Archive Decision

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HR Waikato 9 January 2015 – R 10

ID: JCA14560

Applicant:
Mr S Mulcay - Stipendiary Steward

Respondent(s):
Mr P Butcher - Open Horseman

Other Person:
Mr J Muirhead - Stipendiary Steward

Information Number:
A3662

Hearing Type:
Hearing

New Charge:
Careless Driving

Rules:
869(3)(b)

Plea:
admitted

Meet Title:
Harness Racing Waikato - 9 January 2015

Meet Chair:
ADooley

Meet Committee Member 1:
TCastles

Race Date:
2015/01/09

Race Number:
R10

Decision:

As Mr Butcher admitted the breach we find the charge proved.

Penalty:

Accordingly, the Committee imposes a fine of $200 on Mr Butcher.

Facts:

Following the running of race 10, NZ Premier Yearling Sale February 17 & 18 Mobile Pace, an Information was filed pursuant to Rule 869 (3)(b). The Informant, Stipendiary Steward, Mr Mulcay, alleged that Open Horseman, Mr P Butcher, drove SAHARAZONA carelessly causing a check to UNMISSUBLE ( K Marshall) which broke late in the run home.

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 (b) carelessly.

Mr Muirhead identified on the video films that when Mr Butcher angled SAHARAZONA out near the 100 metres he made contact with the near hind leg of UNMISSUBLE which was checked and broke.

Mr Mulcay said Mr Butcher was somewhat unlucky as his horse did shift out further than he intended when gear was activated.

Mr Butcher advised the Committee that he admitted the breach with mitigating circumstances to be considered. Mr Butcher said he was travelling better than UNMISSUBLE and under normal circumstances he would have expected the driver of that horse to move out with him. He added if that had occurred then he would not have been charged. He acknowledged that contact did occur when he moved out.

Submissions for Penalty:

Mr Mulcay produced Mr Butcher’s record which showed no previous breaches under this rule in the last 12 months. He said this was an excellent record and described the level of carelessness was low with mitigating factors involved. He added Mr Butcher was a busy driver.

Mr Mulcay submitted the JCA penalty guide for careless driving recommended a starting of 6 drives or a $400 fine. He said given the mitigating circumstances a reduction in penalty was warranted and submitted a fine of $250 would be appropriate.

Mr Butcher submitted that he was disappointed that such a minor incident would inevitably attract a monetary fine.

Reasons for Penalty:

The Committee carefully considered all the evidence and submissions presented. The mitigating factors were Mr Butcher’s admission of the breach, his excellent record under this rule and the level of carelessness was at the low end of the scale. This has to be balanced against the fact Mr Butcher made a small error of judgement in angling his drive out when not sufficiently clear. This resulted in UNMISSUBLE being checked and breaking.

We referred to the JCA listing of penalties for breaches under this Rule and noted that a fine of $200 was a consistent penalty imposed with similar mitigating factors.

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: 9277849adf37c0ecd51ce30dca03a647


informantnumber: A3662


horsename:


hearing_racingtype:


startdate: no date provided


newcharge: Careless Driving


plea: admitted


penaltyrequired: 1


decisiondate: 29/12/2014


hearing_title: HR Waikato 9 January 2015 - R 10


charge:


facts:

Following the running of race 10, NZ Premier Yearling Sale February 17 & 18 Mobile Pace, an Information was filed pursuant to Rule 869 (3)(b). The Informant, Stipendiary Steward, Mr Mulcay, alleged that Open Horseman, Mr P Butcher, drove SAHARAZONA carelessly causing a check to UNMISSUBLE ( K Marshall) which broke late in the run home.

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 (b) carelessly.

Mr Muirhead identified on the video films that when Mr Butcher angled SAHARAZONA out near the 100 metres he made contact with the near hind leg of UNMISSUBLE which was checked and broke.

Mr Mulcay said Mr Butcher was somewhat unlucky as his horse did shift out further than he intended when gear was activated.

Mr Butcher advised the Committee that he admitted the breach with mitigating circumstances to be considered. Mr Butcher said he was travelling better than UNMISSUBLE and under normal circumstances he would have expected the driver of that horse to move out with him. He added if that had occurred then he would not have been charged. He acknowledged that contact did occur when he moved out.


appealdecision:


isappeal:


submissionsfordecision:


reasonsfordecision:


Decision:

As Mr Butcher admitted the breach we find the charge proved.


sumissionsforpenalty:

Mr Mulcay produced Mr Butcher’s record which showed no previous breaches under this rule in the last 12 months. He said this was an excellent record and described the level of carelessness was low with mitigating factors involved. He added Mr Butcher was a busy driver.

Mr Mulcay submitted the JCA penalty guide for careless driving recommended a starting of 6 drives or a $400 fine. He said given the mitigating circumstances a reduction in penalty was warranted and submitted a fine of $250 would be appropriate.

Mr Butcher submitted that he was disappointed that such a minor incident would inevitably attract a monetary fine.


reasonsforpenalty:

The Committee carefully considered all the evidence and submissions presented. The mitigating factors were Mr Butcher’s admission of the breach, his excellent record under this rule and the level of carelessness was at the low end of the scale. This has to be balanced against the fact Mr Butcher made a small error of judgement in angling his drive out when not sufficiently clear. This resulted in UNMISSUBLE being checked and breaking.

We referred to the JCA listing of penalties for breaches under this Rule and noted that a fine of $200 was a consistent penalty imposed with similar mitigating factors.


penalty:

Accordingly, the Committee imposes a fine of $200 on Mr Butcher.


hearing_type: Hearing


Rules: 869(3)(b)


Informant: Mr S Mulcay - Stipendiary Steward


JockeysandTrainer: Mr P Butcher - Open Horseman


Otherperson: Mr J Muirhead - Stipendiary Steward


PersonPresent:


Respondent:


StipendSteward:


raceid: decc3cdb8421b38315d43785b1517bbd


race_expapproval:


racecancelled: 0


race_noreport: 0


race_emailed1: 0


race_emailed2: 0


race_title: R10


submittochair:


race_expappcomment:


race_km:


race_otherexp:


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race_pm1:


race_pm2:


meetid: 8d2778a7c78a4e19c58db2b537d1a21a


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meet_noreport: 0


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meet_emailed1: 0


meet_emailed2: 0


meetdate: 09/01/2015


meet_title: Harness Racing Waikato - 9 January 2015


meet_expappcomment:


meet_km:


meet_otherexp:


tracklocation: harness-racing-waikato


meet_racingtype: harness-racing


meet_chair: ADooley


meet_pm1: TCastles


meet_pm2: none


name: Harness Racing Waikato