Non Raceday Inquiry RIU v M Purdon 19 July 2012 – Decision on Penalty and Costs dated 7 September 2012

hearingid: d3ad1ae57a650f274e178e3bf1388449

informantnumber: A2403

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decisiondate: 05/09/2012

hearing_title: Non Raceday Inquiry RIU v M Purdon 19 July 2012 - Decision on Penalty and Costs dated 7 September 2012

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appealdecision: NO LINKED APPEAL DECISION

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Decision:

IN THE MATTER of the New Zealand Rules of Harness Racing Rule 305(a)

BETWEEN Mr N McIntyre – Stipendiary Steward
Informant
AND Mr M Purdon – Licensed Public Trainer
Defendant
Information No: A2403

Venue: Te Rapa Racecourse

Judicial Committee: Mr A J Dooley (Chairman), Mr J N Holloway (Committee Member)

Appearing: Mr N McIntyre – Stipendiary Steward, Mr R Neal – Stipendiary Steward, Mr M Branch – Representing Mr M Purdon, Mr L Hollis, Stable Foreman for Mr Purdon and Mr M Purdon (called as witnesses via a teleconference call)

Plea: Not admitted 

Date of Hearing:  19 July 2012

Non Raceday Inquiry – Decision on Penalty and Costs

Mr M Purdon was charged with a breach of Rule 305(a) at the Cambridge – Te Awamutu Harness Racing Club on the 2nd June 2012. He denied the charge and the matter was heard on 19th July 2012.

The charge was established and following the written decision, submissions on penalty from both parties was requested.

Mr McIntyre’s Submissions on behalf of the Racing Integrity Unit:

Mr McIntyre submitted that in considering penalty the Judicial Committee should have regard to:

1. The gravity of the offence, including the charge, the importance and status - (Harness Jewels Group 1 race which is one of the highlights of the racing year), the outcome of the race and whether racegoers were affected by the offence;

2. Whether the Respondent admitted the charge;

3. The personal circumstances of the Respondent, including experience, previous offences;

4. The need to maintain integrity and public confidence in Harness Racing;

Addressing these points in turn:
1. The Judicial Committee is respectfully referred to Rule 1114 (2) which provides for situations where the offending occurs in races of significance. It is so submitted that the race in which ESCAPEE competed is such a race, and this is an aggravating factor. In addition, ESCAPEE was 2/2 in the betting market and obviously significant wagering occurred with respect to her chances. And, notwithstanding that the Stewards expect all trainers to advise of any adverse condition(s), the fact that ESCAPEE was the subject of significant wagering should have placed a greater obligation on the Respondent.

2. The Respondent did not admit the charge. In these circumstances the Respondent is not entitled to a discount for a plea of guilty.

3. The Respondent has co-trained [with Mr G Payne], 446 starters in the season to date (5/6/12) and co-trained horses with Mr Payne, 589 times in 2010-11 season. His ‘lifetime’ total of horses trained, commencing from 1995 is 6,149. The records of HRNZ show 1,346 wins, 1,030 2nds, and 795 3rds. The Respondent’s record contains no previous offences under this rule.

4. The Racing Integrity Unit Ltd considers that a failure to report a condition to the Stewards which may affect the performance of a horse, strikes at the heart of the image of Harness Racing. The requirement of the Rule is vital to maintaining punter and public confidence in the integrity in the sport and also the horse’s welfare.

Summary:
Mr Purdon is considered a very experienced trainer. He is exceptionally well regarded, and this is of significant credit to him. However, on this occasion he has erred in not advising of a condition that may have affected the running of his horse, ESCAPEE. Instead, he has made a call which the Judicial Committee has found to be in error. As such, this error is deserving of penalty.

Penalties:
With respect to penalty, the Judicial Control Authority penalty guide provides a starting point of $400.00.

Given the circumstances of the offence and of the offender, the Racing Integrity Unit Ltd, submits that a monetary fine be imposed. It is submitted that given all factors, (including the status of the race, the degree of offending and Mr Purdon’s favourable record) that a fine of $500 be imposed.

Costs:

Rule 1114 (3) of the New Zealand Rules of Harness Racing provide as follows:

(3) On the determination of an information or its withdrawal or dismissal the Judicial Committee may order all or any of the costs and/or expenses of any party to the proceedings of and incidental to the hearing of the information be paid by such person or body as it thinks fit and may fix an amount by way of such costs and expenses.

