Waikato BOP H 19 December 2019 – R 1- Chair, Mr BJ Scott
ID: JCA13327
Meet Title:
Harness Racing Waikato - 19 December 2019
Meet Chair:
BScott
Meet Committee Member 1:
AGodsalve
Race Date:
2019/12/19
Race Number:
R1
Decision:
The breach is admitted and accordingly the charge is proved.
Penalty:
This Committee orders that Mr Whittaker's Drivers Licence is suspended from the conclusion of racing on the 24th of December 2019 up to the conclusion of racing on the 31st of December 2019. (2 days).
Facts:
Following the running of the PGG WRIGHTSON Mobile Pace, an Information was lodged by Senior Stipendiary Steward, Mr S Mulcay against Junior Driver, Mr L Whittaker alleging that Mr Whittaker drove carelessly passing the 500 metres mark by allowing TO SIR WITH LOVE to contact the sulky of PETER FORSBERG causing TO SIR WITH LOVE to break with resultant interference to BENJAMIN BUTTON and A BETTER DANCER
Rule 869(3)(b) provides that: no horseman in any race shall drive carelessly.
Mr Whittaker was present at the Hearing and he acknowledged that he understood the Rule and that he admitted the breach. Mr Whittaker was assisted by Senior Horseman Mr P Ferguson.
Mr Mulcay demonstrated the incident by use of the race films and showed where inside the 600 metres mark TO SIR WITH LOVE got up hard on the back of PETER FORSBERG and it made contact with the sulky of that horse and broke. Whilst in a break it came back on the 2 horses following it and they were both checked. Mr Mulcay then showed where just before the incident Mr Whittaker changed his grip on the reins and he said that this contributed to TO SIR WITH LOVE getting up on the leader's (PETER FORSBERG) back. He also said that the horse trailing Mr Whittaker (BENJAMIN BUTTON) was hard up on his back and contacted Mr Whittaker's helmet several times.
He said however that Mr Whittaker drove carelessly and he did not pay enough care and attention.
Mr Whittaker said that the driver of the horse in front of him was leaning back in the sulky and this made it difficult. He also said that he got too close to the horse in front of him because the horse behind him was bumping into him and causing problems.
He did say that he agreed with Mr Mulcay and that it was his responsibility to keep back from the horse in front.
Submissions for Penalty:
Mr Mulcay referred to the JCA Guidelines which provide for a 6 drive suspension for hitting a wheel. He submitted that in Mr Whittaker's case this would be 3 days.
He said that the aggravating factor was that 2 horses were checked and lost their chances.
He did say that the mitigating factors for the Committee to take into account were Mr Whittaker's admission of the breach , his clear record under this Rule and the contributions from the other horses. He submitted that a 2 day suspension was appropriate.
Mr Ferguson on behalf of Mr Whittaker asked the Committee to take into account the mitigating factors including the fact that the horse in front was slowing and that Mr Whittaker was not getting any help from the horse behind him.
Mr Whittaker was advised that he was entitled to a deferment of suspension for up to 7 days. He said he had drives at Cambridge on the 24th of December so he requested a deferment until after that date.
Reasons for Penalty:
The Committee has reviewed the race films and the submissions of the parties. The films clearly show the incident but also show that the driver of PETER FORSBERG was not only sitting back in the sulky but also leaning back. The films further show that the horse behind Mr Whittaker (BENJAMIN BUTTON) was too close to him and that horses nose was bumping into Mr Whittaker's helmet.
The aggravating factor was that 2 horses were checked but BENJAMIN BUTTON clearly contributed to the incident. Mr Whittaker was also not helped by the actions of the driver of PETER FORSBERG and we have taken these into account as mitigating factors.
In assessing penalty and looking at the aggravating and mitigating factors we believe that a 2 day suspension is appropriate.
We grant Mr Whittaker a deferment of suspension until after the conclusion of racing on the 24th of December 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: 629b923c81c79829f264dfe7f7065da6
informantnumber: A12218
horsename:
hearing_racingtype:
startdate: no date provided
newcharge: Careless Driving
plea: admitted
penaltyrequired: 1
decisiondate: 23/12/2019
hearing_title: Waikato BOP H 19 December 2019 - R 1- Chair, Mr BJ Scott
charge:
facts:
Following the running of the PGG WRIGHTSON Mobile Pace, an Information was lodged by Senior Stipendiary Steward, Mr S Mulcay against Junior Driver, Mr L Whittaker alleging that Mr Whittaker drove carelessly passing the 500 metres mark by allowing TO SIR WITH LOVE to contact the sulky of PETER FORSBERG causing TO SIR WITH LOVE to break with resultant interference to BENJAMIN BUTTON and A BETTER DANCER
Rule 869(3)(b) provides that: no horseman in any race shall drive carelessly.
