Waikato RC 11 November 2017 – R 3 – Chair, Mr A Dooley
ID: JCA13918
Code:
Thoroughbred
Meet Title:
Waikato RC - 11 November 2017
Meet Chair:
ADooley
Meet Committee Member 1:
ASmith
Race Date:
2017/11/11
Race Number:
R 3
Decision:
Accordingly, the Committee found the charged proved.
Penalty:
Mr McKay was fined $500.
Facts:
Following the running of race 3, Bell Neuhauser & (Matthews) Optometrists 1600, an Information was filed pursuant to Rule 648(5). The Informant, Mr Williamson, alleged that Mr McKay weighed in 1 kg above the weight at which he weighed out at for THE MITIGATOR.
Mr McKay acknowledged that he understood the nature of the charge, the Rule and confirmed that he denied the breach.
Mr P McKay assisted Mr S McKay at the hearing.
Rule 648 (5) provides:
If the Rider of a horse weighs in at a weight of 0.5kg or more in excess of that at which he weighed out:
a) that rider; and
b) any other person who a Tribunal conducting an inquiry finds was at fault, commits a breach of these Rules.
Submissions for Decision:
Mr Williamson advised the Committee that Mr McKay weighed out at the carded weight of 57.5 kgs and when he weighed in Mr McKay was 1 kg overweight. He said that his mount THE MITIGATOR finished in 2nd place and was beaten 1¼ lengths. He said following the race he asked Mr McKay for an explanation as to why he weighted in 1 kg overweight and Mr McKay was unable to provide any reason as to why this had occurred.
Mr Williamson called Mr Sanders, the Clerk of Scales, to give evidence. He told the Committee that Mr McKay weighed out at the correct weight but upon weighing in he was 1 kg overweight.
Mr Sanders stated that Mr McKay weighed out at 58.5 kgs and weighed in at 59.5 kgs. He said that weight included the 1 kg allowance for the riders vest.
Mr Sanders outlined his process of weighing riders out and explained how he placed a tick by their name once they had weighed back in.
Mr Sanders said that Mr McKay stood side on to the scales and not facing the displayed weight. He said that it wasn’t ideal how the scales were set up.
Mr P McKay asked Mr Sanders if there could have been a mistake made at the scales and Mr Sanders replied “yes there could have been a mistake but my belief is that Mr McKay was weighed out correctly”. Mr Sanders said that he records the weights on a sheet.
At this point the Committee asked for the official weigh sheet to be presented at the hearing for all parties to view. Mr S & P McKay did not dispute the weigh sheet which showed that Mr Sanders had recorded Mr McKay weighing out at 58.5 kg.
In response to a further question from Mr P McKay, Mr Sanders said that he would tell the Rider when they have their correct weight on the scales.
Mr Williamson said that it was clearly established that Mr McKay had weighed in 1 kg overweight. He said that “somehow” Mr McKay has gained 1 kg and it is strict liability of a Jockey to ensure they weigh out at the handicapped weight. He said the responsibility to weigh in at the correct weight was Mr McKay’s. He said that THE MITIGATOR was the favourite in the race and the horse finished in 2nd place beaten 1¼ lengths.
In conclusion Mr Williamson said that if it is established that Mr McKay breached the Rule this may have cost the horse from winning the race. He said that being the case the betting public and THE MITIGATOR’S connections may have been at a monetary loss.
Mr S McKay said that there was no possible way that he could have added weight after weighing out and advised that he weighed out with his heaviest gear. He was of the view that “something” went wrong at the scales and when questioned by the Committee he was confident that he weighed out with his vest on. He advised that his vest only weighed 200 grams.
In response to a further question from the Committee, Mr S McKay said that the scales were hard to see from where he was standing and he presumed that the weight was correct when he was cleared by the Clerk of Scales. He said that he knew that the scales needle was sitting on the 0.5 but was unsure if it was 58.5 kg or 59.5 kg.
