HR Waikato 8 September 2016 – R 1 – Chair, Mr A Dooley
ID: JCA10960
Meet Title:
Harness Racing Waikato - 8 September 2016
Meet Chair:
ADooley
Meet Committee Member 1:
BScott
Race Date:
2016/09/08
Race Number:
R1
Decision:
As Mr Butcher admitted the breach the Committee found the charge proved.
Penalty:
Accordingly, Mr Butcher had his license to drive in races suspended for a period to commence after racing on 8 September 2016 and conclude after racing on 28 December 2016 (7 drives).
That period of suspension encompasses meetings at HR Waikato on September 22, October 21, October 27, November 17, December 1, December 24 and December 28 – Te Awamutu (grass).
Facts:
Following the running of race 1, Fairview Motors Amateur Drivers Mobile Pace, an Information was filed pursuant to Rule 869(3)(b). The Informant, Mr Mulcay, alleged that with 700 metres to run Mr S Butcher drove SHARDON’S PEARL carelessly shifting in from 4 wide to 3 wide causing interference to ELLIOT DANIEL (C Wigg) with subsequent interference to BRYDON DELIGHT (T Thorby) with these 3 runners losing all chance.
Mr Butcher acknowledged that he understood the Rule and confirmed his admission of the breach.
Rule 869(3)(b) provides : No horseman in any race shall drive carelessly.
Mr Mulcay demonstrated the incident using the available video footage. He identified that Mr Butcher was racing 3 back and 1 out when entering the back straight. He showed where Mr Butcher eased out to improve near the 700 metres when the driver of LUCKY LUCIANO moved out in front of him when having a clear advantage to do so. Mr Butcher then attempted to shift back in from a 4 wide to 3 wide position but in doing so he made contact with ELLIOT DANIEL, paced roughly and locked wheels with that runner. This resulted in ELLIOT DANIEL being badly interfered with and Ms Wigg being dislodged from the sulky along with Mr Butcher. This interference also affected the chances of BRYDON DELIGHT who was racing on their inside and all 3 horses were put out of the race.
Mr Butcher said he agreed with Mr Mulcay’s interpretation of the incident and had nothing further to add.
Submissions for Penalty:
Mr Mulcay said that Mr Butcher had a clear record under this Rule. He referred to the JCA Penalty Guide which recommends a suspension of 10 drives or a $500 fine as the starting point. He said the aggravating fact was the degree of interference which resulted in 3 horses had their chances extinguished. He said the consequences of Mr Butcher’s actions were in the high-range.
Mr Butcher submitted that he would prefer a suspension over a fine given his own circumstances.
Reasons for Penalty:
The Committee carefully considered all the evidence and submissions presented. The Penalty Guide for Judicial Committees recommends that the starting point for careless driving is a suspension of 10 drives or a $500 fine.
The mitigating factors were Mr Butcher’s admission of the breach and his very good record in relation to this Rule for which he has been given credit. However, this has to be balanced against the consequences of Mr Butcher's actions which resulted in 3 horses having their chances extinguished and 2 drivers being dislodged from their sulky. We assess the level of carelessness was mid–range nevertheless the consequences were in the high-range and a significant aggravating factor which warrants an uplift in penalty. We were also concerned that the betting public who had placed bets on all 3 affected runners were not given every chance of obtaining a return due to Mr Butcher’s carelessness.
The Committee explained to Mr Butcher that the JCA Penalty Guide recommends that a Committee is to equate 1 drive with a fine of $50. Although we recognise that Amateur Drivers do not get paid, the penalty of 7 drives equates to a $350 fine.
The Committee was mindful that Amateur Drivers have limited driving opportunities during the season.
After taking into account all the above factors the Committee considers an appropriate suspension to be 7 drives.
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: 08aedb26b84bdc2dc6403e46c88ead61
informantnumber: A3711
horsename:
hearing_racingtype:
startdate: no date provided
newcharge: Careless Driving
plea: admitted
penaltyrequired: 1
decisiondate: 11/09/2016
hearing_title: HR Waikato 8 September 2016 - R 1 - Chair, Mr A Dooley
charge:
facts:
Following the running of race 1, Fairview Motors Amateur Drivers Mobile Pace, an Information was filed pursuant to Rule 869(3)(b). The Informant, Mr Mulcay, alleged that with 700 metres to run Mr S Butcher drove SHARDON’S PEARL carelessly shifting in from 4 wide to 3 wide causing interference to ELLIOT DANIEL (C Wigg) with subsequent interference to BRYDON DELIGHT (T Thorby) with these 3 runners losing all chance.
