Auckland TC 18 January 2019 – R 2 – Chair, Mr A Smith
ID: JCA17006
Meet Title:
Auckland TC - 18 January 2019
Meet Chair:
ASmith
Meet Committee Member 1:
GJones
Race Date:
2019/01/18
Race Number:
R2
Decision:
As Mr Abernethy admitted the breach, the charge was found to be proved.
Penalty:
Accordingly, Mr Abernethy was fined the sum of $300.
Footnote:
Mr Abernethy advised Stewards that he was unable to attend the announcement of the penalty decision from the Judicial Committee. As a result the Judicial Committee advised the Stewards of the penalty, who then advised Mr Abernethy.
Facts:
This charge arises from the running of Race 2, The Alex Bar and Eatery Mobile Pace 2200m. An Information was filed by Senior Stipendiary Steward, Mr J Muirhead against Open Horseman, Mr S Abernethy, alleging a breach of Rule 869(4) and the Home Straight Regulations in that he failed to maintain a straight course in the run home; specifically the particulars of the charge were that M Abernethy failed to maintain full access to the passing lane with GHOSTWRITER causing interference to the progress of SILVIA (B Mangos) in the run home.
Rule 869(4) reads as follows.
(4) No horseman shall during any race do anything which interferes or is likely to interfere with his own horse and/or any other horse or its progress.
PASSING LANES, FALSE RAILS AND HOME STRAIGHT REGULATIONS
The following regulation is made by the Board pursuant to the Rules of Harness Racing.
1. (a) "Passing Lane"
For the purpose of these regulations "passing lane" shall mean an inward expansion of the racetrack on the inside of the straight immediately preceding the winning post (hereinafter referred to as the "home straight") for the purpose of allowing a horse or horses in the last lap of any race to pass on the inside any horse on the running line.
(b) "False Rail"
For the purpose of these regulations a "false rail" shall mean an outward expansion of the racetrack by the attachment of an additional inside rail around the home bend of the track, which attachment once extended shall not be further capable of movement during that race.
(a) “Expanded Inside Lane”
For the purpose of these regulations the term “expanded inside lane” will be used to describe the additional area created by a “passing lane” or “false rail”.
(b) “Running Line”
For the purpose of these regulations “running line” shall mean a line from the inside track marker prior to the commencement of the expanded inside lane to the winning post or such other point of the finish line as directed by the Stipendiary Steward.
3. Except after entering the home straight for the last time in any race, no horse may use the expanded inside lane in an attempt to pass any other horse or horses or improve its position.
Any horse which does so may be disqualified, or relegated under Rule 869A and the horseman shall be in breach of Rule 869(3)(f).
4. In the last lap of any race the leading horse on the running line shall, upon entering the home straight, maintain as straight a course as possible parallel to the running line and allow the trailing horses full access to the expanded inside lane.
5. On any track where the expanded inside lane is designated by the Board as a dual passing lane, the first horse attempting to utilise the expanded inside lane shall take the run available immediately inside the leading horse on the running line thereby allowing trailing horses full access to the remainder of the expanded inside lane.
6. Subject to clause 4 hereof, in the last lap of any race no horse shall move inwards into the expanded inside lane (or any part thereof) when it has an unimpeded run to the finish line.
7. Except where a horseman is making a move pursuant to Rule 869(7) and subject to the preceding provisions of this regulation where applicable, every horse shall upon entering the home straight prior to the finish maintain as straight a course as possible to the finish line.
8. Failure to comply with clauses 4 and/or 5 and/or 6 and/or 7 hereof shall be deemed a breach of Rule 869(4) of the NZ Rules of Harness Racing in respect of which Rules 1003 and 869A apply.
Mr Abernethy endorsed the Information indicating that he admitted the breach. Mr Abernethy was present at the hearing and advised the Committee that he understood the Rule and the nature of the charge.
The circumstances that gave rise to this charge were earlier the subject of a protest. On that basis the Committee was familiar with the video footage of the incident. But for the sake of completeness using film of the concluding stage of the race Mr Muirhead demonstrated the breach. He showed that after entering the home straight GHOSTWRITER was trailing the lead horse and eventual winner, MOHS EM DOWN (S Phelan). In turn SILVIA (B Mangos) was in the trail directly behind GHOSTWRITER. MOHS EM DOWN shifted outward and GHOSTWRITER established himself in the lead. At this point passing the 150 metre mark Mr Mangos sought to ease his horse into the passing lane which he was entitled to do. At the same time Mr Abernethy allowed GHOSTWRITER to shift into SILVIA’s rightful running line. Mr Mangos was required to ease his horse, which was checked and lost ground.