Mr P McKay said that there was no malice involved and he said that Mr S McKay may have made an error in not checking his weight. He said that he now understands that the obligation is on the Jockey to check the correct weight on the scales. He said there could have been an error made but felt that Mr S McKay should not “cop” the full blame. In conclusion he disputed the assertion by Mr Williamson that the 1¼ margin may have had a bearing on the outcome of the race.
In summing up Mr Williamson said that the ultimate responsibility is with the Jockey and it was clear that Mr McKay weighed in 1 kg overweight.
In summing up Mr P McKay reiterated that there was no malice and it was not all Mr S McKay’s mistake.
Reasons for Decision:
The Committee carefully considered all of the evidence and submissions presented. There was no disputing the fact that Mr McKay weighed in 1kg over his carded weight for THE MITIGATOR in Race 3.
It has not been established how the incident occurred but a breach of this Rule is one of strict liability. The Stewards do not have to prove that Mr McKay, or any other person, was at fault. The onus is clearly on the rider to weigh out at the correct weight.
Rule 618(b) provides: It is a Rider’s responsibility if he is engaged to ride a horse in a Race to ensure that:
(b) he weighs out at the correct weight,
Submissions for Penalty:
Mr Williamson said that this was an unusual situation and the only similar charge was when Mr Turner breached this Rule and a $350 fine was imposed. He said the original penalty for a breach of this Rule was a $500 fine and that has only recently been reduced to $200 due to an amendment of the Rule. The rewriting of Rule 648(5) has seen the weight reduced from 1kg to 0.5kg in order for a breach to have occurred.
Mr Williamson said other factors the Committee needed to consider were THE MITIGATOR was the tote favourite, the horse ran 2nd and he said that the betting public would have expected THE MITIGATOR to carry the carded weight. He said the Stewards could not judge whether the incident may have cost THE MITIGATOR a better placing. He submitted a suspension in the vicinity of 7 National riding days.
In response to a question from the Committee, as to why the Stewards would be seeking a suspension instead of a fine, Mr Williamson response was that a line had been drawn through a careless riding charge.
Mr McKay advised the Committee that he had engagements up to and including 18 November and sought a deferment to any proposed suspension. He had nothing further to add regarding penalty.
Mr P McKay, the Trainer of THE MITIGATOR, was unable to be present for this part of the hearing which concluded after a lengthy delay from the last race. However, he told Mr S McKay that in his opinion 1 kg overweight does not equate to 1¼ lengths, the official margin at the finish.
Mr Coles provided the Committee with the RIU records for riders weighing in overweight to assist the Committee during deliberation given this was a rare charge.
Reasons for Penalty:
The Committee carefully considered all of the evidence and submissions presented.
Prior to May 2015 Rule 648 (5) provides:
If the Rider of a horse weighs in at a weight of 1kg or more in excess of that at which the Rider weighed out, the Clerk of the Scales shall record the weight by which the Rider on weighing in exceeded the weight at which he weighed out and inform a Stipendiary Steward and that Rider commits a breach of these Rules.
The amended Rule 648 (5) as of 1 May 2015 provides:
If the Rider of a horse weighs in at a weight of 0.5kg or more in excess of that at which he weighed out:
a) that rider; and
b) any other person who a Tribunal conducting an inquiry finds was at fault, commits a breach of these Rules.
The Committee's expectation is that Mr McKay has learnt a lesson from today’s incident and it is a reminder for all Riders to ensure they weigh out at the correct weight. Mr McKay should have been certain of his weigh-out weight and in the future he must always check the displayed weight as he is weighing out. Mr McKay should not rely upon clearance from the Clerk of Scales.
The RIU records showed that since the amended Rule was introduced only 2 riders have been charged for being overweight namely Mr Lowry $400 fine 0.6 kg and Mr Turner 1.0 kg fined $350 when finishing 4th. We verified this with the JCA listing of penalties and found these records to be correct.
