Auckland TC 31 May 2019 – R 3 – Chair, Mr G Jones
ID: JCA15229
Meet Title:
Auckland TC - 31 May 2019
Meet Chair:
GJones
Meet Committee Member 1:
ADooley
Race Date:
2019/05/31
Race Number:
R3
Decision:
Pursuant to Rule 1111(1)(d) as Mr Smith admitted the breach the Committee found the charge proved.
Penalty:
Accordingly, Mr Smith was fined the sum of $275.
Facts:
Following the running of Race 3, the We’ll Miss You Jacqueline MACLEOD Trot 2200, an information was filed by Senior Stipendiary Steward Mr Muirhead alleging Junior Driver Mr C Smith, breached Rule 869 (3)(b) in that he drove carelessly near the 950 metres when contacting the sulky wheel of MISS BLISSFUL causing SERTORIUS to break with resultant interference to AS FREE AS AIR.
Mr Smith endorsed the Information ‘I do admit the breach of the rule’. At the commencement of the hearing he confirmed his plea and that he understood the rule and the nature of the charge. He was supported at the hearing by Open Horseman Mr J Abernethy.
Rule 869 (3) provides:
(b) No horseman shall during any race shall drive carelessly.
Using available video footage Mr Muirhead identified the horses involved in the incident namely, SERTORIUS (C Smith); MISS BLISSFUL (J Morrison) and AS FREE AS AIR (A Harrison). Mr Muirhead said that SERTORIUS was racing four deep in the running line as the field approached the winning post near the 1000 metre mark. He said that at that point Mr Smith permitted his drive to shift outwards and in doing so made contact with the sulky wheel of MISS BLISSFUL causing SERTORIUS to break and gallop. As a consequence MISS BLISSFUL’S sulky wheel tyre punctured. In addition AS FREE AS AIR who was racing on the outside of SERTORIUS was inconvenienced.
When invited to comment on the incident Mr Smith advised the Committee that he had nothing to say as it was quite clear on the films what had occurred.
Submissions for Penalty:
Mr Muirhead submitted that the JCA Penalty Guide establishes a starting point of $300 fine or 6 drive suspension for a breach of this rule. He said that Mr Smith has a clear record; he admitted the breach and he should be given some leniency because he is junior driver.
Mr Abernethy agreed with the Steward's submission as to penalty and added that Mr Smith would prefer a fine as opposed to a suspension. In response to a question from the Committee concerning pending engagements, Mr Smith said that he would be seeking drives at the forthcoming meetings at Cambridge and Alexandra Park over the next 7 days.
Mr Smith has had 174 career drives and 40 drives so far this current season.
Reasons for Penalty:
The Committee reviewed the video footage of the incident. It was evident that when Mr Smith directed his drive outwards he not only caused his own horse to break and lose all chance, but he also caused interference to AS FREE AS AIR. In addition his actions caused the tyre of MISS BLISSFUL to puncture.
We treated the fact that his own horse and two others were affected to varying degrees as an aggravating factor.
The Committee had due regard for the JCA Penalty Guide starting point (6-drive suspension or a $300 fine) and noted that similar recent breaches have incurred penalties ranging from fines between $200 to $500 and a limited number of 2 to 3 day suspensions.
After taking into account the submissions of both the Informant and Respondent and noting the resultant impact on the affected runners the Committee has determined the breach to be mid-range.
After affording Mr Smith credit for his good record and admission of the breach, balanced against the aggravating factor we determined that a $275 fine is an appropriate penalty in the circumstances of this case.
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: 78a520fb3622f4e68bf88a0598f47be7
informantnumber: A10325
horsename:
hearing_racingtype:
startdate: no date provided
newcharge: Careless driving
plea: admitted
penaltyrequired: 1
decisiondate: 31/05/2019
hearing_title: Auckland TC 31 May 2019 – R 3 – Chair, Mr G Jones
charge:
facts:
Following the running of Race 3, the We’ll Miss You Jacqueline MACLEOD Trot 2200, an information was filed by Senior Stipendiary Steward Mr Muirhead alleging Junior Driver Mr C Smith, breached Rule 869 (3)(b) in that he drove carelessly near the 950 metres when contacting the sulky wheel of MISS BLISSFUL causing SERTORIUS to break with resultant interference to AS FREE AS AIR.
