Manawatu HRC 1 March 2016 – R 6 – Chair, Mr P Williams
ID: JCA13181
Meet Title:
Manawatu HRC - 1 March 2016
Meet Chair:
PWilliams
Race Date:
2016/03/01
Race Number:
R6
Decision:
Penalty:
Facts:
Following the running of race 6 the “Revital Fertilisers Country Cup April 1 Mobile Pace” Information A3778 was filed by Stipendiary Steward Mr S Mulcay alleging a breach of Rule 869(3)(b) by Open Horseman Mr P Butcher. The Information stated “that he drove carelessly approaching the winning post the first time by allowing “Saharazona” to contact the offside sulky wheel of “Stand Sure”. Mr Butcher signed the Information admitting the breach and also confirmed at the beginning of the hearing that he understood the Rule under which he had been charged.
Rule 869(3)(b) states:- “No horseman in any race shall drive carelessly”.
Submissions for Decision:
Mr Mulcay, using the head-on film, said Mr Butcher was drawn 5 off the front and shortly after the start of the race he commenced to angle his horse inwards towards the running rail. He said in doing so he made contact with the offside sulky wheel of “Stand Sure” which resulted in the tyre being punctured and the tyre and tube coming away from the wheel which caused “Stand Sure” to be pulled up and retired from the race.
Mr Butcher said he did not disagree with Mr Mulcay’s interpretation of the film. He said “it was a matter of inches” but clearly contact had occurred.
Submissions for Penalty:
Mr Mulcay said Mr Butcher had not breached this Rule in the previous 12 months. He said the severity of the incident was very low as there had been minimal contact and it was a simple error of judgment although the consequences did see “Stand Sure” retired from the race. He said he felt there was an anomaly in the JCA’s Penalty Guideline whereby the starting point for a breach of this Rule was a $500 fine or a 10 drive suspension but the starting point for a breach of Rule 869(4) – Hitting a Wheel – was a $200 fine. He said it was correct for Mr Butcher to have been charged under the careless driving but submitted that because he had a clear record in relation to this rule and the contact was very minimal that a fine of $200 was an appropriate penalty on this occasion.
Mr Butcher said Mr Mulcay’s comments were very fair.
Reasons for Penalty:
The Committee has reviewed the films of the incident which was fully described by Mr Mulcay and also considered his supporting submissions. It is clear that Mr Butcher’s horse did contact the sulky wheel of “Stand Sure” although the actual point of contact is difficult to see because it was so slight. What is clear from the film is that as contact occurred the driver of “Stand Sure” – Mr Schumacher – can be seen to look down at the wheel realising something was amiss with the tyre.
The Committee believes the severity of the carelessness to be low range and was clearly unintentional. The Committee notes Mr Butcher has admitted the breach, had approximately 230 drives this season and has not breached the careless driving Rule in the previous 12 months.
The JCA’s Penalty Guidelines state a starting point for a breach of this Rule is a $500 fine or a 10 drive suspension. A review of recent penalties for similar breaches of the Rule shows a wide range of penalties have been imposed ranging from a fine, a suspension or in some cases both. On this occasion the Committee believes a fine is an appropriate penalty because the severity of the degree of carelessness was very low.
JCA Decision Fields (raw)
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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: 4e537eadd565aa512418a254053714ab
informantnumber: A3778
horsename:
hearing_racingtype:
startdate: no date provided
newcharge: Careless driving
plea: admitted
penaltyrequired: 1
decisiondate: 03/03/2016
hearing_title: Manawatu HRC 1 March 2016 - R 6 - Chair, Mr P Williams
charge:
facts:
Following the running of race 6 the “Revital Fertilisers Country Cup April 1 Mobile Pace” Information A3778 was filed by Stipendiary Steward Mr S Mulcay alleging a breach of Rule 869(3)(b) by Open Horseman Mr P Butcher. The Information stated “that he drove carelessly approaching the winning post the first time by allowing “Saharazona” to contact the offside sulky wheel of “Stand Sure”. Mr Butcher signed the Information admitting the breach and also confirmed at the beginning of the hearing that he understood the Rule under which he had been charged.
Rule 869(3)(b) states:- “No horseman in any race shall drive carelessly”.
appealdecision:
isappeal:
submissionsfordecision:
Mr Mulcay, using the head-on film, said Mr Butcher was drawn 5 off the front and shortly after the start of the race he commenced to angle his horse inwards towards the running rail. He said in doing so he made contact with the offside sulky wheel of “Stand Sure” which resulted in the tyre being punctured and the tyre and tube coming away from the wheel which caused “Stand Sure” to be pulled up and retired from the race.
Mr Butcher said he did not disagree with Mr Mulcay’s interpretation of the film. He said “it was a matter of inches” but clearly contact had occurred.
reasonsfordecision:
Decision:
sumissionsforpenalty:
Mr Mulcay said Mr Butcher had not breached this Rule in the previous 12 months. He said the severity of the incident was very low as there had been minimal contact and it was a simple error of judgment although the consequences did see “Stand Sure” retired from the race. He said he felt there was an anomaly in the JCA’s Penalty Guideline whereby the starting point for a breach of this Rule was a $500 fine or a 10 drive suspension but the starting point for a breach of Rule 869(4) – Hitting a Wheel – was a $200 fine. He said it was correct for Mr Butcher to have been charged under the careless driving but submitted that because he had a clear record in relation to this rule and the contact was very minimal that a fine of $200 was an appropriate penalty on this occasion.
Mr Butcher said Mr Mulcay’s comments were very fair.
reasonsforpenalty:
The Committee has reviewed the films of the incident which was fully described by Mr Mulcay and also considered his supporting submissions. It is clear that Mr Butcher’s horse did contact the sulky wheel of “Stand Sure” although the actual point of contact is difficult to see because it was so slight. What is clear from the film is that as contact occurred the driver of “Stand Sure” – Mr Schumacher – can be seen to look down at the wheel realising something was amiss with the tyre.
The Committee believes the severity of the carelessness to be low range and was clearly unintentional. The Committee notes Mr Butcher has admitted the breach, had approximately 230 drives this season and has not breached the careless driving Rule in the previous 12 months.
The JCA’s Penalty Guidelines state a starting point for a breach of this Rule is a $500 fine or a 10 drive suspension. A review of recent penalties for similar breaches of the Rule shows a wide range of penalties have been imposed ranging from a fine, a suspension or in some cases both. On this occasion the Committee believes a fine is an appropriate penalty because the severity of the degree of carelessness was very low.
penalty:
hearing_type: Hearing
Rules: 869(3)(b)
Informant: Mr S Mulcay - Stipendiary Steward
JockeysandTrainer: Mr P Butcher - Open Horseman
Otherperson: Mr L Tidmarsh - Stipendiary Steward
PersonPresent:
Respondent:
StipendSteward:
raceid: cc39a736a69a9bc9cc4ce99c6fe732c7
race_expapproval:
racecancelled: 0
race_noreport: 0
race_emailed1: 0
race_emailed2: 0
race_title: R6
submittochair:
race_expappcomment:
race_km:
race_otherexp:
race_chair:
race_pm1:
race_pm2:
meetid: dba862a005972de428b041c022adadef
meet_expapproval:
meet_noreport: 0
waitingforpublication: 0
meet_emailed1: 0
meet_emailed2: 0
meetdate: 01/03/2016
meet_title: Manawatu HRC - 1 March 2016
meet_expappcomment:
meet_km:
meet_otherexp:
tracklocation: manawatu-hrc
meet_racingtype: harness-racing
meet_chair: PWilliams
meet_pm1: none
meet_pm2: none
name: Manawatu HRC