The Committee noticed that the RIU records also showed 8 other Riders throughout the country in 2017 that had breached this Rule when weighing in at a range of 0.6 kg to 0.75 kg overweight. Surprisingly only a warning had been placed on all of their records.
The Committee was not satisfied that with Mr McKay weighing in 1kg overweight was the difference between his horse winning and running 2nd in the race after taking into account the 1¼ length margin at the finish. There was no evidence presented to support the suggestion that 1 kg is equivalent to 1¼ lengths. In our opinion this is a very subjective view and there is no proven formula for weights and measures. However, the Committee were of the opinion that had the margin been smaller then there would have been some merit in considering imposing a suspension. Therefore, in this particular case we consider that an appropriate penalty would be a fine.
The Penalty Guide for Judicial Committees effective 1 November 2017 provides that the new starting point for a breach of this Rule is a $200 fine. We note that the old starting point was a $500 fine.
The Committee took some guidance from Mr Turner’s decision from 18 December 2016, which we note in part reads:
Mr Oatham added that the RIU had asked the JCA to review the penalty guidelines in relation to Rule 648(5) because it was their view the current $500 starting point was too high. The Stewards’ submission for today’s breach was a monetary penalty in the vicinity of $100 - $200.
The Committee for this charge have adopted the old staring point of a $500 fine. We based this on the fact that the old Rule specifies that if the Rider of a horse weighs in at a weight of 1kg or more in excess of that at which the Rider weighed out, that Rider commits a breach of these Rules. Mr McKay, at 1kg over, is well in breach of the current Rule.
The only mitigating fact was Mr McKay’s clear record in the last 12 months.
After taking into account all the above factors we considered that an appropriate penalty was a $500 fine.
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: 80635b509f896b77355f0b40053f4f5c
informantnumber: A9485
horsename:
hearing_racingtype:
startdate: no date provided
newcharge: Weighed in overweight
plea: denied
penaltyrequired: 1
decisiondate: 13/11/2017
hearing_title: Waikato RC 11 November 2017 - R 3 - Chair, Mr A Dooley
charge:
facts:
Following the running of race 3, Bell Neuhauser & (Matthews) Optometrists 1600, an Information was filed pursuant to Rule 648(5). The Informant, Mr Williamson, alleged that Mr McKay weighed in 1 kg above the weight at which he weighed out at for THE MITIGATOR.
Mr McKay acknowledged that he understood the nature of the charge, the Rule and confirmed that he denied the breach.
Mr P McKay assisted Mr S McKay at the hearing.
Rule 648 (5) provides:
If the Rider of a horse weighs in at a weight of 0.5kg or more in excess of that at which he weighed out:
a) that rider; and
b) any other person who a Tribunal conducting an inquiry finds was at fault, commits a breach of these Rules.
appealdecision:
isappeal:
submissionsfordecision:
Mr Williamson advised the Committee that Mr McKay weighed out at the carded weight of 57.5 kgs and when he weighed in Mr McKay was 1 kg overweight. He said that his mount THE MITIGATOR finished in 2nd place and was beaten 1¼ lengths. He said following the race he asked Mr McKay for an explanation as to why he weighted in 1 kg overweight and Mr McKay was unable to provide any reason as to why this had occurred.
Mr Williamson called Mr Sanders, the Clerk of Scales, to give evidence. He told the Committee that Mr McKay weighed out at the correct weight but upon weighing in he was 1 kg overweight.
Mr Sanders stated that Mr McKay weighed out at 58.5 kgs and weighed in at 59.5 kgs. He said that weight included the 1 kg allowance for the riders vest.
Mr Sanders outlined his process of weighing riders out and explained how he placed a tick by their name once they had weighed back in.
Mr Sanders said that Mr McKay stood side on to the scales and not facing the displayed weight. He said that it wasn’t ideal how the scales were set up.
Mr P McKay asked Mr Sanders if there could have been a mistake made at the scales and Mr Sanders replied “yes there could have been a mistake but my belief is that Mr McKay was weighed out correctly”. Mr Sanders said that he records the weights on a sheet.
