Archive Decision

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Canterbury JC 17 September 2011 – R 7

ID: JCA11264

Applicant:
Mr AL Ray- Stipendiary Steward

Respondent(s):
J Bridgman - Licensed Trainer

Information Number:
69515

Hearing Type:
Hearing

Rules:
Rule 649(4)(a)

Plea:
admitted

Code:
Thoroughbred

Meet Title:
Canterbury Racing - 17 September 2011

Meet Chair:
KHales

Meet Committee Member 1:
JMillar

Race Date:
2011/09/17

Race Number:
R1

Decision:

Because Mr Bridgman has admitted the charge, it is deemed to be proved.

Penalty:

Mr Bridgman is fined the sum of $850.

Charge:

It was alleged that Mr Bridgman incorrectly saddled "Croix du Sud" with the lead bag meant for "Bespoke" resulting in "Croix du Sud" weighing in one kilogram light and being disqualified from its third placing.

Facts:

Immediately after the weigh-in after Race 7, the "Coupland's Bakeries Rating 80", Mr Bridgman alerted the Clerk of the Scales, that the rider of "Croix du Sud" (Ms DS Johnson) would weigh in light, as the incorrect lead bag had been placed on her mount. This indeed was the case and Ms Johnson weighed in one kilogram lighter than her carded weight.

As a consequence of this the siren was sounded and the Stipendiary Stewards sought a ruling from the Judicial Committee on the matter. "Croix du Sud" was disqualified as a result.

Submissions for Decision:

By way of explanation, Mr Bridgman advised the hearing that he had three entries in the race, and that after the jockeys had weighed out, he carried all three sets of saddles, lead bag and saddle cloths over to the stables to enable his horses to be saddled up. Somehow the saddle cloth numbers were mixed up with the consequence being that the incorrect lead bag was fitted on "Croix du Sud" (one kilogram light) and "Bespoke" (one kilogram heavy). Mr Bridgman accepted full responsibility for the mistake even though stable hands had assisted him with the saddling up.

He was most remorseful for his error.

Submissions for Penalty:

Mr Ray submitted that a fine of between $750 and $1,000 should be imposed for this breach. Even though Mr Bridgman had an impeccable record by not having been charged at all in the time that he has been a licensed trainer, serious consequences flowed from Mr Bridgman's error. "Croix du Sud" lost its third placing. There was a stakes loss to the connections of $1,000 and the betting public were also affected. Mr Ray accepted that it was carelessness on Mr Bridgman's part and that he was certain that no deception was intended.

In response, Mr Bridgman asked us to take into account his good record and that it was a mistake on his part. He said that he would be revising his systems in the future, when he had multiple entries in a race, to avoid the incident occuurring again.

Reasons for Penalty:

The penalty in this case will be that of a fine.

The starting point, in the JCA Penalty Guide, is a fine of $750.

However, before the quantum of the fine is assessed, we must consider the aggravating and mitigating features of this matter.

The aggravating features are:

  • The disqualification of "Croix du Sud" and the consequential loss of stake money ($1,000) to the owners, and the percentage loss to the jockey;
  • The effect on the betting public in terms of the loss of anticipated dividends;
  • The fact that "Bespoke" carried an extra kilogram, which it wasn't handicapped to carry.

The combination of these aggravating features, would, if considered in isolation, in our opinion, warrant a fine of $1,050.

However, we take into account the following mitigating features:

  • Mr Bridgman's early admission of the charge;
  • The fact that he alerted the Clerk of the Scales to what had happened, prior to the weighing-in process;
  • His obvious remorse and his co-operation with the Stipendiary Stewards;
  • The fact that there was no suggestion of deception involved;
  • Mr Bridgman's good record.

The combination of the mitigating features means that we are able to discount the fine by $200.

In assessing the quantum of the fine, we note that there was little assistance from similar cases to be found in the data base. Trainer O was fined $500 on 24th July 2009 for an offence pursuant to this rule, but significantly, his error was found before the race and thus the consequences which flowed from his breach were potential, as opposed to actual as in this case.

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: 1a609d7a70a7d5a8f0747eabe7d720c0


informantnumber: 69515


horsename:


hearing_racingtype:


startdate: no date provided


newcharge:


plea: admitted


penaltyrequired: 1


decisiondate: 19/09/2011


hearing_title: Canterbury JC 17 September 2011 - R 7


charge:

It was alleged that Mr Bridgman incorrectly saddled "Croix du Sud" with the lead bag meant for "Bespoke" resulting in "Croix du Sud" weighing in one kilogram light and being disqualified from its third placing.


facts:

Immediately after the weigh-in after Race 7, the "Coupland's Bakeries Rating 80", Mr Bridgman alerted the Clerk of the Scales, that the rider of "Croix du Sud" (Ms DS Johnson) would weigh in light, as the incorrect lead bag had been placed on her mount. This indeed was the case and Ms Johnson weighed in one kilogram lighter than her carded weight.

