Kumeu TC – 15 December 2009 – Race 2
ID: JCA21505
Hearing Type (Code):
harness-racing
Meet Title:
Kumeu TC - 15 December 2009
Race Date:
2009/12/15
Race Number:
Race 2
Decision:
KUMEU DISTRICT TROTTING CLUB
--RACEDAY JUDICIAL COMMITTEE DECISIONS
--TUESDAY 15TH DECEMBER 2009
--JCA PANEL: BJ Scott – Chairman
BJ Rowe – Committee
RACE NO: 2 INFORMATION NO: 67750 RULE NO: 857(7)(j)
--An Information was lodged by Stipendiary Steward Mr JM Muirhead alleging that Horseman Mr S Gibbons the Driver of Wyatt by pulling up his horse did trust to chance that a false start would be declared.
--
KUMEU DISTRICT TROTTING CLUB
--RACEDAY JUDICIAL COMMITTEE DECISIONS
--TUESDAY 15TH DECEMBER 2009
--
JCA PANEL: BJ Scott – Chairman
BJ Rowe – Committee
RACE NO: 2 INFORMATION NO: 67750 RULE NO: 857(7)(j)
--An Information was lodged by Stipendiary Steward Mr JM Muirhead alleging that Horseman Mr S Gibbons the Driver of Wyatt by pulling up his horse did trust to chance that a false start would be declared.
--Mr Gibbons did not admit the charge and was present at the Hearing.
--Rule 867(7)(j) and part 7 of the Race Starting Procedures Regulations were read to Mr Gibbons and he acknowledged that he understood them.
--Rule 857(7)(j) provides:
--“No Horseman shall trust to chance that a false start shall be declared.”
--Mr Muirhead also referred to part 7 of the Race Starting Procedures Regulations. This provides:
--“In the event of a false start, the Starter shall give notification to the Horseman by whistle. The Clerk of the Course shall be in such a position on the track to relay advice of the false start to the Horsemen.”
--Mr Muirhead first called the Starter Mr Colin Courtney and asked him to give evidence about the circumstances of the start. Mr Courtney said there was nothing unusual about the start and that the horses were all lined up and he then let them go. He did acknowledge that Mr Brosnan was having problems with his horse but as far as Mr Courtney was concerned it was a fair start for everyone else.
--Mr Courtney said he definitely did not call a false start and he told this Committee about the steps that he would take if he was to call a false start.
--Mr Courtney also said that he had spoken to the Stipendiary Stewards with his Starter’s Assistants and that none of them had given any indication that there was a false start.
--Mr Gibbons accepted Mr Courtney’s evidence.
--Mr Gibbons was given the opportunity to cross examine Mr Courtney and he only asked him how long did Mr Brosnan’s horse stand at the start. Mr Courtney was not sure.
--Mr Muirhead in giving his evidence said that he had spoken to Mr Gibbons and Mr Gibbons had told him that he had heard somebody say that there was a false start and he pulled his horse up.
--Mr Muirhead showed the films and this clearly showed Mr Gibbons pulling up his horse.
--Mr Gibbons did not ask any questions of Mr Muirhead’s evidence.
--Mr Gibbons for his part said that he got his horse into its gait and he heard the Commentator calling out that it was a false start. He also heard calls from other Drivers and he also saw the Clerk of the Course heading across to the leading horses. He thought he was going to tell them that it was a false start. He made a decision to pull his horse up.
--Mr Gibbons in answer to a question by Mr Muirhead said that he had heard the calls from the other Drivers and he was lead to believe by the Commentator and one of the other Drivers that it was a false start. He acknowledged that he did not hear the whistle and he made the decision 200 metres after the start.
--He also said again that he saw the Clerk of the Course heading across to the leading horses and he had looked back and saw Mr Brosnan’s horse back at the start. He believed that it was a false start.
--In answer to a question from this Committee, Mr Gibbons said that he did not know where the driverless horse was. He also said that he had not previously been in a standing start false start but he did know the procedure.
--Mr Muirhead in his summary said again that Horsemen have to drive horses out to the end of the race and the Rules oblige them to do so. Even though Mr Gibbons was concentrating on getting his horse back into its gait he should have continued on and that is the reason for the Stewards bringing the charge.
--
Decision and Reasons
The Committee in listening to the earlier evidence and watching the films has found that Mr Gibbons knew it was not a false start, knew the false start procedure and although he referred to the actions of the Clerk of the Course he knew that the Clerk of the Course would have acted much earlier and advised most of the Drivers if it had have been a false start.
The Committee finds that the charge is proven and therefore asks the parties for submissions as to penalty.
--Mr Muirhead referred to the JCA Guidelines which provide for a fine of $250.00 and for his part Mr Gibbons asked for consistency of penalty.
--Mr Muirhead noted that Mr Gibbons has a good driving record although he has only had 15-20 drives in the last 12 months. Mr Muirhead said that the offending was in the medium range.
--The Committee in imposing penalty believes that it was proper for the Stipendiary Stewards to bring this charge. It was clearly a very confusing situation for Horsemen and the situation was not helped by the statements from the Commentator.
--This Committee is aware of the JCA Guideline but believes that there are very unusual circumstances in this situation and accordingly Mr Gibbons is given some benefit of the doubt and this Committee imposes a fine of $100.00.
--Mr Gibbons is also reminded of his obligations as a Driver for the future.