At this point the Committee asked for the official weigh sheet to be presented at the hearing for all parties to view. Mr S & P McKay did not dispute the weigh sheet which showed that Mr Sanders had recorded Mr McKay weighing out at 58.5 kg.
In response to a further question from Mr P McKay, Mr Sanders said that he would tell the Rider when they have their correct weight on the scales.
Mr Williamson said that it was clearly established that Mr McKay had weighed in 1 kg overweight. He said that “somehow” Mr McKay has gained 1 kg and it is strict liability of a Jockey to ensure they weigh out at the handicapped weight. He said the responsibility to weigh in at the correct weight was Mr McKay’s. He said that THE MITIGATOR was the favourite in the race and the horse finished in 2nd place beaten 1¼ lengths.
In conclusion Mr Williamson said that if it is established that Mr McKay breached the Rule this may have cost the horse from winning the race. He said that being the case the betting public and THE MITIGATOR’S connections may have been at a monetary loss.
Mr S McKay said that there was no possible way that he could have added weight after weighing out and advised that he weighed out with his heaviest gear. He was of the view that “something” went wrong at the scales and when questioned by the Committee he was confident that he weighed out with his vest on. He advised that his vest only weighed 200 grams.
In response to a further question from the Committee, Mr S McKay said that the scales were hard to see from where he was standing and he presumed that the weight was correct when he was cleared by the Clerk of Scales. He said that he knew that the scales needle was sitting on the 0.5 but was unsure if it was 58.5 kg or 59.5 kg.
Mr P McKay said that there was no malice involved and he said that Mr S McKay may have made an error in not checking his weight. He said that he now understands that the obligation is on the Jockey to check the correct weight on the scales. He said there could have been an error made but felt that Mr S McKay should not “cop” the full blame. In conclusion he disputed the assertion by Mr Williamson that the 1¼ margin may have had a bearing on the outcome of the race.
In summing up Mr Williamson said that the ultimate responsibility is with the Jockey and it was clear that Mr McKay weighed in 1 kg overweight.
In summing up Mr P McKay reiterated that there was no malice and it was not all Mr S McKay’s mistake.
reasonsfordecision:
The Committee carefully considered all of the evidence and submissions presented. There was no disputing the fact that Mr McKay weighed in 1kg over his carded weight for THE MITIGATOR in Race 3.
It has not been established how the incident occurred but a breach of this Rule is one of strict liability. The Stewards do not have to prove that Mr McKay, or any other person, was at fault. The onus is clearly on the rider to weigh out at the correct weight.
Rule 618(b) provides: It is a Rider’s responsibility if he is engaged to ride a horse in a Race to ensure that:
(b) he weighs out at the correct weight,
Decision:
Accordingly, the Committee found the charged proved.
sumissionsforpenalty:
Mr Williamson said that this was an unusual situation and the only similar charge was when Mr Turner breached this Rule and a $350 fine was imposed. He said the original penalty for a breach of this Rule was a $500 fine and that has only recently been reduced to $200 due to an amendment of the Rule. The rewriting of Rule 648(5) has seen the weight reduced from 1kg to 0.5kg in order for a breach to have occurred.
Mr Williamson said other factors the Committee needed to consider were THE MITIGATOR was the tote favourite, the horse ran 2nd and he said that the betting public would have expected THE MITIGATOR to carry the carded weight. He said the Stewards could not judge whether the incident may have cost THE MITIGATOR a better placing. He submitted a suspension in the vicinity of 7 National riding days.
In response to a question from the Committee, as to why the Stewards would be seeking a suspension instead of a fine, Mr Williamson response was that a line had been drawn through a careless riding charge.
Mr McKay advised the Committee that he had engagements up to and including 18 November and sought a deferment to any proposed suspension. He had nothing further to add regarding penalty.
