Matamata RC 29 December 2018 – R 2 – Chair, Mr N McCutcheon
ID: JCA17683
Code:
Thoroughbred
Meet Title:
Matamata RC - 29 December 2018
Meet Chair:
NMcCutcheon
Meet Committee Member 1:
ADooley
Race Date:
2018/12/29
Race Number:
R 2
Decision:
The charge of misconduct preferred against Ms Thornton was upheld.
Penalty:
Ms Thornton was fined $600.
Facts:
During the course of the day Information No.A11077 was filed with the Judicial Committee. It was alleged by the Informant that Ms Thornton had misconducted herself by leaving a Stewards inquiry before it had been concluded and then refused to attend the inquiry room on a number of occasions when directed to do so (by Stewards).
Rule 340 provides:
A Licensed person, Owner, Lessee, Racing Manager, Official or other person bound by these rules must not misconduct himself in any matter relating to the conduct of Races or racing.
Ms Thornton acknowledged by way of a nod of her head that she understood the Rule, the Charge and confirmed that she denied the charge.
The Chairman advised Ms Thornton the course that the hearing would follow and she was told of her rights in a defended hearing.
Submissions for Decision:
Mr Williamson said that following the running of Race 2, the Stewards were conducting an inquiry into an alleged breach of the whip guidelines with Ms Thornton. He said that during the course of the inquiry Ms Thornton became very agitated and walked out of the room without permission to do so. Mr Williamson said that he then sent Stipendiary Steward, Mr Jones to look for Ms Thornton and ask her to return to the room.
Mr Williamson then called Mr Jones as a witness.
Mr Jones said that when he started to speak to Ms Thornton she said “tell them to charge me I won’t be coming into the room”. Mr Jones said that she then went back into the Jockeys Room. Mr Jones said that on the second attempt to speak to Ms Thornton he was told by a fellow jockey that she was in the bathroom.
Ms Thornton did not have any questions of Mr Williamson or Mr Jones.
Mr Williamson said that following the running of the next race Stipendiary Steward, Mr Robinson went looking for Ms Thornton but that she could not be found in the surrounding areas. He then said that following Race 5 he tried to talk to Ms Thornton regarding the performance of her mount and that he got a mixed response and that she walked away from him.
Mr Williamson said that the decision was then made by the Stipendiary Stewards to not allow Ms Thornton to weigh-out for the next race until such time as she made contact with the Stewards. The Trainers of the horse involved were advised of the situation and they said that they would be placed at a major disadvantage if Ms Thornton did not ride their horse. He said that under the circumstances they did allow her to weigh out and ride the horse which finished second.
Following the race Mr Williamson instructed Mr Robinson to advise Ms Thornton that she was not to leave the course until being seen by the Stewards. He said that shortly afterwards Ms Thornton came to the inquiry room.
Ms Thornton did not have any questions.
Ms Thornton said that her job was to ride her horses and not go into the room every time the Stewards wanted her. She said that she was not missing as she was in the bathroom and then doing the form. She said that she had left the room initially because she thought that the Stewards had finished with her. She added that she was not told the reason why she could not weigh out.
Summation
Mr Williamson said that when Mr Robinson went looking for Ms Thornton he was given an assurance that she was not in the Jockeys Room. He said that jockeys are expected to attend inquiries in a timely manner and that Jockeys are generally cooperative with the Stewards. He said that Stewards need to be in control of situations to enable them to perform their duties.
Ms Thornton said that she had at no time told the Stewards that she would not attend the room. Ms Thornton questioned the Chairman whether there was a Rule that said that she had to attend inquiries when asked to do so by the Stewards. The matter concerning attending inquiries etc when requested to do so was explained in detail by the Chairman of the Committee.
Reasons for Decision:
Stipendiary Stewards have many and varied duties to perform on a raceday and all Licence-holders are required to cooperate at all times to enable them to fulfil such duties in a timely manner in the interests of all parties involved. Rule 204 provides Stewards with the power to investigate potential breaches of the Rules. On this occasion the Committee was satisfied that the Stewards were conducting an investigation into an alleged breach of the Whip Rule when Ms Thornton exited the inquiry room. The same Rule applies in relation to Ms Thornton’s repeated failure to engage with the Stewards when requested to do so.