In response Mr Abernethy told the Committee that he made an error of judgement in that he did not realise the lead horse had shifted out. He said that he believed the interference caused was at the lower end.
Submissions for Penalty:
Mr Muirhead informed the Committee that Mr Abernethy has a clear record under the relevant rule. He referred to the JCA Guide which establishes a starting point of a 6 drive suspension or $300 fine. He added that the Stewards were concerned that Mr Abernethy showed bad judgement in that at no stage did he correct his horse and despite the inward shift he continued to drive forward.
Mr Abernethy submitted that he would prefer a fine as opposed to suspension. He said that if a suspension was contemplated he would seek a deferral until after racing at Cambridge on 24 January 2019 to enable him to fulfil engagements at that meeting.
Reasons for Penalty:
The Committee gave careful consideration to the various submissions. We also took note of the JCA Penalty Guide starting point of $300 or 6 drive suspension. In addition we noted that previous penalties for breached of this rule which ranged from fines between $200 - $300 and / or suspensions up to 3 days.
In our assessment the breach was in the mid-range. We accept the Stewards submission that Mr Abernethy did allow his drive to continue to drift inwards and he did not straighten when perhaps he did have the opportunity to do so. Mr Abernethy did allow his drive to interfere with the chances of MOHS EM DOWN resulting in Mr Mangos having to ease and check. We consider this to be an aggravating factor. Mitigating factors included Mr Abernethy’s good record and admission of the breach. We considered that a fine as opposed to suspension to be an appropriate penalty in this case.
When mitigating and aggravating factors were considered in light of the $300 starting point we determined that a fine of $300 was appropriate.
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: c02c7a61d9bc4b5b58ce57f39227ed92
informantnumber: A10714
horsename:
hearing_racingtype:
startdate: no date provided
newcharge: Failed to maintain straight course in the run home
plea: admitted
penaltyrequired: 1
decisiondate: 20/01/2019
hearing_title: Auckland TC 18 January 2019 - R 2 - Chair, Mr A Smith
charge:
facts:
This charge arises from the running of Race 2, The Alex Bar and Eatery Mobile Pace 2200m. An Information was filed by Senior Stipendiary Steward, Mr J Muirhead against Open Horseman, Mr S Abernethy, alleging a breach of Rule 869(4) and the Home Straight Regulations in that he failed to maintain a straight course in the run home; specifically the particulars of the charge were that M Abernethy failed to maintain full access to the passing lane with GHOSTWRITER causing interference to the progress of SILVIA (B Mangos) in the run home.
Rule 869(4) reads as follows.
(4) No horseman shall during any race do anything which interferes or is likely to interfere with his own horse and/or any other horse or its progress.
PASSING LANES, FALSE RAILS AND HOME STRAIGHT REGULATIONS
The following regulation is made by the Board pursuant to the Rules of Harness Racing.
1. (a) "Passing Lane"
For the purpose of these regulations "passing lane" shall mean an inward expansion of the racetrack on the inside of the straight immediately preceding the winning post (hereinafter referred to as the "home straight") for the purpose of allowing a horse or horses in the last lap of any race to pass on the inside any horse on the running line.
(b) "False Rail"
For the purpose of these regulations a "false rail" shall mean an outward expansion of the racetrack by the attachment of an additional inside rail around the home bend of the track, which attachment once extended shall not be further capable of movement during that race.
(a) “Expanded Inside Lane”
For the purpose of these regulations the term “expanded inside lane” will be used to describe the additional area created by a “passing lane” or “false rail”.
(b) “Running Line”
For the purpose of these regulations “running line” shall mean a line from the inside track marker prior to the commencement of the expanded inside lane to the winning post or such other point of the finish line as directed by the Stipendiary Steward.
3. Except after entering the home straight for the last time in any race, no horse may use the expanded inside lane in an attempt to pass any other horse or horses or improve its position.
Any horse which does so may be disqualified, or relegated under Rule 869A and the horseman shall be in breach of Rule 869(3)(f).
4. In the last lap of any race the leading horse on the running line shall, upon entering the home straight, maintain as straight a course as possible parallel to the running line and allow the trailing horses full access to the expanded inside lane.
5. On any track where the expanded inside lane is designated by the Board as a dual passing lane, the first horse attempting to utilise the expanded inside lane shall take the run available immediately inside the leading horse on the running line thereby allowing trailing horses full access to the remainder of the expanded inside lane.
