Invercargill HRC 29 November 2015 – R 1 – Chair, R McKenzie
ID: JCA18087
Meet Title:
Invercargill HRC - 29 November 2015
Meet Chair:
RMcKenzie
Race Date:
2015/11/29
Race Number:
R1
Decision:
Mr Swain having admitted the charge, the charge was found proved.
Penalty:
Mr Swain was fined the sum of $300.
Facts:
Following the running of Race 1, Speeding Spur by Pegasus Spur Trot, an information was filed by Stipendiary Steward, Mr C J Allison, against Licensed Open Driver, Mr E J Swain, alleging that, as the driver of DENN NEE NOSE BEST in the race, he drove carelessly “in that near the 1500 metres [he] allowed his horse to shift inwards when insufficiently clear of PURE SUCCESS (N E Buchan) resulting in that runner breaking”.
Mr Swain was present at the hearing of the information and he indicated that he admitted the breach.
Rule 869 provides as follows:
(3) No horseman in any race shall drive:-
(b) carelessly
Mr Allison showed video replays of the relevant part of the race, as the field was leaving the back straight with approximately 1500 metres to run. He pointed out DENN NEE NOSE BEST, driven by Mrs Swain, racing in the parked position, outside the leader PURE SUCCESS (N E Buchan), and about to improve to the lead. He pointed out that Mr Swain was having some difficulty with his horse hanging inwards. He took corrective action and then pushed forward, using the whip, and had allowed his sulky to contact the off-front leg of PURE SUCCESS which broke.
Submissions for Penalty:
Mr Allison referred to the starting point of a $500 fine as per the Penalty Guide. He submitted a fine of somewhat less than that was appropriate. Mr Swain had frankly admitted the breach, he said. He has a good driving record with no previous breaches of the Rule in the relevant period. In the current season, he has had 16 drives and, in the 2014/2015 season, had 52 drives.
Mr Allison submitted that Mr Swain had made an error of judgement. Had he gone forward another stride or two, he would have cleared the other runner. He submitted a fine of around $300 was appropriate.
Mr Swain said that with “another yard” he would have been clear of PURE SUCCESS. The mare had run in and he had hit her to go forward. She is very lazy and when she gets to the front she tends to “knock off”, he said.
The possibility of a suspension rather than a fine was discussed with Mr Swain but he did not wish the Committee to consider a suspension.
Reasons for Penalty:
In determining penalty, the Committee had regard to the starting point of a $500 fine. The only aggravating factor was that the chances of another runner had been extinguished. However, there were several mitigating factors that the Committee took into account – Mr Swain’s admission of the breach, his good record and the low-end degree of carelessness.
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: ec7611da447f29fb33049627f05ca19b
informantnumber: A1436
horsename:
hearing_racingtype:
startdate: no date provided
newcharge: Careless Driving
plea: admitted
penaltyrequired: 1
decisiondate: 01/12/2015
hearing_title: Invercargill HRC 29 November 2015 - R 1 - Chair, R McKenzie
charge:
facts:
Following the running of Race 1, Speeding Spur by Pegasus Spur Trot, an information was filed by Stipendiary Steward, Mr C J Allison, against Licensed Open Driver, Mr E J Swain, alleging that, as the driver of DENN NEE NOSE BEST in the race, he drove carelessly “in that near the 1500 metres [he] allowed his horse to shift inwards when insufficiently clear of PURE SUCCESS (N E Buchan) resulting in that runner breaking”.
Mr Swain was present at the hearing of the information and he indicated that he admitted the breach.
Rule 869 provides as follows:
(3) No horseman in any race shall drive:-
(b) carelessly
Mr Allison showed video replays of the relevant part of the race, as the field was leaving the back straight with approximately 1500 metres to run. He pointed out DENN NEE NOSE BEST, driven by Mrs Swain, racing in the parked position, outside the leader PURE SUCCESS (N E Buchan), and about to improve to the lead. He pointed out that Mr Swain was having some difficulty with his horse hanging inwards. He took corrective action and then pushed forward, using the whip, and had allowed his sulky to contact the off-front leg of PURE SUCCESS which broke.
appealdecision:
isappeal:
submissionsfordecision:
reasonsfordecision:
Decision:
Mr Swain having admitted the charge, the charge was found proved.
sumissionsforpenalty:
Mr Allison referred to the starting point of a $500 fine as per the Penalty Guide. He submitted a fine of somewhat less than that was appropriate. Mr Swain had frankly admitted the breach, he said. He has a good driving record with no previous breaches of the Rule in the relevant period. In the current season, he has had 16 drives and, in the 2014/2015 season, had 52 drives.
Mr Allison submitted that Mr Swain had made an error of judgement. Had he gone forward another stride or two, he would have cleared the other runner. He submitted a fine of around $300 was appropriate.
Mr Swain said that with “another yard” he would have been clear of PURE SUCCESS. The mare had run in and he had hit her to go forward. She is very lazy and when she gets to the front she tends to “knock off”, he said.
The possibility of a suspension rather than a fine was discussed with Mr Swain but he did not wish the Committee to consider a suspension.
reasonsforpenalty:
In determining penalty, the Committee had regard to the starting point of a $500 fine. The only aggravating factor was that the chances of another runner had been extinguished. However, there were several mitigating factors that the Committee took into account – Mr Swain’s admission of the breach, his good record and the low-end degree of carelessness.
penalty:
Mr Swain was fined the sum of $300.
hearing_type: Hearing
Rules: 869(3)(b)
Informant: C J Allison, Stipendiary Steward
JockeysandTrainer: E J Swain, Licensed Open Horseman
Otherperson:
PersonPresent:
Respondent:
StipendSteward:
raceid: 32c0dc19c47b234ff61cae65fa92a96e
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: bfd36561f3187a99800a2c706ecfa25c
meet_expapproval:
meet_noreport: 0
waitingforpublication: 0
meet_emailed1: 0
meet_emailed2: 0
meetdate: 29/11/2015
meet_title: Invercargill HRC - 29 November 2015
meet_expappcomment:
meet_km:
meet_otherexp:
tracklocation: invercargill-hrc
meet_racingtype: harness-racing
meet_chair: RMcKenzie
meet_pm1: none
meet_pm2: none
name: Invercargill HRC