The definition of misconduct in the Heinemann NZ Dictionary is in part
1. Wrong or unlawful behaviour
After careful consideration of all the evidence and submissions the Committee found that Ms Thornton did misconduct herself by (a) Leaving the inquiry room without being given permission to do so whilst being questioned by the Stipendiary Stewards (b) Her response to Mr Jones when she said to him “tell them to charge me I won’t be coming into the room” (c) Her repeated failure to engage with Stewards when requested to do so.
The action and response by Ms Thornton was clearly wrong and falls within the category of misconduct.
Submissions for Penalty:
Mr Williamson said that Ms Thornton had a clear record under the misconduct Rule. He said that the Stipendiary Stewards were only trying to do their job and that Ms Thornton had made it difficult. He said that the Trainers of her engaged ride in Race 6 were also disadvantaged. Mr Williamson submitted that a fine would be an appropriate penalty.
Ms Thornton had nothing to say regarding penalty when given the opportunity to do so by the Committee. When pressed she said that it would not matter what she said.
Reasons for Penalty:
The Committee gave careful consideration to all submissions and the Penalty Guidelines which is fact dependant. It was very clear to the Committee that the respondent had difficulty responding in an acceptable manner towards the Stipendiary Stewards which made it difficult for them to execute their duties. As alluded to earlier in the decision, Stewards must be able to fulfil their duties in an orderly manner and should not be impeded in doing so by a Licence-holder.
The Committee determined that a fine of $600 was a suitable end result.
Decision Date: 01/01/2019
Publish Date: 01/01/2019
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: df2e7e8c8219394f99bab978819486eb
informantnumber: A11077
horsename:
hearing_racingtype:
startdate: no date provided
newcharge: Misconduct
plea: denied
penaltyrequired: 1
decisiondate: 01/01/2019
hearing_title: Matamata RC 29 December 2018 - R 2 - Chair, Mr N McCutcheon
charge:
facts:
During the course of the day Information No.A11077 was filed with the Judicial Committee. It was alleged by the Informant that Ms Thornton had misconducted herself by leaving a Stewards inquiry before it had been concluded and then refused to attend the inquiry room on a number of occasions when directed to do so (by Stewards).
Rule 340 provides:
A Licensed person, Owner, Lessee, Racing Manager, Official or other person bound by these rules must not misconduct himself in any matter relating to the conduct of Races or racing.
Ms Thornton acknowledged by way of a nod of her head that she understood the Rule, the Charge and confirmed that she denied the charge.
The Chairman advised Ms Thornton the course that the hearing would follow and she was told of her rights in a defended hearing.
appealdecision:
isappeal:
submissionsfordecision:
Mr Williamson said that following the running of Race 2, the Stewards were conducting an inquiry into an alleged breach of the whip guidelines with Ms Thornton. He said that during the course of the inquiry Ms Thornton became very agitated and walked out of the room without permission to do so. Mr Williamson said that he then sent Stipendiary Steward, Mr Jones to look for Ms Thornton and ask her to return to the room.
Mr Williamson then called Mr Jones as a witness.
Mr Jones said that when he started to speak to Ms Thornton she said “tell them to charge me I won’t be coming into the room”. Mr Jones said that she then went back into the Jockeys Room. Mr Jones said that on the second attempt to speak to Ms Thornton he was told by a fellow jockey that she was in the bathroom.
Ms Thornton did not have any questions of Mr Williamson or Mr Jones.
Mr Williamson said that following the running of the next race Stipendiary Steward, Mr Robinson went looking for Ms Thornton but that she could not be found in the surrounding areas. He then said that following Race 5 he tried to talk to Ms Thornton regarding the performance of her mount and that he got a mixed response and that she walked away from him.
