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NZ Metro TC – 1 April 2011 – R 7

ID: JCA16334

Applicant:
Mr J. M. Muirhead - Stipendiary Steward

Respondent(s):
Mr C. A. Lang - Open Horseman

Information Number:
69028

Hearing Type:
Hearing

Rules:
857(7)(g)

Plea:
admitted

Meet Title:
NZ Metro TC - 1 April 2011

Meet Chair:
JPhelan

Meet Committee Member 1:
RMcKenzie

Meet Committee Member 2:
BRowe

Race Date:
2011/04/01

Race Number:
R1

Decision:

The charge was found to be proved.

Penalty:

On resuming the hearing we advised the parties of our reasons and that Mr Lang was fined the sum of $250.

Charge:

Alleging a breach of Rule 857(7)(g)

Facts:

Following the running of Race 7, the New Zealand Herald – Inter Dominion Trotters (Heat 4), an Information was filed by Stipendiary Steward Mr J. M. Muirhead against Open Horseman Mr C. A. Lang, the driver of “Let Me Thru” (13), alleging a breach of Rule 857(7)(g) in that he failed to maintain his barrier position on the second line at the start.
 
 The charge reads as follows:-
“I the above named informant allege that the above named Defendant committed a breach of Rule 857(7)(g) in that horseman C. Lang failed to maintain his barrier position five on the second line at the start with LET ME THRU.”
 
Rule 857(7)(g) reads as follows –
“(7) No horseman shall:-  (g) fail to come up into and/or maintain his position.”
 
Mr Lang had indicated on the Information that this breach of the Rules was admitted and he confirmed this at the hearing. Mr Lang also agreed that he understood the charge and the Rule it was brought under.

Submissions for Decision:

Chief Stipendiary Steward Mr C. George appeared on behalf of the Stipendiary Stewards, and he gave evidence and used video coverage to show that Mr Lang had drawn the outside of the second line in this 2200 metre mobile start race. There had been a false start in this race, and when the restart was made Mr Lang was seen to have allowed his horse to drift back from the barrier arm, and was on a third line by himself when the race began.

Mr Lang gave evidence that after the false start his horse had become unsettled. He said he did not want to be “firing” his horse up, so he just let him “fall out” under his own steam.

Reasons for Decision:

As Mr Lang had admitted this breach of the Rules it was found to be proved in accordance with Rule 1111(1)(d).

Submissions for Penalty:

In relation to penalty it was established that Mr Lang had no previous relevant convictions. Mr George submitted that taking into consideration the status of the race, and the need for a deterrent, a fine of between $500 and $750 should be considered. It was established that the Penalty Guide recommends a starting point for a breach of this Rule as being $250, and this is for all races regardless of status.

Mr Lang made submissions and said he thought the fine suggested by Mr George was a “bit steep”, and that he had not impeded any other runner.

We adjourned to consider the matter of penalty.

Reasons for Penalty:

In considering the matter of an appropriate penalty we took into account, to Mr Lang’s credit, that he had admitted the breach and also that he had no previous relevant convictions. On the other hand we also took into account that this race was a $30,000 Listed Race.The Penalty Guide recommends a starting point for a breach of this Rule as being a fine of $250, regardless of the status of the race. We looked at recent penalties imposed for breaches of this Rule and found that the fines imposed ranged between $150 and $250. One of the $250 fines was imposed for a breach of this Rule in a Group One $500,000 race.

We were satisfied that Mr George’s submission that a fine of between $500 and $750 be imposed was excessive, and could not be justified by penalties imposed in the past for similar breaches. We decided that a fine of $250 would be imposed in this case.

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: dbdc887a4a0602879230ffba946a789b

informantnumber: 69028

horsename:

hearing_racingtype:

startdate: no date provided

newcharge:

plea: admitted

penaltyrequired: 1

decisiondate: 24/02/2011

hearing_title: NZ Metro TC - 1 April 2011 - R 7

charge:

Alleging a breach of Rule 857(7)(g)

facts:

Following the running of Race 7, the New Zealand Herald – Inter Dominion Trotters (Heat 4), an Information was filed by Stipendiary Steward Mr J. M. Muirhead against Open Horseman Mr C. A. Lang, the driver of “Let Me Thru” (13), alleging a breach of Rule 857(7)(g) in that he failed to maintain his barrier position on the second line at the start.
 
