Franklin TC 19 June 2015 – R 1
ID: JCA17799
Meet Title:
Franklin TC - 19 June 2015
Meet Chair:
GJones
Meet Committee Member 1:
ADooley
Race Date:
2015/06/19
Race Number:
R1
Decision:
The breach is admitted and is therefore proved.
Penalty:
Having taken all matters into account the Committee imposes a $300 fine on Mr Butcher.
Facts:
This charge arises from the running of race number 1 the Franklin Park Parade 11/7 Mobile Pace 1700m. The information alleged that Mr Z Butcher “failed to drive SAFINS WARRIOR out to the end of the race finishing 5th, a nose margin in behind the fourth placed DREAM TO SHARE, when he had reasonable chance of finishing fourth”.
Mr Butcher endorsed the information “I do admit the breach of the rule”.
Rule 868(3) provides:
(3) Every horseman shall drive his horse out to the end of the race if he has any reasonable chance of running first, second, third, fourth, fifth, or sixth.
Mr Muirhead demonstrated the incident by way of available head and side-on video footage. He told the Judicial Committee (the ‘Committee’) that 5th placed SAFINS WARRIOR was beaten by a nose by DREAM TO SHARE for 4th place. He said Mr Butcher was driving his horse out to the finish until the last 80 metres after which he showed no vigour. He said it was mandatory for every horseman to drive their horse out to the end of the race and it was reasonable to expect Mr Butcher to have done so on the occasion.
Mr Butcher told the Committee that he agreed with Mr Muirhead's assessment and he should have shown more vigour over the last 50 metres. He asked the Committee to take into account that SAFINS WARRIOR almost choked down at the 1000 metres and despite not being driven right out to the finish would not have finished in a better placing. He also said that he was niggling at the horse from the 500 metre mark at which point he pulled the ear plugs but his horse had no speed. He further asked the Committee to note that it was a fast run race.
In response to Mr Butcher’s explanation, Mr Muirhead advised the Committee that when a driver stops driving his horse out to the finish it is inclined to stop on its own accord.
Submissions for Penalty:
Mr Muirhead referenced the JCA Penalty Guidelines advising that the starting point for a breach of this rule is set at 12 drives suspension or $600 having regard to placing involved. He submitted that this incident involved 4th and 5th placings and he assessed the breach as being below mid-range.
Mr Butcher submitted that he has a very good driving record and has never previously breached this rule. He said the incident was low end and asked the Committee to give due weight to the mitigating factors raised in his explanation.
Reasons for Penalty:
In assessing penalty the Committee has taken into account the submissions of both the Informant and Defendant and we have also considered the Penalty Guidelines for Committees as well as recent penalties for similar breaches. The guidelines establish a starting point of 12 drives or $600 having regard to the placing involved. JCA penalty listings provide penalties for the past 22 breaches of this rule - they range from $300 fines through to various combinations of fine and or suspension up to 12 weeks. The Committee has taken particular guidance from a number of cases where horses have finished in 5th place when there was a reasonable chance of finishing 4th had they been driven out to the end of the race.
In finishing in 5th place the Committee noted the close margin between 4th and 5th. The difference in prize money is $125 and there is an impact on the betting public who may have wagered on SAFINS WARRIOR to finish in the first four.
The Committee has taken into account Mr Butcher's good driving record, the fact that he has had over 380 drives this season and never previously breached this particular rule. The Committee gives credit to Mr Butcher for his admission and we take cognisance of the factors raised in his explanation. The Committee also noted that SAFINS WARRIOR broke at the start of the race, then raced in a parked out position and as a consequence had a hard finishing last in a five horse field. This however, must be tempered by the fact that over the final 80 metres of the race DREAM TO SHARE has made up considerable ground on SAFINS WARRIOR to finish in 4th place.
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: eecac27c57b874173a651f012312a56a
informantnumber: A7419
horsename:
hearing_racingtype:
startdate: no date provided
newcharge: Failure to drive horse out to finish
plea: admitted
penaltyrequired: 1
decisiondate: 20/06/2015
hearing_title: Franklin TC 19 June 2015 - R 1
charge:
facts:
This charge arises from the running of race number 1 the Franklin Park Parade 11/7 Mobile Pace 1700m. The information alleged that Mr Z Butcher “failed to drive SAFINS WARRIOR out to the end of the race finishing 5th, a nose margin in behind the fourth placed DREAM TO SHARE, when he had reasonable chance of finishing fourth”.