6. Subject to clause 4 hereof, in the last lap of any race no horse shall move inwards into the expanded inside lane (or any part thereof) when it has an unimpeded run to the finish line.
7. Except where a horseman is making a move pursuant to Rule 869(7) and subject to the preceding provisions of this regulation where applicable, every horse shall upon entering the home straight prior to the finish maintain as straight a course as possible to the finish line.
8. Failure to comply with clauses 4 and/or 5 and/or 6 and/or 7 hereof shall be deemed a breach of Rule 869(4) of the NZ Rules of Harness Racing in respect of which Rules 1003 and 869A apply.
Mr Abernethy endorsed the Information indicating that he admitted the breach. Mr Abernethy was present at the hearing and advised the Committee that he understood the Rule and the nature of the charge.
The circumstances that gave rise to this charge were earlier the subject of a protest. On that basis the Committee was familiar with the video footage of the incident. But for the sake of completeness using film of the concluding stage of the race Mr Muirhead demonstrated the breach. He showed that after entering the home straight GHOSTWRITER was trailing the lead horse and eventual winner, MOHS EM DOWN (S Phelan). In turn SILVIA (B Mangos) was in the trail directly behind GHOSTWRITER. MOHS EM DOWN shifted outward and GHOSTWRITER established himself in the lead. At this point passing the 150 metre mark Mr Mangos sought to ease his horse into the passing lane which he was entitled to do. At the same time Mr Abernethy allowed GHOSTWRITER to shift into SILVIA’s rightful running line. Mr Mangos was required to ease his horse, which was checked and lost ground.
In response Mr Abernethy told the Committee that he made an error of judgement in that he did not realise the lead horse had shifted out. He said that he believed the interference caused was at the lower end.
appealdecision:
isappeal:
submissionsfordecision:
reasonsfordecision:
Decision:
As Mr Abernethy admitted the breach, the charge was found to be proved.
sumissionsforpenalty:
Mr Muirhead informed the Committee that Mr Abernethy has a clear record under the relevant rule. He referred to the JCA Guide which establishes a starting point of a 6 drive suspension or $300 fine. He added that the Stewards were concerned that Mr Abernethy showed bad judgement in that at no stage did he correct his horse and despite the inward shift he continued to drive forward.
Mr Abernethy submitted that he would prefer a fine as opposed to suspension. He said that if a suspension was contemplated he would seek a deferral until after racing at Cambridge on 24 January 2019 to enable him to fulfil engagements at that meeting.
reasonsforpenalty:
The Committee gave careful consideration to the various submissions. We also took note of the JCA Penalty Guide starting point of $300 or 6 drive suspension. In addition we noted that previous penalties for breached of this rule which ranged from fines between $200 - $300 and / or suspensions up to 3 days.
In our assessment the breach was in the mid-range. We accept the Stewards submission that Mr Abernethy did allow his drive to continue to drift inwards and he did not straighten when perhaps he did have the opportunity to do so. Mr Abernethy did allow his drive to interfere with the chances of MOHS EM DOWN resulting in Mr Mangos having to ease and check. We consider this to be an aggravating factor. Mitigating factors included Mr Abernethy’s good record and admission of the breach. We considered that a fine as opposed to suspension to be an appropriate penalty in this case.
When mitigating and aggravating factors were considered in light of the $300 starting point we determined that a fine of $300 was appropriate.
penalty:
Accordingly, Mr Abernethy was fined the sum of $300.
Footnote:
Mr Abernethy advised Stewards that he was unable to attend the announcement of the penalty decision from the Judicial Committee. As a result the Judicial Committee advised the Stewards of the penalty, who then advised Mr Abernethy.
hearing_type: Hearing
Rules: 869(4) and Home Straight Regulations
Informant: Mr J Muirhead - Senior Stipendiary Steward
JockeysandTrainer: Mr S Abernethy - Open Horseman
Otherperson: Mr S Mulcay - Senior Stipendiary Steward
PersonPresent:
Respondent:
StipendSteward:
raceid: 4860e6372c125a2e8031bc2c8deb64fa
race_expapproval:
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race_noreport: 0
race_emailed1: 0
race_emailed2: 0
race_title: R2
submittochair:
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meetdate: 18/01/2019
meet_title: Auckland TC - 18 January 2019
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meet_chair: ASmith
meet_pm1: GJones
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name: Auckland TC