Otago RC 2 February 2013 – R 1
ID: JCA10691
Code:
Thoroughbred
Meet Title:
Otago RC - 2 February 2013
Meet Chair:
GHall
Meet Committee Member 1:
KHales
Race Date:
2013/02/02
Race Number:
R1
Decision:
We find the breach proved.
Penalty:
Mr Bishop is suspended from the end of racing on 4 February up to and including 11 March.
Charge:
Mr Davidson alleged that Mr Bishop presented himself to ride at Wingatui on 2 February 2013 when a sample of his breath showed 512 mcg of alcohol/L of breath, which exceeded the limit.
The rule reads: "A Rider who rides or presents himself to ride a horse at a Racecourse, Training Facility or Trainer’s Premises must not have a breath alcohol level greater than 100 micrograms of alcohol per litre of breath."
As this was a serious matter Mr Bishop was offered the opportunity to request an adjournment in order that he could take legal advice. He indicated he wished the matter to be heard on the day.
Facts:
Mr Davidson stated that the stewards were concerned as to the respondent’s sobriety as they were aware he had been drinking the previous evening. Consequently they requested that he undertake a breath test. The respondent returned 2 results: 529 mcg at 12.25 pm; and 512 at 12.40 pm. He was prohibited from riding for the day and charged with a breach of r 656(4) based on the lower reading.
Mr Bishop explained he had a few drinks the night before at a local tavern. He had been wasting to get down to 55 kg, although he usually rode at 54.5. He said he had last eaten 24 hours earlier and he had been in the sauna for an hour and had lost 1.5 kg. He said this was his normal wasting routine before riding.
Reasons for Decision:
Mr Bishop admitted the breach.
Submissions for Penalty:
Mr Davidson produced Mr Bishop’s record, which was clear under this rule. He said there had been 2 jockeys charged back in 2009/2010. One was a South Island rider who had been suspended for 4 weeks and the other was a jumps jockey who had been suspended for 6 weeks. He was not aware of the level in the latter case. In the South Island case it was less than that of the respondent.
Mr Davidson submitted a suspension in the 4 to 6 week range was appropriate. He emphasised the fickle life jockeys live due to wasting and their need to use the sauna. He said they simply could not afford to drink prior to raceday. He emphasised the respondent had co-operated fully with the stewards, had admitted the breach and had an excellent record.
Mr Bishop reiterated the mitigating factors Mr Davidson had identified. He expressed remorse and acknowledged that he had an issue with alcohol. He said he was not in a position to meet a fine. Mr Davidson confirmed the stewards were only seeking a suspension.
Mr Bishop asked that he be permitted to fulfil his engagements at Banks Peninsula on Monday 4 February. We indicated we would need to be satisfied that he would provide a clear sample before riding. He agreed he would undergo a breath test.
Reasons for Penalty:
The need to uphold the integrity of racing and the associated health and safety issues predominate our consideration of the appropriate penalty for this breach. After considering the previous penalties we believe a starting point of 6 weeks’ suspension is appropriate. There are no mitigating factors relating to the breach itself but one aggravating one, the high reading that the respondent has recorded. The limit under the rule is 100 mcg; the legal limit to drive on the roads is 400 mcg. Mr Bishop was in excess of this. We thus raise the starting point to 7 weeks.
Personal mitigating factors are the admission of the breach, the respondent’s very evident remorse, and his excellent record. He has also lost 5 rides on the day, one of which, we subsequently note, was a winning one. Mr Bishop has acknowledged he has issues with alcohol. We explained to him that this was an important first step and that the second step was a willingness to seek assistance. He responded that he would do so and Mr Davidson assured us that the RIU would liaise with him in this regard. Mr Bishop has expressed a willingness to cooperate with Mr McLaughlin, stipendiary steward and Mr Scott, racecourse investigator, with respect to seeking help with his alcohol issues.
We give a 2 week reduction for these factors. This results in a penalty of 5 weeks’ suspension. Mr Bishop is primarily a South Island rider although he rides from time to time in the lower North Island. A 5 week suspension is some 14 meetings, which will be a considerable financial impost for Mr Bishop, who is a regular rider on raceday.
Riders are declared for Monday and we have received an assurance that a negative breath sample will be required before the respondent is allowed to ride at Banks Peninsula. Accordingly, we will defer the commencement of the suspension.
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: 10122d12e7d17fa1af3f50ded53776f3
informantnumber: 5762
horsename:
hearing_racingtype:
startdate: no date provided
newcharge:
plea: admitted
penaltyrequired: 1
decisiondate: 30/01/2013
hearing_title: Otago RC 2 February 2013 - R 1
charge:
Mr Davidson alleged that Mr Bishop presented himself to ride at Wingatui on 2 February 2013 when a sample of his breath showed 512 mcg of alcohol/L of breath, which exceeded the limit.
