NZ Metro TC 8 April 2016 – R 7 – Chair, Mr R McKenzie
ID: JCA15026
Meet Title:
NZ Metro TC - 8 April 2016
Meet Chair:
RMcKenzie
Meet Committee Member 1:
SChing
Race Date:
2016/04/08
Race Number:
R7
Decision:
Mrs Tomlinson having admitted the charge, the charge was found proved.
Penalty:
Mrs Tomlinson’s application for a deferment of suspension was granted. Her Open Horseman’s Licence was suspended from after the close of racing on 13 April 2016 up to and including 24 April 2016 – 3 days. The meetings intended to be encompassed by the period of suspension are Rangiora on 17 April, Addington on 21 April and Rangiora on 24 April.
Facts:
Following the running of Race 7, Fred Shaw Memorial NZ Trotting Championship Mobile FFA (Group 1), an information was filed by Co-Chief Stipendiary Steward, Mr N G McIntyre, against Licensed Open Driver, Mrs A J Tomlinson, alleging that Mrs Tomlinson, as the driver of ZACHARY BINX in the race “failed to maintain a straight course throughout the run home and allowed her runner to shift inwards checking VALMAGNE (B N Orange)”.
Mrs Tomlinson was present at the hearing of the information and she indicated that she admitted the charge. This followed a request by Mr McIntyre to amend the charge from one of careless driving, Rule 869 (3) (b), to a charge of driving in a manner causing or likely to cause interference, Rule 869 (4), and after the amendment was explained to Mrs Tomlinson.
Rule 869 provides as follows:
(4) No horseman shall during any race do anything which interferes or is likely to interfere with his own horse and/or any other horse or its progress.
Paragraph 4 of the Passing Lanes, False Rails and Home Straight Regulations provides as follows:
In the last lap of any race the leading horse on the running line shall, upon entering the home straight, maintain as straight a course as possible parallel to the running line and allow the trailing horses full access to the expanded inside lane.
Mr McIntyre showed video replays of the final 400 metres of the race. He pointed out, as the field approached the home turn, ZACHARY BINX, driven by Mrs Tomlinson, racing in the trail behind the leader, SHEEMON (D J Dunn) which, shortly thereafter, shifted away from the marker line. This enabled a run to become available to Mrs Tomlinson to the inside of SHEEMON by the time the passing lane had been reached. VALMAGNE (B N Orange) was trailing ZACHARY BINX at that point.
Mrs Tomlinson’s horse was the lead horse on the running line at the start of the passing lane, Mr McIntyre said. Therefore, the horse behind her, VALMAGNE, had the right to the passing lane. Mrs Tomlinson had a clear and unobstructed run to the finishing line, Mr McIntyre submitted, but, he pointed out on the head-on video replay, she shifted down into the passing lane and, from the side-on video, showed that Mr Orange had to take a hold of VALMAGNE and, when doing so, that horse trotted roughly and broke for a couple of strides.
It was the Stewards’ submission that, in terms of the Regulations, Mrs Tomlinson had not maintained a straight course and, as a result, Mr Orange had been denied a run, Mr McIntyre said.
Mrs Tomlinson said that she had been trailing Mr Dunn who had moved away from the markers. She said that, “in the heat of the moment”, she had thought that she had the right to the passing lane. Her horse had done some work off the gate and she had “put it in the race”. Her horse had hung in during the race and was inclined to touch a wheel, she said.
Submissions for Penalty:
Mr McIntyre said that, under the Penalty Guide, this was a “major race” (a race with stakes of $40,000 or more) and the starting point for penalty for a breach of the Rule in a major race is 15 drives or a fine of $750.
The interference was “in the mid-range”, Mr McIntyre submitted, and a consequential effect was that Mr Orange had been denied a run that he was entitled to and it may have cost him a higher placing. Mr Orange did not, however, notify Stewards of this on leaving the track after the race, Mr McIntyre said.