Mr Butcher acknowledged that he understood the Rule and confirmed his admission of the breach.
Rule 869(3)(b) provides : No horseman in any race shall drive carelessly.
Mr Mulcay demonstrated the incident using the available video footage. He identified that Mr Butcher was racing 3 back and 1 out when entering the back straight. He showed where Mr Butcher eased out to improve near the 700 metres when the driver of LUCKY LUCIANO moved out in front of him when having a clear advantage to do so. Mr Butcher then attempted to shift back in from a 4 wide to 3 wide position but in doing so he made contact with ELLIOT DANIEL, paced roughly and locked wheels with that runner. This resulted in ELLIOT DANIEL being badly interfered with and Ms Wigg being dislodged from the sulky along with Mr Butcher. This interference also affected the chances of BRYDON DELIGHT who was racing on their inside and all 3 horses were put out of the race.
Mr Butcher said he agreed with Mr Mulcay’s interpretation of the incident and had nothing further to add.
appealdecision:
isappeal:
submissionsfordecision:
reasonsfordecision:
Decision:
As Mr Butcher admitted the breach the Committee found the charge proved.
sumissionsforpenalty:
Mr Mulcay said that Mr Butcher had a clear record under this Rule. He referred to the JCA Penalty Guide which recommends a suspension of 10 drives or a $500 fine as the starting point. He said the aggravating fact was the degree of interference which resulted in 3 horses had their chances extinguished. He said the consequences of Mr Butcher’s actions were in the high-range.
Mr Butcher submitted that he would prefer a suspension over a fine given his own circumstances.
reasonsforpenalty:
The Committee carefully considered all the evidence and submissions presented. The Penalty Guide for Judicial Committees recommends that the starting point for careless driving is a suspension of 10 drives or a $500 fine.
The mitigating factors were Mr Butcher’s admission of the breach and his very good record in relation to this Rule for which he has been given credit. However, this has to be balanced against the consequences of Mr Butcher's actions which resulted in 3 horses having their chances extinguished and 2 drivers being dislodged from their sulky. We assess the level of carelessness was mid–range nevertheless the consequences were in the high-range and a significant aggravating factor which warrants an uplift in penalty. We were also concerned that the betting public who had placed bets on all 3 affected runners were not given every chance of obtaining a return due to Mr Butcher’s carelessness.
The Committee explained to Mr Butcher that the JCA Penalty Guide recommends that a Committee is to equate 1 drive with a fine of $50. Although we recognise that Amateur Drivers do not get paid, the penalty of 7 drives equates to a $350 fine.
The Committee was mindful that Amateur Drivers have limited driving opportunities during the season.
After taking into account all the above factors the Committee considers an appropriate suspension to be 7 drives.
penalty:
Accordingly, Mr Butcher had his license to drive in races suspended for a period to commence after racing on 8 September 2016 and conclude after racing on 28 December 2016 (7 drives).
That period of suspension encompasses meetings at HR Waikato on September 22, October 21, October 27, November 17, December 1, December 24 and December 28 – Te Awamutu (grass).
hearing_type: Hearing
Rules: 869(3)(b)
Informant: Mr S Mulcay - Stipendiary Steward
JockeysandTrainer: Mr S Butcher - Advanced Amateur Horseman
Otherperson:
PersonPresent:
Respondent:
StipendSteward:
raceid: 8d0c96ae1d7e5c41f56f14e16a97ec00
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: 0bba2c9226e088690f4715d5144a0036
meet_expapproval:
meet_noreport: 0
waitingforpublication: 0
meet_emailed1: 0
meet_emailed2: 0
meetdate: 08/09/2016
meet_title: Harness Racing Waikato - 8 September 2016
meet_expappcomment:
meet_km:
meet_otherexp:
tracklocation: harness-racing-waikato
meet_racingtype: harness-racing
meet_chair: ADooley
meet_pm1: BScott
meet_pm2: none
name: Harness Racing Waikato