Franklin TC – 4 July 2008 – Race 3
ID: JCA20546
Hearing Type (Code):
harness-racing
Meet Title:
Franklin TC - 4 July 2008
Race Date:
2008/07/04
Race Number:
Race 3
Decision: --
An information filed by Stipendiary Steward Mr J Muirhead against Junior Driver Mr S Jones, driver of TRUSTY COURAGE, alleging a breach of Rules 857 (7) (a) and 857 (3) (i) in that he unduly delayed the start when he indicated to the starter by calling out and raising his arm
--
An information filed by Stipendiary Steward Mr J Muirhead against Junior Driver Mr S Jones, driver of TRUSTY COURAGE, alleging a breach of Rules 857 (7) (a) and 857 (3) (i) in that he unduly delayed the start when he indicated to the starter by calling out and raising his arm which resulted in the starter declaring a false start when it was not warranted.
--Mr Jones denied the breach and was present at the hearing assisted by Trainer Mr B Hackett.
--Mr Muirhead said the horses had paraded in front of his viewing position. As the gate moved off TRUSTY COURAGE was galloping and lost contact. Mr Jones raised his arm indicating a problem and may have also called out to the starter. A false start was called. The horses travelled a lap of the track and it was discovered that an earplug had been dislodged. An assistant starter put the earplug back in. No gear was broken but gear had been dislodged. TRUSTY COURAGE finished second.
--Mr Jones said as the horses started to score up he saw the left earplug was dislodged. An assistant starter was attending to ALL CLOUT. TRUSTY COURAGE got a fright and galloped. He put his hand up and called out because he thought his horse would be denied a fair start. The horse had never galloped before and this was confirmed by Mr Hackett. Mr Muirhead commented that assistant starters were always on the track at that stage of a race.
--In answer to a question from me, Mr Jones said he was not one hundred per cent aware of Rule 857 (3) (i). That rule sets out the only reasons for a false start and refers to broken equipment and not dislodged equipment. In answer to a question from me, Mr Muirhead said that a dislodged earplug could adversely affect the performance of a horse.
--DECISION & REASONS :
--I do not accept that the assistant starter caused TRUSTY COURAGE to gallop. I accept that only broken equipment allows a false start to be declared - not dislodged equipment. I find the charge proven.
--PENALTY :
--Mr Muirhead said the starting point was a fine of $500.00. There was no intent. Mr Jones had no previous relevant breaches of the rules recorded against him. He suggested a fine of $250.00. Mr Jones said it was his first offence of this kind and that $250.00 was a bit steep. His horse had been denied a fair start and he had responsibilities to the connections and punters. Also that he was a junior driver.
--In fixing penalty I have taken into account the following matters :
--1. The submissions of Mr Muirhead.
--2. The submissions of Mr Jones.
--3. The recommended starting point of $500.00.
--4. Mr Jones has no relevant breaches recorded against him.
--5. This is a technical breach of the rules - equipment was dislodged as opposed to broken.
--6. The dislodged earplug had the potential to adversely affect the performance of the horse.
--7. The offending was at the bottom end of the scale.
--8. Mr Jones is a Junior Driver.
--Balancing all of those matters, I issue a Judicial Warning to Mr Jones and I have firmly advised him of his responsibilities.
--B J Rowe
--Chairman
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: 9c4fa14fe7a74fd28c21c4e2b6a62d7e
informantnumber:
horsename:
hearing_racingtype: harness-racing
startdate: 04/07/2008
newcharge:
plea:
penaltyrequired:
decisiondate: no date provided
hearing_title: Franklin TC - 4 July 2008 - Race 3
charge:
facts:
appealdecision:
isappeal:
submissionsfordecision:
reasonsfordecision:
Decision:
--An information filed by Stipendiary Steward Mr J Muirhead against Junior Driver Mr S Jones, driver of TRUSTY COURAGE, alleging a breach of Rules 857 (7) (a) and 857 (3) (i) in that he unduly delayed the start when he indicated to the starter by calling out and raising his arm
--
An information filed by Stipendiary Steward Mr J Muirhead against Junior Driver Mr S Jones, driver of TRUSTY COURAGE, alleging a breach of Rules 857 (7) (a) and 857 (3) (i) in that he unduly delayed the start when he indicated to the starter by calling out and raising his arm which resulted in the starter declaring a false start when it was not warranted.