Mrs Tomlinson’s record under the Rule was clear, Mr McIntyre said. She has had 45 drives to date in the current season. The Committee noted that she had 86 drives in the 2014/2015 season. Mr McIntyre submitted that a fine in the range of $350-400 was appropriate or, alternatively, a suspension of 3 days, on the basis that Mrs Tomlinson drives 3-4 horses per meeting.
Mrs Tomlinson told the Committee that she has notified drives at the Banks Peninsula meeting on 10 April and has a drive at the Addington meeting on Wednesday, 13 April. Driving for her is a “hobby” and, therefore, her preference was for a suspension, but she did seek a deferment until after 13 April. She said that she would normally have 2-3 drives.
Reasons for Penalty:
In arriving at penalty, the Committee took as a starting point the 15 drives suspension as per the Penalty Guide. Mrs Tomlinson had expressed a preference for a suspension over a fine. For the purposes of calculating the number of driving days, we proceeded on the basis that Mrs Tomlinson has 3 drives per meeting. So, a 15 drive suspension for Mrs Tomlinson would, on that basis, involve 5 meetings.
From a starting point of 5 meetings, we were able to give Mrs Tomlinson a discount for a number of mitigating factors – her admission of the breach, her good record, her submission that the horse had hung in and our view that the breach was no worse than mid-range. It was our observation, from the video replays of the final stages of the race, that Mr Orange had not been denied a higher placing. Furthermore, the Committee was able to understand Mrs Tomlinson’s belief that hers was the horse entitled to the passing lane and that she had made a genuine mistake in so believing.
We fixed the appropriate discount for those mitigating factors at 2 days/meetings.
JCA Decision Fields (raw)
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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: 9bf29feb5e540f8c6a40bd7a3a4e43aa
informantnumber: A1112
horsename:
hearing_racingtype:
startdate: no date provided
newcharge: Causing Interference
plea: admitted
penaltyrequired: 1
decisiondate: 11/04/2016
hearing_title: NZ Metro TC 8 April 2016 - R 7 - Chair, Mr R McKenzie
charge:
facts:
Following the running of Race 7, Fred Shaw Memorial NZ Trotting Championship Mobile FFA (Group 1), an information was filed by Co-Chief Stipendiary Steward, Mr N G McIntyre, against Licensed Open Driver, Mrs A J Tomlinson, alleging that Mrs Tomlinson, as the driver of ZACHARY BINX in the race “failed to maintain a straight course throughout the run home and allowed her runner to shift inwards checking VALMAGNE (B N Orange)”.
Mrs Tomlinson was present at the hearing of the information and she indicated that she admitted the charge. This followed a request by Mr McIntyre to amend the charge from one of careless driving, Rule 869 (3) (b), to a charge of driving in a manner causing or likely to cause interference, Rule 869 (4), and after the amendment was explained to Mrs Tomlinson.
Rule 869 provides as follows:
(4) No horseman shall during any race do anything which interferes or is likely to interfere with his own horse and/or any other horse or its progress.
Paragraph 4 of the Passing Lanes, False Rails and Home Straight Regulations provides as follows:
In the last lap of any race the leading horse on the running line shall, upon entering the home straight, maintain as straight a course as possible parallel to the running line and allow the trailing horses full access to the expanded inside lane.
Mr McIntyre showed video replays of the final 400 metres of the race. He pointed out, as the field approached the home turn, ZACHARY BINX, driven by Mrs Tomlinson, racing in the trail behind the leader, SHEEMON (D J Dunn) which, shortly thereafter, shifted away from the marker line. This enabled a run to become available to Mrs Tomlinson to the inside of SHEEMON by the time the passing lane had been reached. VALMAGNE (B N Orange) was trailing ZACHARY BINX at that point.
Mrs Tomlinson’s horse was the lead horse on the running line at the start of the passing lane, Mr McIntyre said. Therefore, the horse behind her, VALMAGNE, had the right to the passing lane. Mrs Tomlinson had a clear and unobstructed run to the finishing line, Mr McIntyre submitted, but, he pointed out on the head-on video replay, she shifted down into the passing lane and, from the side-on video, showed that Mr Orange had to take a hold of VALMAGNE and, when doing so, that horse trotted roughly and broke for a couple of strides.
