Waikato/BOP H 26 January 2020 – R 8 – Chair, Mr A Godsalve
ID: JCA12411
Meet Title:
Harness Racing Waikato - 26 January 2020
Meet Chair:
AGodsalve
Meet Committee Member 1:
ADooley
Race Date:
2020/01/26
Race Number:
R8
Decision:
The breach was admitted and therefore the charge is proved.
Penalty:
Accordingly we imposed a fine of $150 on Mr Whittaker.
Facts:
This charge follows the running of Race 8 at Rotorua. Initially the Stipendiary Stewards initiated a Protest following this race, however eventually decided not to persevere with this course of action. Mr Mulcay alleged that Mr Whittaker was in breach of the Rule 'when he shifted COWGIRLS N ANGELS inside the marker line approaching the passing lane for the run home'.
Mr Whittaker, assisted by Mr Phelan, was present at the hearing and acknowledged that:
(a) He understood the Rule, and that
(b) He admitted the breach.
Using the films Mr Mulcay identified the horse COWGIRLS N ANGELS as the horses entered the home straight. The horse was in a trailing position 3 back on the pegs. Just prior to the passing lane Mr Whittaker angled COWGIRLS N ANGELS inwards inside the marker pegs. The horse was running on strongly and finished in 2nd place. Mr Mulcay said that the Stewards had determined that due to the margins of the placegetters that COWGIRLS N ANGELS had not gained any advantage and had not followed through with their earlier indication of a protest against the horse's 2nd placing.
Mr Phelan said that while Mr Whittaker was at fault, there should have been more pylon pegs in the early part of the run home so that drivers could identify where the passing lane started. Mr Mulcay agreed that was the case and the issue had been recorded.
Submissions for Penalty:
Mr Mulcay referred to the JCA Penalty Guide which provides a 4 drive suspension or a fine of $200 as a starting point. He said Mr Whittaker had a clear record and a fine may be the appropriate penalty.
Mr Whittaker had nothing to add.
Reasons for Penalty:
The Committee viewed this incident to be at the lower end of the scale. We determined to deal with it by way of a fine, and took into account Mr Whittaker's clear record, and that the incident was at the lower end of the scale.
Rule 869 (7A) (a)(b) provides that:
Every driver who drives inwards shall ensure that:
(a) that contact is not made with any track marker, and
(b) that any part of the sulky does not protrude inside the marker line.
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: 594b5cd89635776249318b5409158f42
informantnumber: A10333
horsename:
hearing_racingtype:
startdate: no date provided
newcharge: Drives inside pylons
plea: admitted
penaltyrequired: 1
decisiondate: 28/01/2020
hearing_title: Waikato/BOP H 26 January 2020 - R 8 - Chair, Mr A Godsalve
charge:
facts:
This charge follows the running of Race 8 at Rotorua. Initially the Stipendiary Stewards initiated a Protest following this race, however eventually decided not to persevere with this course of action. Mr Mulcay alleged that Mr Whittaker was in breach of the Rule 'when he shifted COWGIRLS N ANGELS inside the marker line approaching the passing lane for the run home'.
Mr Whittaker, assisted by Mr Phelan, was present at the hearing and acknowledged that:
(a) He understood the Rule, and that
(b) He admitted the breach.
Using the films Mr Mulcay identified the horse COWGIRLS N ANGELS as the horses entered the home straight. The horse was in a trailing position 3 back on the pegs. Just prior to the passing lane Mr Whittaker angled COWGIRLS N ANGELS inwards inside the marker pegs. The horse was running on strongly and finished in 2nd place. Mr Mulcay said that the Stewards had determined that due to the margins of the placegetters that COWGIRLS N ANGELS had not gained any advantage and had not followed through with their earlier indication of a protest against the horse's 2nd placing.
Mr Phelan said that while Mr Whittaker was at fault, there should have been more pylon pegs in the early part of the run home so that drivers could identify where the passing lane started. Mr Mulcay agreed that was the case and the issue had been recorded.
appealdecision:
isappeal:
submissionsfordecision:
reasonsfordecision:
Decision:
The breach was admitted and therefore the charge is proved.
sumissionsforpenalty:
Mr Mulcay referred to the JCA Penalty Guide which provides a 4 drive suspension or a fine of $200 as a starting point. He said Mr Whittaker had a clear record and a fine may be the appropriate penalty.
Mr Whittaker had nothing to add.
reasonsforpenalty:
The Committee viewed this incident to be at the lower end of the scale. We determined to deal with it by way of a fine, and took into account Mr Whittaker's clear record, and that the incident was at the lower end of the scale.
Rule 869 (7A) (a)(b) provides that:
Every driver who drives inwards shall ensure that:
(a) that contact is not made with any track marker, and
(b) that any part of the sulky does not protrude inside the marker line.
penalty:
Accordingly we imposed a fine of $150 on Mr Whittaker.
hearing_type: Hearing
Rules: Rule 869 (7A)(a)(b)
Informant: Mr S Mulcay - Senior Stipendiary Steward
JockeysandTrainer: Mr L Whittaker - Junior Driver
Otherperson: Mr S Phelan, Senior Horseman assisting Mr Whittaker
PersonPresent:
Respondent:
StipendSteward:
raceid: d02061ce25633f2466e23a3b4e38796f
race_expapproval:
racecancelled: 0
race_noreport: 0
race_emailed1: 0
race_emailed2: 0
race_title: R8
submittochair:
race_expappcomment:
race_km:
race_otherexp:
race_chair:
race_pm1:
race_pm2:
meetid: eee7affe7cdcc1cda79f2a1ead01cb1a
meet_expapproval:
meet_noreport: 0
waitingforpublication: 0
meet_emailed1: 0
meet_emailed2: 0
meetdate: 26/01/2020
meet_title: Harness Racing Waikato - 26 January 2020
meet_expappcomment:
meet_km:
meet_otherexp:
tracklocation: harness-racing-waikato
meet_racingtype: harness-racing
meet_chair: AGodsalve
meet_pm1: ADooley
meet_pm2: none
name: Harness Racing Waikato