--Mr Jones denied the breach and was present at the hearing assisted by Trainer Mr B Hackett.
--Mr Muirhead said the horses had paraded in front of his viewing position. As the gate moved off TRUSTY COURAGE was galloping and lost contact. Mr Jones raised his arm indicating a problem and may have also called out to the starter. A false start was called. The horses travelled a lap of the track and it was discovered that an earplug had been dislodged. An assistant starter put the earplug back in. No gear was broken but gear had been dislodged. TRUSTY COURAGE finished second.
--Mr Jones said as the horses started to score up he saw the left earplug was dislodged. An assistant starter was attending to ALL CLOUT. TRUSTY COURAGE got a fright and galloped. He put his hand up and called out because he thought his horse would be denied a fair start. The horse had never galloped before and this was confirmed by Mr Hackett. Mr Muirhead commented that assistant starters were always on the track at that stage of a race.
--In answer to a question from me, Mr Jones said he was not one hundred per cent aware of Rule 857 (3) (i). That rule sets out the only reasons for a false start and refers to broken equipment and not dislodged equipment. In answer to a question from me, Mr Muirhead said that a dislodged earplug could adversely affect the performance of a horse.
--DECISION & REASONS :
--I do not accept that the assistant starter caused TRUSTY COURAGE to gallop. I accept that only broken equipment allows a false start to be declared - not dislodged equipment. I find the charge proven.
--PENALTY
:--Mr Muirhead said the starting point was a fine of $500.00. There was no intent. Mr Jones had no previous relevant breaches of the rules recorded against him. He suggested a fine of $250.00. Mr Jones said it was his first offence of this kind and that $250.00 was a bit steep. His horse had been denied a fair start and he had responsibilities to the connections and punters. Also that he was a junior driver.
--In fixing penalty I have taken into account the following matters :
--1. The submissions of Mr Muirhead.
--2. The submissions of Mr Jones.
--3. The recommended starting point of $500.00.
--4. Mr Jones has no relevant breaches recorded against him.
--5. This is a technical breach of the rules - equipment was dislodged as opposed to broken.
--6. The dislodged earplug had the potential to adversely affect the performance of the horse.
--7. The offending was at the bottom end of the scale.
--8. Mr Jones is a Junior Driver.
--Balancing all of those matters, I issue a Judicial Warning to Mr Jones and I have firmly advised him of his responsibilities.
--B J Rowe
--Chairman
sumissionsforpenalty:
reasonsforpenalty:
penalty:
hearing_type: Old Hearing
Rules: 857.3.i
Informant:
JockeysandTrainer:
Otherperson:
PersonPresent:
Respondent:
StipendSteward:
raceid: 7d7876a15547b284e0b469ec7460e172
race_expapproval:
racecancelled: 0
race_noreport: 0
race_emailed1: 0
race_emailed2: 0
race_title: Race 3
submittochair:
race_expappcomment:
race_km:
race_otherexp:
race_chair:
race_pm1:
race_pm2:
meetid: 23f30b0fd883e5315a41affdc90607fe
meet_expapproval:
meet_noreport: 0
waitingforpublication: 0
meet_emailed1: 0
meet_emailed2: 0
meetdate: 04/07/2008
meet_title: Franklin TC - 4 July 2008
meet_expappcomment:
meet_km:
meet_otherexp:
tracklocation: franklin-tc
meet_racingtype: harness-racing
meet_chair:
meet_pm1:
meet_pm2:
name: Franklin TC