 The charge reads as follows:-
“I the above named informant allege that the above named Defendant committed a breach of Rule 857(7)(g) in that horseman C. Lang failed to maintain his barrier position five on the second line at the start with LET ME THRU.”
 
Rule 857(7)(g) reads as follows –
“(7) No horseman shall:-  (g) fail to come up into and/or maintain his position.”
 
Mr Lang had indicated on the Information that this breach of the Rules was admitted and he confirmed this at the hearing. Mr Lang also agreed that he understood the charge and the Rule it was brought under.

appealdecision:

isappeal:

submissionsfordecision:

Chief Stipendiary Steward Mr C. George appeared on behalf of the Stipendiary Stewards, and he gave evidence and used video coverage to show that Mr Lang had drawn the outside of the second line in this 2200 metre mobile start race. There had been a false start in this race, and when the restart was made Mr Lang was seen to have allowed his horse to drift back from the barrier arm, and was on a third line by himself when the race began.

Mr Lang gave evidence that after the false start his horse had become unsettled. He said he did not want to be “firing” his horse up, so he just let him “fall out” under his own steam.

reasonsfordecision:

As Mr Lang had admitted this breach of the Rules it was found to be proved in accordance with Rule 1111(1)(d).

Decision:

The charge was found to be proved.

sumissionsforpenalty:

In relation to penalty it was established that Mr Lang had no previous relevant convictions. Mr George submitted that taking into consideration the status of the race, and the need for a deterrent, a fine of between $500 and $750 should be considered. It was established that the Penalty Guide recommends a starting point for a breach of this Rule as being $250, and this is for all races regardless of status.

Mr Lang made submissions and said he thought the fine suggested by Mr George was a “bit steep”, and that he had not impeded any other runner.

We adjourned to consider the matter of penalty.

reasonsforpenalty:

In considering the matter of an appropriate penalty we took into account, to Mr Lang’s credit, that he had admitted the breach and also that he had no previous relevant convictions. On the other hand we also took into account that this race was a $30,000 Listed Race.The Penalty Guide recommends a starting point for a breach of this Rule as being a fine of $250, regardless of the status of the race. We looked at recent penalties imposed for breaches of this Rule and found that the fines imposed ranged between $150 and $250. One of the $250 fines was imposed for a breach of this Rule in a Group One $500,000 race.

We were satisfied that Mr George’s submission that a fine of between $500 and $750 be imposed was excessive, and could not be justified by penalties imposed in the past for similar breaches. We decided that a fine of $250 would be imposed in this case.

penalty:

On resuming the hearing we advised the parties of our reasons and that Mr Lang was fined the sum of $250.

hearing_type: Hearing

Rules: 857(7)(g)

Informant: Mr J. M. Muirhead - Stipendiary Steward

JockeysandTrainer: Mr C. A. Lang - Open Horseman

Otherperson:

PersonPresent:

Respondent:

StipendSteward:

raceid: 26ef9484397c4ee657deac7ca32893e3

race_expapproval:

racecancelled: 0

race_noreport: 0

race_emailed1: 0

race_emailed2: 0

race_title: R1

submittochair:

race_expappcomment:

race_km:

race_otherexp:

race_chair:

race_pm1:

race_pm2:

meetid: b944e0aa65fa7854f61547a46d3bf524

meet_expapproval:

meet_noreport: 0

waitingforpublication: 0

meet_emailed1: 0

meet_emailed2: 0

meetdate: 01/04/2011

meet_title: NZ Metro TC - 1 April 2011

meet_expappcomment:

meet_km:

meet_otherexp:

tracklocation: nz-metro-tc

meet_racingtype: harness-racing

meet_chair: JPhelan

meet_pm1: RMcKenzie

meet_pm2: BRowe

name: NZ Metro TC