Archive Decision

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Waikato BOP H 29 December 2020 – R 1 – Chair, Mr A Godsalve

ID: JCA14570

Applicant:
Mr J Muirhead - Senior Stipendiary Steward

Respondent(s):
Mr K Hall - Amateur Driver

Information Number:
A11110

Hearing Type:
Hearing

New Charge:
Careless Driving

Rules:
869(3)(b)

Plea:
admitted

Meet Title:
Harness Racing Waikato - 29 December 2020

Meet Chair:
AGodsalve

Race Date:
2020/12/29

Race Number:
R1

Decision:

As Mr Hall has admitted the breach the charge is proved.

Penalty:

The Committee imposed a fine of $200 on Mr Hall.

Facts:

Following the running of Race 1, Mr Muirhead submitted an Information alleging that Amateur Driver, Mr K Hall, driving COMEDY ACT 'drove carelessly inside the 1400m when shifting ground inwards when insufficiently clear which resulted in interference to MR INCREDIBLE, driven by Mr P Clabby'.

Mr Hall was present at the hearing and acknowledged that he: -

(a) Understood the Rule, and

(b) He admitted the breach.

Rule 869(3)(b) provides that 'No driver in any race shall drive carelessly'.

Using the films Mr Muirhead identified the horses COMEDY ACT and MR INCREDIBLE as the field neared the 1400m. COMEDY ACT was outside MR INCREDIBLE, and on the film Mr Muirhead points out that Mr Hall looks across at MR INCREDIBLE and commences to shift inwards into a gap behind the leading horse. However there was insufficient room for COMEDY ACT to shift inwards and MR INCREDIBLE ran out of room and blundered, causing it to lose its position. Mr Hall then was able to take the position which had been occupied by MR INCREDIBLE.

Mr Muirhead said it was 'low grade carelessness' and the objective was to keep everyone 'safe'. He added that Mr Clabby had told Stewards that he was about to concede the position to Mr Hall however the incident took place too quickly.

Mr Hall said he just moved too quickly and had assumed that Mr Clabby was going to concede the gap to him.

Submissions for Penalty:

Mr Muirhead said that Mr Hall did not have any prior breaches of this Rule recorded, that he had admitted the breach, and that the Stewards felt it fell into the lower end of the scale. He quoted the JCA Penalty Guide which provides a fine of $500 or a 10 drive suspension, and submitted that since Mr Hall was an Amateur Driver a fine in the vicinity of $250 may be appropriate.

Mr Hall said that he was not in a great financial position and asked that any fine be not too substantial.

Reasons for Penalty:

The Committee took into account Mr Hall's admission, his clear record, and the fact that the incident was relatively minor. The JCA Penalty Guide provides a starting point of a 10 drive suspension or a $500 fine. Other penalties imposed by Committees in similar circumstances when the Respondent is an Amateur Driver have been fines in the vicinity of $200-$250. The Committee felt the lower of these amounts would be applicable in this instance.

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: 93df3776bab50914d987a2e22e3ed5ba


informantnumber: A11110


horsename:


hearing_racingtype:


startdate: no date provided


newcharge: Careless Driving


plea: admitted


penaltyrequired: 1


decisiondate: 29/12/2020


hearing_title: Waikato BOP H 29 December 2020 - R 1 - Chair, Mr A Godsalve


charge:


facts:

Following the running of Race 1, Mr Muirhead submitted an Information alleging that Amateur Driver, Mr K Hall, driving COMEDY ACT 'drove carelessly inside the 1400m when shifting ground inwards when insufficiently clear which resulted in interference to MR INCREDIBLE, driven by Mr P Clabby'.

Mr Hall was present at the hearing and acknowledged that he: -

(a) Understood the Rule, and

(b) He admitted the breach.

Rule 869(3)(b) provides that 'No driver in any race shall drive carelessly'.

Using the films Mr Muirhead identified the horses COMEDY ACT and MR INCREDIBLE as the field neared the 1400m. COMEDY ACT was outside MR INCREDIBLE, and on the film Mr Muirhead points out that Mr Hall looks across at MR INCREDIBLE and commences to shift inwards into a gap behind the leading horse. However there was insufficient room for COMEDY ACT to shift inwards and MR INCREDIBLE ran out of room and blundered, causing it to lose its position. Mr Hall then was able to take the position which had been occupied by MR INCREDIBLE.

Mr Muirhead said it was 'low grade carelessness' and the objective was to keep everyone 'safe'. He added that Mr Clabby had told Stewards that he was about to concede the position to Mr Hall however the incident took place too quickly.

Mr Hall said he just moved too quickly and had assumed that Mr Clabby was going to concede the gap to him.


appealdecision:


isappeal:


submissionsfordecision:


reasonsfordecision:


Decision:

As Mr Hall has admitted the breach the charge is proved.


sumissionsforpenalty:

Mr Muirhead said that Mr Hall did not have any prior breaches of this Rule recorded, that he had admitted the breach, and that the Stewards felt it fell into the lower end of the scale. He quoted the JCA Penalty Guide which provides a fine of $500 or a 10 drive suspension, and submitted that since Mr Hall was an Amateur Driver a fine in the vicinity of $250 may be appropriate.

Mr Hall said that he was not in a great financial position and asked that any fine be not too substantial.


reasonsforpenalty:

The Committee took into account Mr Hall's admission, his clear record, and the fact that the incident was relatively minor. The JCA Penalty Guide provides a starting point of a 10 drive suspension or a $500 fine. Other penalties imposed by Committees in similar circumstances when the Respondent is an Amateur Driver have been fines in the vicinity of $200-$250. The Committee felt the lower of these amounts would be applicable in this instance.


penalty:

The Committee imposed a fine of $200 on Mr Hall.


hearing_type: Hearing


Rules: 869(3)(b)


Informant: Mr J Muirhead - Senior Stipendiary Steward


JockeysandTrainer: Mr K Hall - Amateur Driver


Otherperson:


PersonPresent:


Respondent:


StipendSteward:


raceid: c213e89683271ff79a7492309d663f1e


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: c8292b375d1c9c31677303c985484feb


meet_expapproval:


meet_noreport: 0


waitingforpublication: 0


meet_emailed1: 0


meet_emailed2: 0


meetdate: 29/12/2020


meet_title: Harness Racing Waikato - 29 December 2020


meet_expappcomment:


meet_km:


meet_otherexp:


tracklocation: harness-racing-waikato


meet_racingtype: harness-racing


meet_chair: AGodsalve


meet_pm1: none


meet_pm2: none


name: Harness Racing Waikato