhead said that in allowing his horse to drift outward, Mr Hadley failed to exercise due care. He added that during the post-race investigation Mr Hadley said that he believed that FORTUNE SMILES “shied away from something”. Mr Muirhead said Stewards did not accept this explanation and pointed out that when FORTUNE SMILES was shifting Mr Hadley turned his whip around and this may have been a contributing factor.
In response Mr Hadley said that he freely accepted that he was careless, but believed the breach was at the low end of the scale. He added that he thought his horse did “shy at something” and that he did take corrective action.
Submissions for Penalty:
Mr Muirhead submitted that Mr Hadley has a very good driving record and that he could not recall him having been charged with a breach of any rule since commencing Amateur driving in 2011. He said he has since had 43 lifetime drives and 5 this current season. Mr Muirhead said that Mr Hadley’s drive was bordering on incompetent and although no other horses were checked his own drive was disadvantaged and it changed the whole complexion of the race. He placed Mr Hadley’s level of carelessness in the mid-range. Mr Muirhead submitted that due to limited races available for Amateur Drivers a combined fine and suspension would be appropriate in this case.
In response Mr Hadley submitted that due to limited number of races available to Amateur Drivers he would prefer a fine as opposed to a suspension. He said that he was in a financial position to be able to pay a fine.
Reasons for Penalty:
The JCA Penalty Guide provides a starting point of a 10-drive suspension or a $500 fine for careless driving. The Committee has noted that similar recent breaches have incurred penalties ranging from fines between $200 to $500 and/or suspensions in the 2 to 3-day range depending on case specific circumstances.
After taking into account the submissions of both the Informant and Respondent and noting the race film, the breach was assessed to be in the mid-range. Although Mr Hadley disadvantaged the chances of his own horse he did not interfere with others. He has ample opportunity to straighten up his drive but did not do so immediately and as a consequence continued to drift outward for a distance close to 250 metres.
Also taken into account is the fact that Amateur Drivers are unpaid and they have limited driving opportunities. However, despite their Amateur status they must adhere to the rules, drive competently and in particular they must at all times exercise the same degree and attention that a professional driver would exercise in the same circumstances.
In the final result a combined fine and suspension was determined as being an appropriate penalty in the circumstances of this case. Accordingly, Mr Hadley is fined $250 and suspended for 2 Northern race meetings.
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: 21af7fa0db2807006ca317be4c04d466
informantnumber: A12958
horsename:
hearing_racingtype:
startdate: no date provided
newcharge: Careless Driving
plea: admitted
penaltyrequired: 1
decisiondate: 16/07/2020
hearing_title: Auckland TC 15 July 2020 - R 1 - Chair, Mr G Jones
charge:
facts:
This charge arises from the running of Race 1, the Lonestar AP Open Now Mobile Pace 1700m. An information was filed by Senior Stipendiary Steward Mr Muirhead alleging Amateur Horseman Mr B Hadley, breached Rule 869 (3)(b) “in that he drove FORTUNE SMILES carelessly allowing the mare to shift ground outward from inside the 800 metres to a 3-wide position allowing the trailing EXPRESS PLAY to improve to its inside with 550 metres to run ”.
Mr Hadley endorsed the Information ‘I do admit the breach of the rule’. At the commencement of the hearing he confirmed his admission and advised that he understood the nature of the charge.
Rule 869 (3)(b) provides:
No horseman in any race shall drive carelessly.
Mr Muirhead used head and side on video films to demonstrate the incident. He stated that as the field approached the 800-metre mark FORTUNE SMILES was in the lead and on the back of that runner, in the trail was EXPRESS PLAY. He said that at this point Mr Hadley commenced an outward movement. He continued the movement for about 250 metres until his drive was still in the lead, but in a 3-wide position. Mr Muirhead said that this enabled EXPRESS PLAY to improve on the inside of FORTUNE SMILES and compete for the lead. Mr Muirhead said that in allowing his horse to drift outward, Mr Hadley failed to exercise due care. He added that during the post-race investigation Mr Hadley said that he believed that FORTUNE SMILES “shied away from something”. Mr Muirhead said Stewards did not accept this explanation and pointed out that when FORTUNE SMILES was shifting Mr Hadley turned his whip around and this may have been a contributing factor.