It was the Stewards’ submission that, in terms of the Regulations, Mrs Tomlinson had not maintained a straight course and, as a result, Mr Orange had been denied a run, Mr McIntyre said.
Mrs Tomlinson said that she had been trailing Mr Dunn who had moved away from the markers. She said that, “in the heat of the moment”, she had thought that she had the right to the passing lane. Her horse had done some work off the gate and she had “put it in the race”. Her horse had hung in during the race and was inclined to touch a wheel, she said.
appealdecision:
isappeal:
submissionsfordecision:
reasonsfordecision:
Decision:
Mrs Tomlinson having admitted the charge, the charge was found proved.
sumissionsforpenalty:
Mr McIntyre said that, under the Penalty Guide, this was a “major race” (a race with stakes of $40,000 or more) and the starting point for penalty for a breach of the Rule in a major race is 15 drives or a fine of $750.
The interference was “in the mid-range”, Mr McIntyre submitted, and a consequential effect was that Mr Orange had been denied a run that he was entitled to and it may have cost him a higher placing. Mr Orange did not, however, notify Stewards of this on leaving the track after the race, Mr McIntyre said.
Mrs Tomlinson’s record under the Rule was clear, Mr McIntyre said. She has had 45 drives to date in the current season. The Committee noted that she had 86 drives in the 2014/2015 season. Mr McIntyre submitted that a fine in the range of $350-400 was appropriate or, alternatively, a suspension of 3 days, on the basis that Mrs Tomlinson drives 3-4 horses per meeting.
Mrs Tomlinson told the Committee that she has notified drives at the Banks Peninsula meeting on 10 April and has a drive at the Addington meeting on Wednesday, 13 April. Driving for her is a “hobby” and, therefore, her preference was for a suspension, but she did seek a deferment until after 13 April. She said that she would normally have 2-3 drives.
reasonsforpenalty:
In arriving at penalty, the Committee took as a starting point the 15 drives suspension as per the Penalty Guide. Mrs Tomlinson had expressed a preference for a suspension over a fine. For the purposes of calculating the number of driving days, we proceeded on the basis that Mrs Tomlinson has 3 drives per meeting. So, a 15 drive suspension for Mrs Tomlinson would, on that basis, involve 5 meetings.
From a starting point of 5 meetings, we were able to give Mrs Tomlinson a discount for a number of mitigating factors – her admission of the breach, her good record, her submission that the horse had hung in and our view that the breach was no worse than mid-range. It was our observation, from the video replays of the final stages of the race, that Mr Orange had not been denied a higher placing. Furthermore, the Committee was able to understand Mrs Tomlinson’s belief that hers was the horse entitled to the passing lane and that she had made a genuine mistake in so believing.
We fixed the appropriate discount for those mitigating factors at 2 days/meetings.
penalty:
Mrs Tomlinson’s application for a deferment of suspension was granted. Her Open Horseman’s Licence was suspended from after the close of racing on 13 April 2016 up to and including 24 April 2016 – 3 days. The meetings intended to be encompassed by the period of suspension are Rangiora on 17 April, Addington on 21 April and Rangiora on 24 April.
hearing_type: Hearing
Rules: 869(4) & Passing Lanes, False Rails and Home Straight Regulations
Informant: N G McIntyre, Co-Chief Stipendiary Steward
JockeysandTrainer: A J Tomlinson, Licensed Open Driver
Otherperson:
PersonPresent:
Respondent:
StipendSteward:
raceid: e3d91f0169ac7e1f3444ea6d255819b9
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race_emailed1: 0
race_emailed2: 0
race_title: R7
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meetdate: 08/04/2016
meet_title: NZ Metro TC - 8 April 2016
meet_expappcomment:
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meet_racingtype: harness-racing
meet_chair: RMcKenzie
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name: NZ Metro TC