Mr Butcher endorsed the information “I do admit the breach of the rule”.
Rule 868(3) provides:
(3) Every horseman shall drive his horse out to the end of the race if he has any reasonable chance of running first, second, third, fourth, fifth, or sixth.
Mr Muirhead demonstrated the incident by way of available head and side-on video footage. He told the Judicial Committee (the ‘Committee’) that 5th placed SAFINS WARRIOR was beaten by a nose by DREAM TO SHARE for 4th place. He said Mr Butcher was driving his horse out to the finish until the last 80 metres after which he showed no vigour. He said it was mandatory for every horseman to drive their horse out to the end of the race and it was reasonable to expect Mr Butcher to have done so on the occasion.
Mr Butcher told the Committee that he agreed with Mr Muirhead's assessment and he should have shown more vigour over the last 50 metres. He asked the Committee to take into account that SAFINS WARRIOR almost choked down at the 1000 metres and despite not being driven right out to the finish would not have finished in a better placing. He also said that he was niggling at the horse from the 500 metre mark at which point he pulled the ear plugs but his horse had no speed. He further asked the Committee to note that it was a fast run race.
In response to Mr Butcher’s explanation, Mr Muirhead advised the Committee that when a driver stops driving his horse out to the finish it is inclined to stop on its own accord.
appealdecision:
isappeal:
submissionsfordecision:
reasonsfordecision:
Decision:
The breach is admitted and is therefore proved.
sumissionsforpenalty:
Mr Muirhead referenced the JCA Penalty Guidelines advising that the starting point for a breach of this rule is set at 12 drives suspension or $600 having regard to placing involved. He submitted that this incident involved 4th and 5th placings and he assessed the breach as being below mid-range.
Mr Butcher submitted that he has a very good driving record and has never previously breached this rule. He said the incident was low end and asked the Committee to give due weight to the mitigating factors raised in his explanation.
reasonsforpenalty:
In assessing penalty the Committee has taken into account the submissions of both the Informant and Defendant and we have also considered the Penalty Guidelines for Committees as well as recent penalties for similar breaches. The guidelines establish a starting point of 12 drives or $600 having regard to the placing involved. JCA penalty listings provide penalties for the past 22 breaches of this rule - they range from $300 fines through to various combinations of fine and or suspension up to 12 weeks. The Committee has taken particular guidance from a number of cases where horses have finished in 5th place when there was a reasonable chance of finishing 4th had they been driven out to the end of the race.
In finishing in 5th place the Committee noted the close margin between 4th and 5th. The difference in prize money is $125 and there is an impact on the betting public who may have wagered on SAFINS WARRIOR to finish in the first four.
The Committee has taken into account Mr Butcher's good driving record, the fact that he has had over 380 drives this season and never previously breached this particular rule. The Committee gives credit to Mr Butcher for his admission and we take cognisance of the factors raised in his explanation. The Committee also noted that SAFINS WARRIOR broke at the start of the race, then raced in a parked out position and as a consequence had a hard finishing last in a five horse field. This however, must be tempered by the fact that over the final 80 metres of the race DREAM TO SHARE has made up considerable ground on SAFINS WARRIOR to finish in 4th place.
penalty:
Having taken all matters into account the Committee imposes a $300 fine on Mr Butcher.
hearing_type: Hearing
Rules: 868(3)
Informant: Mr J Muirhead- Stipendiary Steward
JockeysandTrainer: Mr Z Butcher- Senior Horseman
Otherperson:
PersonPresent:
Respondent:
StipendSteward:
raceid: e4b9fb17e37d1ae78852f65b72d368dc
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: 050aeb9b3e4dd0f0d74a8a60b1b0f02f
meet_expapproval:
meet_noreport: 0
waitingforpublication: 0
meet_emailed1: 0
meet_emailed2: 0
meetdate: 19/06/2015
meet_title: Franklin TC - 19 June 2015
meet_expappcomment:
meet_km:
meet_otherexp:
tracklocation: franklin-tc
meet_racingtype: harness-racing
meet_chair: GJones
meet_pm1: ADooley
meet_pm2: none
name: Franklin TC