The rule reads: "A Rider who rides or presents himself to ride a horse at a Racecourse, Training Facility or Trainer’s Premises must not have a breath alcohol level greater than 100 micrograms of alcohol per litre of breath."
As this was a serious matter Mr Bishop was offered the opportunity to request an adjournment in order that he could take legal advice. He indicated he wished the matter to be heard on the day.
facts:
Mr Davidson stated that the stewards were concerned as to the respondent’s sobriety as they were aware he had been drinking the previous evening. Consequently they requested that he undertake a breath test. The respondent returned 2 results: 529 mcg at 12.25 pm; and 512 at 12.40 pm. He was prohibited from riding for the day and charged with a breach of r 656(4) based on the lower reading.
Mr Bishop explained he had a few drinks the night before at a local tavern. He had been wasting to get down to 55 kg, although he usually rode at 54.5. He said he had last eaten 24 hours earlier and he had been in the sauna for an hour and had lost 1.5 kg. He said this was his normal wasting routine before riding.
appealdecision:
isappeal:
submissionsfordecision:
reasonsfordecision:
Mr Bishop admitted the breach.
Decision:
We find the breach proved.
sumissionsforpenalty:
Mr Davidson produced Mr Bishop’s record, which was clear under this rule. He said there had been 2 jockeys charged back in 2009/2010. One was a South Island rider who had been suspended for 4 weeks and the other was a jumps jockey who had been suspended for 6 weeks. He was not aware of the level in the latter case. In the South Island case it was less than that of the respondent.
Mr Davidson submitted a suspension in the 4 to 6 week range was appropriate. He emphasised the fickle life jockeys live due to wasting and their need to use the sauna. He said they simply could not afford to drink prior to raceday. He emphasised the respondent had co-operated fully with the stewards, had admitted the breach and had an excellent record.
Mr Bishop reiterated the mitigating factors Mr Davidson had identified. He expressed remorse and acknowledged that he had an issue with alcohol. He said he was not in a position to meet a fine. Mr Davidson confirmed the stewards were only seeking a suspension.
Mr Bishop asked that he be permitted to fulfil his engagements at Banks Peninsula on Monday 4 February. We indicated we would need to be satisfied that he would provide a clear sample before riding. He agreed he would undergo a breath test.
reasonsforpenalty:
The need to uphold the integrity of racing and the associated health and safety issues predominate our consideration of the appropriate penalty for this breach. After considering the previous penalties we believe a starting point of 6 weeks’ suspension is appropriate. There are no mitigating factors relating to the breach itself but one aggravating one, the high reading that the respondent has recorded. The limit under the rule is 100 mcg; the legal limit to drive on the roads is 400 mcg. Mr Bishop was in excess of this. We thus raise the starting point to 7 weeks.
Personal mitigating factors are the admission of the breach, the respondent’s very evident remorse, and his excellent record. He has also lost 5 rides on the day, one of which, we subsequently note, was a winning one. Mr Bishop has acknowledged he has issues with alcohol. We explained to him that this was an important first step and that the second step was a willingness to seek assistance. He responded that he would do so and Mr Davidson assured us that the RIU would liaise with him in this regard. Mr Bishop has expressed a willingness to cooperate with Mr McLaughlin, stipendiary steward and Mr Scott, racecourse investigator, with respect to seeking help with his alcohol issues.
We give a 2 week reduction for these factors. This results in a penalty of 5 weeks’ suspension. Mr Bishop is primarily a South Island rider although he rides from time to time in the lower North Island. A 5 week suspension is some 14 meetings, which will be a considerable financial impost for Mr Bishop, who is a regular rider on raceday.
Riders are declared for Monday and we have received an assurance that a negative breath sample will be required before the respondent is allowed to ride at Banks Peninsula. Accordingly, we will defer the commencement of the suspension.
penalty:
Mr Bishop is suspended from the end of racing on 4 February up to and including 11 March.
hearing_type: Hearing
Rules: 656(4)
Informant: Mr Davidson, Stipendiary Steward
JockeysandTrainer: Mr R Bishop, Licensed Jockey
Otherperson:
PersonPresent:
Respondent:
StipendSteward:
raceid: ea98936d04c406c4888311119c5385dc
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: a9fe3323f4c58f67899f9f896571c105
meet_expapproval:
meet_noreport: 0
waitingforpublication: 0
meet_emailed1: 0
meet_emailed2: 0
meetdate: 02/02/2013
meet_title: Otago RC - 2 February 2013
meet_expappcomment:
meet_km:
meet_otherexp:
tracklocation: otago-rc
meet_racingtype: thoroughbred-racing
meet_chair: GHall
meet_pm1: KHales
meet_pm2: none
name: Otago RC