As a consequence of this the siren was sounded and the Stipendiary Stewards sought a ruling from the Judicial Committee on the matter. "Croix du Sud" was disqualified as a result.


appealdecision:


isappeal:


submissionsfordecision:

By way of explanation, Mr Bridgman advised the hearing that he had three entries in the race, and that after the jockeys had weighed out, he carried all three sets of saddles, lead bag and saddle cloths over to the stables to enable his horses to be saddled up. Somehow the saddle cloth numbers were mixed up with the consequence being that the incorrect lead bag was fitted on "Croix du Sud" (one kilogram light) and "Bespoke" (one kilogram heavy). Mr Bridgman accepted full responsibility for the mistake even though stable hands had assisted him with the saddling up.

He was most remorseful for his error.


reasonsfordecision:


Decision:

Because Mr Bridgman has admitted the charge, it is deemed to be proved.


sumissionsforpenalty:

Mr Ray submitted that a fine of between $750 and $1,000 should be imposed for this breach. Even though Mr Bridgman had an impeccable record by not having been charged at all in the time that he has been a licensed trainer, serious consequences flowed from Mr Bridgman's error. "Croix du Sud" lost its third placing. There was a stakes loss to the connections of $1,000 and the betting public were also affected. Mr Ray accepted that it was carelessness on Mr Bridgman's part and that he was certain that no deception was intended.

In response, Mr Bridgman asked us to take into account his good record and that it was a mistake on his part. He said that he would be revising his systems in the future, when he had multiple entries in a race, to avoid the incident occuurring again.


reasonsforpenalty:

The penalty in this case will be that of a fine.

The starting point, in the JCA Penalty Guide, is a fine of $750.

However, before the quantum of the fine is assessed, we must consider the aggravating and mitigating features of this matter.

The aggravating features are:

  • The disqualification of "Croix du Sud" and the consequential loss of stake money ($1,000) to the owners, and the percentage loss to the jockey;
  • The effect on the betting public in terms of the loss of anticipated dividends;
  • The fact that "Bespoke" carried an extra kilogram, which it wasn't handicapped to carry.

The combination of these aggravating features, would, if considered in isolation, in our opinion, warrant a fine of $1,050.

However, we take into account the following mitigating features:

  • Mr Bridgman's early admission of the charge;
  • The fact that he alerted the Clerk of the Scales to what had happened, prior to the weighing-in process;
  • His obvious remorse and his co-operation with the Stipendiary Stewards;
  • The fact that there was no suggestion of deception involved;
  • Mr Bridgman's good record.

The combination of the mitigating features means that we are able to discount the fine by $200.

In assessing the quantum of the fine, we note that there was little assistance from similar cases to be found in the data base. Trainer O was fined $500 on 24th July 2009 for an offence pursuant to this rule, but significantly, his error was found before the race and thus the consequences which flowed from his breach were potential, as opposed to actual as in this case.


penalty:

Mr Bridgman is fined the sum of $850.


hearing_type: Hearing


Rules: Rule 649(4)(a)


Informant: Mr AL Ray- Stipendiary Steward


JockeysandTrainer: J Bridgman - Licensed Trainer


Otherperson:


PersonPresent:


Respondent:


StipendSteward:


raceid: 4bba9adaef154fc5e59d6b5749c748fc


race_expapproval:


racecancelled: 0


race_noreport: 0


race_emailed1: 0


race_emailed2: 0


race_title: R1


submittochair:


race_expappcomment:


race_km:


race_otherexp:


race_chair:


race_pm1:


race_pm2:


meetid: 9c441a4a7f1168786d89ecbe8e0a1129


meet_expapproval:


meet_noreport: 0


waitingforpublication: 0


meet_emailed1: 0


meet_emailed2: 0


meetdate: 17/09/2011


meet_title: Canterbury Racing - 17 September 2011


meet_expappcomment:


meet_km:


meet_otherexp:


tracklocation: canterbury-racing


meet_racingtype: thoroughbred-racing


meet_chair: KHales


meet_pm1: JMillar


meet_pm2: none


name: Canterbury Racing