The Racing Integrity Unit makes an application to be awarded the sum of $100 in costs, which covers the cost of transcriptions.

Mr Branch’s Submissions on behalf of Mr M Purdon:

1. It is submitted that the Judicial Committee has found that Mr Purdon’s opinion that the rub to Escapee would not have affected its performance was (to use the Informant’s words) found to be in error.

2. Be that as it may, there is no suggestion that Mr Purdon’s opinion was not held or exercised other than in good faith. Indeed, the Informant acknowledges that Mr Purdon “… is exceptionally well regarded and this is of significant credit to him”.

3. In the circumstances, it is submitted that this offence should be at the lower end of the scale.

4. In relation to submissions made by the Informant, the following reply is made:

a. While there was no guilty plea, the charge always had to be defended because of the fact that the issue was essentially a matter of opinion and the exercise of the trainer’s judgement. Even the Informant acknowledges that the offence is essentially that Mr Purdon “… made a call which the Judicial Committee has found to be in error”.
b. The exercise of an opinion held and acted on in good faith, albeit one which is found to have not been correct, does not strike at the heart of public confidence.
c. The suggestion that because ESCAPEE was the favourite, the penalty should be increased should, with respect, be rejected. Notably, that factor is not one specifically referred to in rule 1114(2). The reason for that is obvious, it would create a sliding scale where the less favoured the horse, the lower the penalty, and vice versa. In summary, the penalty for exercising an erroneous opinion about the condition of a horse (or indeed any other offence under the Rules) should not be increased because of the amount of money invested on that particular horse.
d. The RIU has the role of being the industry’s police force. The costs inherent in presenting a charge such as transcribing statements the RIU has taken, are simply a part of the role of the RIU and should not be used as a means of increasing the penalty.

5. In all the circumstances, it is respectfully submitted that an appropriate fine would be $200, with no costs payable.

Reasons for Penalty:

The committee carefully considered all the submissions presented.

In arriving at an appropriate penalty, we took into account the following key factors:

1. Mr Purdon is a very experienced Open Horseman and Leading Trainer.

2. Mr Purdon had a clear record under this Rule.

3. The breach, we independently assess as mid – range in seriousness.

4. The status of the race is a significant aggravating factor, as ESCAPEE competed in a Group 1 event worth $100,000, on a premier race day.

5. A further significant aggravating factor is that people investing on the race were unaware that ESCAPEE had a pre race condition, which may have affected her performance. The expert opinion of the raceday Veterinarian, Mr Brightwell, confirmed that it was highly likely the lesion would have affected ESCAPEE’s performance.

6. It was noted in the Stewards’ report that ESCAPEE broke on two occasions and finished in 9th place, 29 lengths from the winner.

7. It was noted that ESCAPEE was installed as the 2nd favourite in the race.

8. The committee was concerned with the pre and post race photos taken of ESCAPEE from an animal welfare and public perception point of view. It is paramount for the integrity of harness racing that public confidence is maintained at the highest level.

9. We referred to the JCA penalty guide under this Rule. The recommendation for careless or negligent was a starting point of a $400 fine, and a starting point of $1,000 fine for wilful or deliberate.

10. We then referred to the JCA archive listing of penalties under this Rule. This showed no precedent with regards to an appropriate penalty.

11. The only other reference we viewed was for a similar breach at Christchurch in October 2009, when a horse was declared a late scratching when the racecourse vet discovered an open hip wound.

sumissionsforpenalty:

reasonsforpenalty:

penalty:

After balancing all of the above points, and, placing emphasis on the two significant aggravating factors, the committee believes an appropriate penalty for this breach is a fine of $600.

The committee rules that Mr Purdon should not be responsible for the Racing Integrity Unit cost for the transcripts.

Accordingly, we order Mr M Purdon to pay a fine of $600 as well as $650 towards costs of the Judicial Control Authority.

AJ Dooley        J Holloway
Chairman       Committee Member

7 September 2012

hearing_type: Non-race day

Rules: 305(a)

Informant: Mr N McIntyre - Stipendiary Steward

JockeysandTrainer:

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PersonPresent: Mr R Neal - Stipendiary Steward, Mr M Branch - Representing Mr Purdon, Mr L Hollis - Stable Foreman for Mr Purdon (via teleconference call)

Respondent: Mr M Purdon - Licensed Public Trainer

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