In response Mr Hadley said that he freely accepted that he was careless, but believed the breach was at the low end of the scale. He added that he thought his horse did “shy at something” and that he did take corrective action.
appealdecision:
isappeal:
submissionsfordecision:
reasonsfordecision:
Decision:
As Mr Hadley admitted the breach it is deemed to be proved.
sumissionsforpenalty:
Mr Muirhead submitted that Mr Hadley has a very good driving record and that he could not recall him having been charged with a breach of any rule since commencing Amateur driving in 2011. He said he has since had 43 lifetime drives and 5 this current season. Mr Muirhead said that Mr Hadley’s drive was bordering on incompetent and although no other horses were checked his own drive was disadvantaged and it changed the whole complexion of the race. He placed Mr Hadley’s level of carelessness in the mid-range. Mr Muirhead submitted that due to limited races available for Amateur Drivers a combined fine and suspension would be appropriate in this case.
In response Mr Hadley submitted that due to limited number of races available to Amateur Drivers he would prefer a fine as opposed to a suspension. He said that he was in a financial position to be able to pay a fine.
reasonsforpenalty:
The JCA Penalty Guide provides a starting point of a 10-drive suspension or a $500 fine for careless driving. The Committee has noted that similar recent breaches have incurred penalties ranging from fines between $200 to $500 and/or suspensions in the 2 to 3-day range depending on case specific circumstances.
After taking into account the submissions of both the Informant and Respondent and noting the race film, the breach was assessed to be in the mid-range. Although Mr Hadley disadvantaged the chances of his own horse he did not interfere with others. He has ample opportunity to straighten up his drive but did not do so immediately and as a consequence continued to drift outward for a distance close to 250 metres.
Also taken into account is the fact that Amateur Drivers are unpaid and they have limited driving opportunities. However, despite their Amateur status they must adhere to the rules, drive competently and in particular they must at all times exercise the same degree and attention that a professional driver would exercise in the same circumstances.
In the final result a combined fine and suspension was determined as being an appropriate penalty in the circumstances of this case. Accordingly, Mr Hadley is fined $250 and suspended for 2 Northern race meetings.
penalty:
Mr Hadley’s Amateur Licence to drive in races was suspended from end of racing on 15 July 2020 until after racing on 29 July 2020 (inclusive) and he was also fined the sum of $250. The two meetings encompassed by the suspension are the Cambridge meeting on 22 July 2020 and the Auckland meeting on 29 July 2020.
hearing_type: Hearing
Rules: 869(3)(b)
Informant: Mr J Muirhead - Senior Stipendiary Steward
JockeysandTrainer: Mr B Hadley - Amateur Horseman and Driver of FORTUNE SMILES
Otherperson: Mr S Mulcay - Senior Stipendiary Steward, Mr A Dooley - Stipendiary Steward
PersonPresent:
Respondent:
StipendSteward:
raceid: 50d4cc492113a4b1b0b0b3b115f1e2ea
race_expapproval:
racecancelled: 0
race_noreport: 0
race_emailed1: 0
race_emailed2: 0
race_title: R 1
submittochair:
race_expappcomment:
race_km:
race_otherexp:
race_chair:
race_pm1:
race_pm2:
meetid: d7654943d38a879b3bdcebbe476f2720
meet_expapproval:
meet_noreport: 0
waitingforpublication: 0
meet_emailed1: 0
meet_emailed2: 0
meetdate: 15/07/2020
meet_title: Auckland TC - 15 July 2020
meet_expappcomment:
meet_km:
meet_otherexp:
tracklocation: auckland-tc
meet_racingtype: harness-racing
meet_chair: GJones
meet_pm1: none
meet_pm2: none
name: Auckland TC