Archive Decision

This decision has been migrated from the JCA website. Information is accurate but formatting may differ from contemporary decisions. Please contact us for any further enquiries.

Manawatu HRC 27 March 2019 – R 3 – Chair, Mr T Utikere

ID: JCA17576

Applicant:
Mr J Muirhead - Senior Stipendiary Steward

Respondent(s):
Mr Z Butcher - Licensed Horseman

Information Number:
A10262

Hearing Type:
Hearing

New Charge:
Careless Driving

Rules:
869(3)(b)

Plea:
admitted

Meet Title:
Manawatu HRC - 27 March 2019

Meet Chair:
TUtikere

Race Date:
2019/03/27

Race Number:
R3

Decision:

As the charge was admitted, the Committee deemed the charge proved.

Penalty:

Mr Butcher is fined $200.

Facts:

Following the running of Race 3 (THANK YOU ANDRE AND DEANA MOBILE PACE 2500m) Information A10262 was filed with the Judicial Committee. It alleged a breach of Rule 869(3)(b) by Mr Z Butcher and stated that: "you drove carelessly by allowing your horse to strike the sulky wheel of KAROLYI nearing the 300 metres causing your horse to break".

Mr Butcher confirmed that he understood the rule and that he admitted the breach.

Using the Side-on film, Mr Muirhead identified Mr Butcher (AIN’T NOTHING BETTOR) racing in the Scott Dickson colours, positioned near the rear of the field as he approached the 300 metres. Mr Z Butcher then allowed his horse’s leg to make contact with the sulky wheel of Mr D Butcher (KAROLYI) racing ahead of him. The film demonstrated AIN’T NOTHING BETTOR’s leg flex when it made contact with the wheel. This led to the horse becoming unbalanced and galloping for a small distance at a crucial stage of the race. Mr Muirhead described that the horse eventually balanced up and ran on, but the damage had already been done.

Mr Z Butcher described the carelessness as “most minimal” and said it was due to a lack of judgement after the horse was not going the greatest prior to the incident occurring.

Submissions for Penalty:

Mr Muirhead identified that Mr Butcher had an excellent record, had admitted the breach and that the carelessness was at the lowest end of the scale. He said that previous breaches had been dealt with by penalties of a four to ten drive suspension or a $200 to $500 fine. He submitted a $200 fine as appropriate.

Mr Z Butcher agreed with Mr Muirhead that the carelessness was at the lowest end of the scale and that a $200 fine was appropriate.

Reasons for Penalty:

The Committee had regard to all the submissions placed before it, along with the JCA Penalty Guide’s starting point of a $500 fine for this offence. I assess the level of carelessness to sit at the low end and also note that there are no aggravating features of this breach. While on this occassion Mr Butcher has experienced a lack of judgement that has resulted in some inconvenience to his own runner, it is fortunate that no other runners were impacted as a result of his actions. In mitigation I apply his early admission of the breach and his excellent record, having a clear record for at least two years.

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: f47b70d6e99b39c6fd4a59b7876dbab9


informantnumber: A10262


horsename:


hearing_racingtype:


startdate: no date provided


newcharge: Careless Driving


plea: admitted


penaltyrequired: 1


decisiondate: 27/03/2019


hearing_title: Manawatu HRC 27 March 2019 - R 3 - Chair, Mr T Utikere


charge:


facts:

Following the running of Race 3 (THANK YOU ANDRE AND DEANA MOBILE PACE 2500m) Information A10262 was filed with the Judicial Committee. It alleged a breach of Rule 869(3)(b) by Mr Z Butcher and stated that: "you drove carelessly by allowing your horse to strike the sulky wheel of KAROLYI nearing the 300 metres causing your horse to break".

Mr Butcher confirmed that he understood the rule and that he admitted the breach.

Using the Side-on film, Mr Muirhead identified Mr Butcher (AIN’T NOTHING BETTOR) racing in the Scott Dickson colours, positioned near the rear of the field as he approached the 300 metres. Mr Z Butcher then allowed his horse’s leg to make contact with the sulky wheel of Mr D Butcher (KAROLYI) racing ahead of him. The film demonstrated AIN’T NOTHING BETTOR’s leg flex when it made contact with the wheel. This led to the horse becoming unbalanced and galloping for a small distance at a crucial stage of the race. Mr Muirhead described that the horse eventually balanced up and ran on, but the damage had already been done.

Mr Z Butcher described the carelessness as “most minimal” and said it was due to a lack of judgement after the horse was not going the greatest prior to the incident occurring.


appealdecision:


isappeal:


submissionsfordecision:


reasonsfordecision:


Decision:

As the charge was admitted, the Committee deemed the charge proved.


sumissionsforpenalty:

Mr Muirhead identified that Mr Butcher had an excellent record, had admitted the breach and that the carelessness was at the lowest end of the scale. He said that previous breaches had been dealt with by penalties of a four to ten drive suspension or a $200 to $500 fine. He submitted a $200 fine as appropriate.

Mr Z Butcher agreed with Mr Muirhead that the carelessness was at the lowest end of the scale and that a $200 fine was appropriate.


reasonsforpenalty:

The Committee had regard to all the submissions placed before it, along with the JCA Penalty Guide’s starting point of a $500 fine for this offence. I assess the level of carelessness to sit at the low end and also note that there are no aggravating features of this breach. While on this occassion Mr Butcher has experienced a lack of judgement that has resulted in some inconvenience to his own runner, it is fortunate that no other runners were impacted as a result of his actions. In mitigation I apply his early admission of the breach and his excellent record, having a clear record for at least two years.


penalty:

Mr Butcher is fined $200.


hearing_type: Hearing


Rules: 869(3)(b)


Informant: Mr J Muirhead - Senior Stipendiary Steward


JockeysandTrainer: Mr Z Butcher - Licensed Horseman


Otherperson:


PersonPresent:


Respondent:


StipendSteward:


raceid: b53b0020136a70fdf483ab0f1c51b2c1


race_expapproval:


racecancelled: 0


race_noreport: 0


race_emailed1: 0


race_emailed2: 0


race_title: R3


submittochair:


race_expappcomment:


race_km:


race_otherexp:


race_chair:


race_pm1:


race_pm2:


meetid: 68d15d05e3fcfd4261cfb64b6e52f2e2


meet_expapproval:


meet_noreport: 0


waitingforpublication: 0


meet_emailed1: 0


meet_emailed2: 0


meetdate: 27/03/2019


meet_title: Manawatu HRC - 27 March 2019


meet_expappcomment:


meet_km:


meet_otherexp:


tracklocation: manawatu-hrc


meet_racingtype: harness-racing


meet_chair: TUtikere


meet_pm1: none


meet_pm2: none


name: Manawatu HRC