Mr Williamson said that the decision was then made by the Stipendiary Stewards to not allow Ms Thornton to weigh-out for the next race until such time as she made contact with the Stewards. The Trainers of the horse involved were advised of the situation and they said that they would be placed at a major disadvantage if Ms Thornton did not ride their horse. He said that under the circumstances they did allow her to weigh out and ride the horse which finished second.
Following the race Mr Williamson instructed Mr Robinson to advise Ms Thornton that she was not to leave the course until being seen by the Stewards. He said that shortly afterwards Ms Thornton came to the inquiry room.
Ms Thornton did not have any questions.
Ms Thornton said that her job was to ride her horses and not go into the room every time the Stewards wanted her. She said that she was not missing as she was in the bathroom and then doing the form. She said that she had left the room initially because she thought that the Stewards had finished with her. She added that she was not told the reason why she could not weigh out.
Summation
Mr Williamson said that when Mr Robinson went looking for Ms Thornton he was given an assurance that she was not in the Jockeys Room. He said that jockeys are expected to attend inquiries in a timely manner and that Jockeys are generally cooperative with the Stewards. He said that Stewards need to be in control of situations to enable them to perform their duties.
Ms Thornton said that she had at no time told the Stewards that she would not attend the room. Ms Thornton questioned the Chairman whether there was a Rule that said that she had to attend inquiries when asked to do so by the Stewards. The matter concerning attending inquiries etc when requested to do so was explained in detail by the Chairman of the Committee.
reasonsfordecision:
Stipendiary Stewards have many and varied duties to perform on a raceday and all Licence-holders are required to cooperate at all times to enable them to fulfil such duties in a timely manner in the interests of all parties involved. Rule 204 provides Stewards with the power to investigate potential breaches of the Rules. On this occasion the Committee was satisfied that the Stewards were conducting an investigation into an alleged breach of the Whip Rule when Ms Thornton exited the inquiry room. The same Rule applies in relation to Ms Thornton’s repeated failure to engage with the Stewards when requested to do so.
The definition of misconduct in the Heinemann NZ Dictionary is in part
1. Wrong or unlawful behaviour
After careful consideration of all the evidence and submissions the Committee found that Ms Thornton did misconduct herself by (a) Leaving the inquiry room without being given permission to do so whilst being questioned by the Stipendiary Stewards (b) Her response to Mr Jones when she said to him “tell them to charge me I won’t be coming into the room” (c) Her repeated failure to engage with Stewards when requested to do so.
The action and response by Ms Thornton was clearly wrong and falls within the category of misconduct.
Decision:
The charge of misconduct preferred against Ms Thornton was upheld.
sumissionsforpenalty:
Mr Williamson said that Ms Thornton had a clear record under the misconduct Rule. He said that the Stipendiary Stewards were only trying to do their job and that Ms Thornton had made it difficult. He said that the Trainers of her engaged ride in Race 6 were also disadvantaged. Mr Williamson submitted that a fine would be an appropriate penalty.
Ms Thornton had nothing to say regarding penalty when given the opportunity to do so by the Committee. When pressed she said that it would not matter what she said.
reasonsforpenalty:
The Committee gave careful consideration to all submissions and the Penalty Guidelines which is fact dependant. It was very clear to the Committee that the respondent had difficulty responding in an acceptable manner towards the Stipendiary Stewards which made it difficult for them to execute their duties. As alluded to earlier in the decision, Stewards must be able to fulfil their duties in an orderly manner and should not be impeded in doing so by a Licence-holder.
The Committee determined that a fine of $600 was a suitable end result.
penalty:
Ms Thornton was fined $600.
hearing_type: Hearing
Rules: 340
Informant: Mr M Williamson - Senior Stipendiary Steward
JockeysandTrainer: Ms T Thornton - Licensed Jockey
Otherperson: Mr B Jones - Stipendiary Steward, Mr J Oatham - Chief Stipendiary Steward
PersonPresent:
Respondent:
StipendSteward:
raceid: 7db8d78b9f3ad238fdaa724869694987
race_expapproval:
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race_title: R 2
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meetdate: 29/12/2018
meet_title: Matamata RC - 29 December 2018
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