Mr Smith endorsed the Information ‘I do admit the breach of the rule’. At the commencement of the hearing he confirmed his plea and that he understood the rule and the nature of the charge. He was supported at the hearing by Open Horseman Mr J Abernethy.
Rule 869 (3) provides:
(b) No horseman shall during any race shall drive carelessly.
Using available video footage Mr Muirhead identified the horses involved in the incident namely, SERTORIUS (C Smith); MISS BLISSFUL (J Morrison) and AS FREE AS AIR (A Harrison). Mr Muirhead said that SERTORIUS was racing four deep in the running line as the field approached the winning post near the 1000 metre mark. He said that at that point Mr Smith permitted his drive to shift outwards and in doing so made contact with the sulky wheel of MISS BLISSFUL causing SERTORIUS to break and gallop. As a consequence MISS BLISSFUL’S sulky wheel tyre punctured. In addition AS FREE AS AIR who was racing on the outside of SERTORIUS was inconvenienced.
When invited to comment on the incident Mr Smith advised the Committee that he had nothing to say as it was quite clear on the films what had occurred.
appealdecision:
isappeal:
submissionsfordecision:
reasonsfordecision:
Decision:
Pursuant to Rule 1111(1)(d) as Mr Smith admitted the breach the Committee found the charge proved.
sumissionsforpenalty:
Mr Muirhead submitted that the JCA Penalty Guide establishes a starting point of $300 fine or 6 drive suspension for a breach of this rule. He said that Mr Smith has a clear record; he admitted the breach and he should be given some leniency because he is junior driver.
Mr Abernethy agreed with the Steward's submission as to penalty and added that Mr Smith would prefer a fine as opposed to a suspension. In response to a question from the Committee concerning pending engagements, Mr Smith said that he would be seeking drives at the forthcoming meetings at Cambridge and Alexandra Park over the next 7 days.
Mr Smith has had 174 career drives and 40 drives so far this current season.
reasonsforpenalty:
The Committee reviewed the video footage of the incident. It was evident that when Mr Smith directed his drive outwards he not only caused his own horse to break and lose all chance, but he also caused interference to AS FREE AS AIR. In addition his actions caused the tyre of MISS BLISSFUL to puncture.
We treated the fact that his own horse and two others were affected to varying degrees as an aggravating factor.
The Committee had due regard for the JCA Penalty Guide starting point (6-drive suspension or a $300 fine) and noted that similar recent breaches have incurred penalties ranging from fines between $200 to $500 and a limited number of 2 to 3 day suspensions.
After taking into account the submissions of both the Informant and Respondent and noting the resultant impact on the affected runners the Committee has determined the breach to be mid-range.
After affording Mr Smith credit for his good record and admission of the breach, balanced against the aggravating factor we determined that a $275 fine is an appropriate penalty in the circumstances of this case.
penalty:
Accordingly, Mr Smith was fined the sum of $275.
hearing_type: Hearing
Rules: 869(3)(b)
Informant: Mr J Muirhead -Senior Stipendiary Steward
JockeysandTrainer: Mr C Smith - Junior Driver
Otherperson: Mr J Abernethy, Open Horseman assisting Mr Smith
PersonPresent:
Respondent:
StipendSteward:
raceid: 0638429c6ef80ec90834797b95e82274
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: 04c7f213afb6e756ef8930f4e73233f0
meet_expapproval:
meet_noreport: 0
waitingforpublication: 0
meet_emailed1: 0
meet_emailed2: 0
meetdate: 31/05/2019
meet_title: Auckland TC - 31 May 2019
meet_expappcomment:
meet_km:
meet_otherexp:
tracklocation: auckland-tc
meet_racingtype: harness-racing
meet_chair: GJones
meet_pm1: ADooley
meet_pm2: none
name: Auckland TC