Mr P McKay, the Trainer of THE MITIGATOR, was unable to be present for this part of the hearing which concluded after a lengthy delay from the last race. However, he told Mr S McKay that in his opinion 1 kg overweight does not equate to 1¼ lengths, the official margin at the finish.
Mr Coles provided the Committee with the RIU records for riders weighing in overweight to assist the Committee during deliberation given this was a rare charge.
reasonsforpenalty:
The Committee carefully considered all of the evidence and submissions presented.
Prior to May 2015 Rule 648 (5) provides:
If the Rider of a horse weighs in at a weight of 1kg or more in excess of that at which the Rider weighed out, the Clerk of the Scales shall record the weight by which the Rider on weighing in exceeded the weight at which he weighed out and inform a Stipendiary Steward and that Rider commits a breach of these Rules.
The amended Rule 648 (5) as of 1 May 2015 provides:
If the Rider of a horse weighs in at a weight of 0.5kg or more in excess of that at which he weighed out:
a) that rider; and
b) any other person who a Tribunal conducting an inquiry finds was at fault, commits a breach of these Rules.
The Committee's expectation is that Mr McKay has learnt a lesson from today’s incident and it is a reminder for all Riders to ensure they weigh out at the correct weight. Mr McKay should have been certain of his weigh-out weight and in the future he must always check the displayed weight as he is weighing out. Mr McKay should not rely upon clearance from the Clerk of Scales.
The RIU records showed that since the amended Rule was introduced only 2 riders have been charged for being overweight namely Mr Lowry $400 fine 0.6 kg and Mr Turner 1.0 kg fined $350 when finishing 4th. We verified this with the JCA listing of penalties and found these records to be correct.
The Committee noticed that the RIU records also showed 8 other Riders throughout the country in 2017 that had breached this Rule when weighing in at a range of 0.6 kg to 0.75 kg overweight. Surprisingly only a warning had been placed on all of their records.
The Committee was not satisfied that with Mr McKay weighing in 1kg overweight was the difference between his horse winning and running 2nd in the race after taking into account the 1¼ length margin at the finish. There was no evidence presented to support the suggestion that 1 kg is equivalent to 1¼ lengths. In our opinion this is a very subjective view and there is no proven formula for weights and measures. However, the Committee were of the opinion that had the margin been smaller then there would have been some merit in considering imposing a suspension. Therefore, in this particular case we consider that an appropriate penalty would be a fine.
The Penalty Guide for Judicial Committees effective 1 November 2017 provides that the new starting point for a breach of this Rule is a $200 fine. We note that the old starting point was a $500 fine.
The Committee took some guidance from Mr Turner’s decision from 18 December 2016, which we note in part reads:
Mr Oatham added that the RIU had asked the JCA to review the penalty guidelines in relation to Rule 648(5) because it was their view the current $500 starting point was too high. The Stewards’ submission for today’s breach was a monetary penalty in the vicinity of $100 - $200.
The Committee for this charge have adopted the old staring point of a $500 fine. We based this on the fact that the old Rule specifies that if the Rider of a horse weighs in at a weight of 1kg or more in excess of that at which the Rider weighed out, that Rider commits a breach of these Rules. Mr McKay, at 1kg over, is well in breach of the current Rule.
The only mitigating fact was Mr McKay’s clear record in the last 12 months.
After taking into account all the above factors we considered that an appropriate penalty was a $500 fine.
penalty:
Mr McKay was fined $500.
hearing_type: Hearing
Rules: 648(5)
Informant: Mr M Williamson - Senior Stipendiary Steward
JockeysandTrainer: Mr S McKay - Apprentice Rider of THE MITIGATOR
Otherperson: Mr P McKay - Trainer of THE MITIGATOR assisting Mr McKay, Mr A Coles - Stipendiary Steward, Mr R Sanders - Clerk of the Scales
PersonPresent:
Respondent:
StipendSteward:
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race_title: R 3
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meetdate: 11/11/2017
meet_title: Waikato RC - 11 November 2017
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