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Manawatu HRC 28 October 2012 – R 6

ID: JCA10719

Applicant:
Mr Renault - Stipendiary Steward

Respondent(s):
Mr J Abernethy - Driver ROMANO RADO

Information Number:
A1813

Hearing Type:
Hearing

Rules:
Rule 869(3)(b)

Plea:
admitted

Meet Title:
Manawatu HRC - 28 October 2012

Meet Chair:
TUtikere

Meet Committee Member 1:
TCastles

Race Date:
2012/10/28

Race Number:
Race 6

Decision:

As the charge was admitted it was found to be proved. 

Penalty:

Mr Abernethy’s Horseman’s Licence is suspended from the close of racing today, 28 October 2012, up to and including Friday 2 November 2012. This incorporates the Cambridge-Te Awamutu and Auckland Meetings.

Charge:

Following Race 6, Licensed Horseman J Abernethy was charged under Rule 869(3)(b). The information stated: ”Horseman J Abernethy drove ROMANO RADO carelessly when improving his horse to lead racing into the first turn checking RAVISHING IN RED (S Dickson) and resultant interference to a number of runners”.

Rule 869(3)(b) states:

“No horseman in any race shall drive:- (b) carelessly;”

Facts:

Using the head-on film, Mr Renault identified both horses soon after the start; ROMANO RADO had drawn 3 in the race, whilst RAVISHING IN RED had drawn 1. As the field approached the first bend, Mr Abernethy started to drive his horse to the front. ROMANO RADO was still located to the outside of Mr Dickson, and whilst heading out of the first turn, Mr Renault pointed out RAVISHING IN RED’s front legs make contact with Mr Abernethy’s sulky wheel. This resulted in interference to all trailing runners: a total of 10 other horses. Using the back-straight camera, Mr Renault pointed out Mr Abernethy moving towards the fence when not sufficiently clear.

Mr Abernethy commented, saying as he was going out of the gate, Mr Dickson had pulled back to allow his horse to move to the front. He tapped ROMANO RADO to get past it, and it had ducked in unexpectedly as a result. Mr Abernethy said he was not planning to go to the front until he had crossed fully over, around the bend. Mr Abernethy said he knew Mr Dickson was to his inside and that there was no calling out by drivers. Mr Renault advised the committee he had spoken to Mr Dickson who indicated his horse was travelling well, that he eased up to allow Mr Abernethy to go forward, and that he was not experiencing any difficulty.

Submissions for Penalty:

In presenting Mr Abernethy’s driving record, Mr Renault identified him as one of the North Island’s busiest drivers, having 355 drives last season and 54 drives in the current season. He stated he had a clear record under this rule for the last 12 months. The stipendiary stewards submitted the level of carelessness as mid-range, resulting in interference to 10 other horses, which the committee needed to consider. If the committee considered a suspension to be appropriate, it was submitted that 2 days would suitable.
Mr Abernethy submitted that this was the first time he had been charged under this rule in over 1000 drives. At the upcoming Cambridge-Te Awamutu Meeting, he stated he had 3-4 of his own runners and the prospect of any outside drives he may also pick up.  He also had 6 drives at the recent Auckland Meeting. He indicated he would prefer a suspension of 1 day, with anything above that to be dealt with by way of a fine.  

Reasons for Penalty:

The committee had regard to all the submissions placed before it, and also reviewed the films as part of the hearing process. It was clear that the incident was avoidable as Mr Abernethy elected to continue his inwards movement, after he had looked towards his inside; knowing Mr Dickson to be located there. Mr Abernethy needed to exercise more care when undertaking a move at a time in the race when drivers were seeking to obtain a critical position in the running. Whilst Mr Abernethy’s inwards movement may be considered incidental, the consequential effect that this movement had on a significant number of runners led the committee to place this consequential carelessness in the mid to high range. The films had clearly shown the interference to 10 other runners and the committee considered this to be an aggravating feature. The committee also considered that a suspension would be an appropriate deterrent and adopted the JCA Penalty Guidelines starting point of 8 drives. The issue of aggravation has already been identified, but the committee also found Mr Abernethy’s early admittance of the breach and his good driving record to be mitigating factors. Based on anecdotal evidence as to upcoming drives Mr Abernethy was likely to have across the upcoming Cambridge and Auckland meetings, a suspension for both of these meetings was considered to be an appropriate level of suspension on this occasion.

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: 085eca53522246e7d8d2e0d7ea76aeb3

informantnumber: A1813

horsename:

hearing_racingtype:

startdate: no date provided

newcharge:

plea: admitted

penaltyrequired: 1

decisiondate: 04/10/2012

hearing_title: Manawatu HRC 28 October 2012 - R 6

charge:

Following Race 6, Licensed Horseman J Abernethy was charged under Rule 869(3)(b). The information stated: ”Horseman J Abernethy drove ROMANO RADO carelessly when improving his horse to lead racing into the first turn checking RAVISHING IN RED (S Dickson) and resultant interference to a number of runners”.