--
BJ Scott BJ Rowe
Chairman Committee Member
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: c71f72163a2458193f64f52f4897c799
informantnumber:
horsename:
hearing_racingtype: harness-racing
startdate: 15/12/2009
newcharge:
plea:
penaltyrequired:
decisiondate: no date provided
hearing_title: Kumeu TC - 15 December 2009 - Race 2
charge:
facts:
appealdecision:
isappeal:
submissionsfordecision:
reasonsfordecision:
Decision:
KUMEU DISTRICT TROTTING CLUB
--RACEDAY JUDICIAL COMMITTEE DECISIONS
--TUESDAY 15TH DECEMBER 2009
--JCA PANEL: BJ Scott – Chairman
BJ Rowe – Committee
RACE NO: 2 INFORMATION NO: 67750 RULE NO: 857(7)(j)
--An Information was lodged by Stipendiary Steward Mr JM Muirhead alleging that Horseman Mr S Gibbons the Driver of Wyatt by pulling up his horse did trust to chance that a false start would be declared.
--
KUMEU DISTRICT TROTTING CLUB
--RACEDAY JUDICIAL COMMITTEE DECISIONS
--TUESDAY 15TH DECEMBER 2009
--
JCA PANEL: BJ Scott – Chairman
BJ Rowe – Committee
RACE NO: 2 INFORMATION NO: 67750 RULE NO: 857(7)(j)
--An Information was lodged by Stipendiary Steward Mr JM Muirhead alleging that Horseman Mr S Gibbons the Driver of Wyatt by pulling up his horse did trust to chance that a false start would be declared.
--Mr Gibbons did not admit the charge and was present at the Hearing.
--Rule 867(7)(j) and part 7 of the Race Starting Procedures Regulations were read to Mr Gibbons and he acknowledged that he understood them.
--Rule 857(7)(j) provides:
--“No Horseman shall trust to chance that a false start shall be declared.”
--Mr Muirhead also referred to part 7 of the Race Starting Procedures Regulations. This provides:
--“In the event of a false start, the Starter shall give notification to the Horseman by whistle. The Clerk of the Course shall be in such a position on the track to relay advice of the false start to the Horsemen.”
--Mr Muirhead first called the Starter Mr Colin Courtney and asked him to give evidence about the circumstances of the start. Mr Courtney said there was nothing unusual about the start and that the horses were all lined up and he then let them go. He did acknowledge that Mr Brosnan was having problems with his horse but as far as Mr Courtney was concerned it was a fair start for everyone else.
--Mr Courtney said he definitely did not call a false start and he told this Committee about the steps that he would take if he was to call a false start.
--Mr Courtney also said that he had spoken to the Stipendiary Stewards with his Starter’s Assistants and that none of them had given any indication that there was a false start.
--Mr Gibbons accepted Mr Courtney’s evidence.
--Mr Gibbons was given the opportunity to cross examine Mr Courtney and he only asked him how long did Mr Brosnan’s horse stand at the start. Mr Courtney was not sure.
--Mr Muirhead in giving his evidence said that he had spoken to Mr Gibbons and Mr Gibbons had told him that he had heard somebody say that there was a false start and he pulled his horse up.
--Mr Muirhead showed the films and this clearly showed Mr Gibbons pulling up his horse.
--Mr Gibbons did not ask any questions of Mr Muirhead’s evidence.
--Mr Gibbons for his part said that he got his horse into its gait and he heard the Commentator calling out that it was a false start. He also heard calls from other Drivers and he also saw the Clerk of the Course heading across to the leading horses. He thought he was going to tell them that it was a false start. He made a decision to pull his horse up.
--Mr Gibbons in answer to a question by Mr Muirhead said that he had heard the calls from the other Drivers and he was lead to believe by the Commentator and one of the other Drivers that it was a false start. He acknowledged that he did not hear the whistle and he made the decision 200 metres after the start.
--He also said again that he saw the Clerk of the Course heading across to the leading horses and he had looked back and saw Mr Brosnan’s horse back at the start. He believed that it was a false start.
--In answer to a question from this Committee, Mr Gibbons said that he did not know where the driverless horse was. He also said that he had not previously been in a standing start false start but he did know the procedure.
--Mr Muirhead in his summary said again that Horsemen have to drive horses out to the end of the race and the Rules oblige them to do so. Even though Mr Gibbons was concentrating on getting his horse back into its gait he should have continued on and that is the reason for the Stewards bringing the charge.
--
Decision and Reasons
The Committee in listening to the earlier evidence and watching the films has found that Mr Gibbons knew it was not a false start, knew the false start procedure and although he referred to the actions of the Clerk of the Course he knew that the Clerk of the Course would have acted much earlier and advised most of the Drivers if it had have been a false start.
The Committee finds that the charge is proven and therefore asks the parties for submissions as to penalty.
--Mr Muirhead referred to the JCA Guidelines which provide for a fine of $250.00 and for his part Mr Gibbons asked for consistency of penalty.
--Mr Muirhead noted that Mr Gibbons has a good driving record although he has only had 15-20 drives in the last 12 months. Mr Muirhead said that the offending was in the medium range.
--The Committee in imposing penalty believes that it was proper for the Stipendiary Stewards to bring this charge. It was clearly a very confusing situation for Horsemen and the situation was not helped by the statements from the Commentator.
--This Committee is aware of the JCA Guideline but believes that there are very unusual circumstances in this situation and accordingly Mr Gibbons is given some benefit of the doubt and this Committee imposes a fine of $100.00.
--Mr Gibbons is also reminded of his obligations as a Driver for the future.
--
BJ Scott BJ Rowe
Chairman Committee Member
sumissionsforpenalty:
reasonsforpenalty:
penalty:
hearing_type: Old Hearing
Rules: 867.7.j, 857.7.j
Informant:
JockeysandTrainer:
Otherperson:
PersonPresent:
Respondent:
StipendSteward:
raceid: 4a0a091a040629932e285675e384248e
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race_emailed1: 0
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race_title: Race 2
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meetdate: 15/12/2009
meet_title: Kumeu TC - 15 December 2009
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