Mr Whittaker was present at the Hearing and he acknowledged that he understood the Rule and that he admitted the breach. Mr Whittaker was assisted by Senior Horseman Mr P Ferguson.
Mr Mulcay demonstrated the incident by use of the race films and showed where inside the 600 metres mark TO SIR WITH LOVE got up hard on the back of PETER FORSBERG and it made contact with the sulky of that horse and broke. Whilst in a break it came back on the 2 horses following it and they were both checked. Mr Mulcay then showed where just before the incident Mr Whittaker changed his grip on the reins and he said that this contributed to TO SIR WITH LOVE getting up on the leader's (PETER FORSBERG) back. He also said that the horse trailing Mr Whittaker (BENJAMIN BUTTON) was hard up on his back and contacted Mr Whittaker's helmet several times.
He said however that Mr Whittaker drove carelessly and he did not pay enough care and attention.
Mr Whittaker said that the driver of the horse in front of him was leaning back in the sulky and this made it difficult. He also said that he got too close to the horse in front of him because the horse behind him was bumping into him and causing problems.
He did say that he agreed with Mr Mulcay and that it was his responsibility to keep back from the horse in front.
appealdecision:
isappeal:
submissionsfordecision:
reasonsfordecision:
Decision:
The breach is admitted and accordingly the charge is proved.
sumissionsforpenalty:
Mr Mulcay referred to the JCA Guidelines which provide for a 6 drive suspension for hitting a wheel. He submitted that in Mr Whittaker's case this would be 3 days.
He said that the aggravating factor was that 2 horses were checked and lost their chances.
He did say that the mitigating factors for the Committee to take into account were Mr Whittaker's admission of the breach , his clear record under this Rule and the contributions from the other horses. He submitted that a 2 day suspension was appropriate.
Mr Ferguson on behalf of Mr Whittaker asked the Committee to take into account the mitigating factors including the fact that the horse in front was slowing and that Mr Whittaker was not getting any help from the horse behind him.
Mr Whittaker was advised that he was entitled to a deferment of suspension for up to 7 days. He said he had drives at Cambridge on the 24th of December so he requested a deferment until after that date.
reasonsforpenalty:
The Committee has reviewed the race films and the submissions of the parties. The films clearly show the incident but also show that the driver of PETER FORSBERG was not only sitting back in the sulky but also leaning back. The films further show that the horse behind Mr Whittaker (BENJAMIN BUTTON) was too close to him and that horses nose was bumping into Mr Whittaker's helmet.
The aggravating factor was that 2 horses were checked but BENJAMIN BUTTON clearly contributed to the incident. Mr Whittaker was also not helped by the actions of the driver of PETER FORSBERG and we have taken these into account as mitigating factors.
In assessing penalty and looking at the aggravating and mitigating factors we believe that a 2 day suspension is appropriate.
We grant Mr Whittaker a deferment of suspension until after the conclusion of racing on the 24th of December 2019.
penalty:
This Committee orders that Mr Whittaker's Drivers Licence is suspended from the conclusion of racing on the 24th of December 2019 up to the conclusion of racing on the 31st of December 2019. (2 days).
hearing_type: Hearing
Rules: 869(3)(b)
Informant: Mr S Mulcay - Senior Stipendiary Steward
JockeysandTrainer: Mr L Whittaker - Junior Driver
Otherperson: Mr P Ferguson - Licensed Horseman assisting Mr Whittaker
PersonPresent:
Respondent:
StipendSteward:
raceid: a458a7c55c5c30ae253b0b2b9669e8ca
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: d281323aeea6e58385890694608d6f7d
meet_expapproval:
meet_noreport: 0
waitingforpublication: 0
meet_emailed1: 0
meet_emailed2: 0
meetdate: 19/12/2019
meet_title: Harness Racing Waikato - 19 December 2019
meet_expappcomment:
meet_km:
meet_otherexp:
tracklocation: harness-racing-waikato
meet_racingtype: harness-racing
meet_chair: BScott
meet_pm1: AGodsalve
meet_pm2: none
name: Harness Racing Waikato