Rule 869(3)(b) states:

“No horseman in any race shall drive:- (b) carelessly;”

facts:

Using the head-on film, Mr Renault identified both horses soon after the start; ROMANO RADO had drawn 3 in the race, whilst RAVISHING IN RED had drawn 1. As the field approached the first bend, Mr Abernethy started to drive his horse to the front. ROMANO RADO was still located to the outside of Mr Dickson, and whilst heading out of the first turn, Mr Renault pointed out RAVISHING IN RED’s front legs make contact with Mr Abernethy’s sulky wheel. This resulted in interference to all trailing runners: a total of 10 other horses. Using the back-straight camera, Mr Renault pointed out Mr Abernethy moving towards the fence when not sufficiently clear.

Mr Abernethy commented, saying as he was going out of the gate, Mr Dickson had pulled back to allow his horse to move to the front. He tapped ROMANO RADO to get past it, and it had ducked in unexpectedly as a result. Mr Abernethy said he was not planning to go to the front until he had crossed fully over, around the bend. Mr Abernethy said he knew Mr Dickson was to his inside and that there was no calling out by drivers. Mr Renault advised the committee he had spoken to Mr Dickson who indicated his horse was travelling well, that he eased up to allow Mr Abernethy to go forward, and that he was not experiencing any difficulty.

appealdecision:

isappeal:

submissionsfordecision:

reasonsfordecision:

Decision:

As the charge was admitted it was found to be proved. 

sumissionsforpenalty:

In presenting Mr Abernethy’s driving record, Mr Renault identified him as one of the North Island’s busiest drivers, having 355 drives last season and 54 drives in the current season. He stated he had a clear record under this rule for the last 12 months. The stipendiary stewards submitted the level of carelessness as mid-range, resulting in interference to 10 other horses, which the committee needed to consider. If the committee considered a suspension to be appropriate, it was submitted that 2 days would suitable.
Mr Abernethy submitted that this was the first time he had been charged under this rule in over 1000 drives. At the upcoming Cambridge-Te Awamutu Meeting, he stated he had 3-4 of his own runners and the prospect of any outside drives he may also pick up.  He also had 6 drives at the recent Auckland Meeting. He indicated he would prefer a suspension of 1 day, with anything above that to be dealt with by way of a fine.  

reasonsforpenalty:

The committee had regard to all the submissions placed before it, and also reviewed the films as part of the hearing process. It was clear that the incident was avoidable as Mr Abernethy elected to continue his inwards movement, after he had looked towards his inside; knowing Mr Dickson to be located there. Mr Abernethy needed to exercise more care when undertaking a move at a time in the race when drivers were seeking to obtain a critical position in the running. Whilst Mr Abernethy’s inwards movement may be considered incidental, the consequential effect that this movement had on a significant number of runners led the committee to place this consequential carelessness in the mid to high range. The films had clearly shown the interference to 10 other runners and the committee considered this to be an aggravating feature. The committee also considered that a suspension would be an appropriate deterrent and adopted the JCA Penalty Guidelines starting point of 8 drives. The issue of aggravation has already been identified, but the committee also found Mr Abernethy’s early admittance of the breach and his good driving record to be mitigating factors. Based on anecdotal evidence as to upcoming drives Mr Abernethy was likely to have across the upcoming Cambridge and Auckland meetings, a suspension for both of these meetings was considered to be an appropriate level of suspension on this occasion.

penalty:

Mr Abernethy’s Horseman’s Licence is suspended from the close of racing today, 28 October 2012, up to and including Friday 2 November 2012. This incorporates the Cambridge-Te Awamutu and Auckland Meetings.

hearing_type: Hearing

Rules: Rule 869(3)(b)

Informant: Mr Renault - Stipendiary Steward

JockeysandTrainer: Mr J Abernethy - Driver ROMANO RADO

Otherperson:

PersonPresent:

Respondent:

StipendSteward:

raceid: 781fea6f423d7dc752dfe2e067558069

race_expapproval:

racecancelled: 0

race_noreport: 0

race_emailed1: 0

race_emailed2: 0

race_title: Race 6

submittochair:

race_expappcomment:

race_km:

race_otherexp:

race_chair:

race_pm1:

race_pm2:

meetid: 37d54702185d9f27dbdabe8a4b98be9d

meet_expapproval: approved

meet_noreport: 0

waitingforpublication: 0

meet_emailed1: 0

meet_emailed2: 0

meetdate: 28/10/2012

meet_title: Manawatu HRC - 28 October 2012

meet_expappcomment:

meet_km: [{"Comment": [], "MemberRole": "Chair ", "MemberID": "TUtikere", "Member": "", "OtherExpenses": "0", "KMs": "0", "Total": "0.0", "kmprice": 0.0, "Approved": "on"}]

meet_otherexp:

tracklocation: manawatu-hrc

meet_racingtype: harness-racing

meet_chair: TUtikere

meet_pm1: TCastles

meet_pm2: none

name: Manawatu HRC