Waimate RC 3 July 2011 – R 3 (request for a ruling)
ID: JCA17596
Code:
Thoroughbred
Meet Title:
Waimate RC - 3 July 2011
Meet Chair:
GHall
Meet Committee Member 1:
PKnowles
Race Date:
2011/07/03
Race Number:
R 3
Decision:
Upon hearing this evidence, and having viewed the videos and the track, we are clearly of the view that the track is unsafe and that the meeting should be abandoned. The Club officials asked us to postpone rather than abandon the meeting as they wished to attempt to hold a meeting in a few days time.
We agreed to postpone the meeting indefinitely, although we expressed our doubt that this would have any effect on whether the club would be able to obtain a new date.
Facts:
Mr J McLaughlin, stipendiary steward sought a ruling under rule 902(2)(a)(ii) as to whether the race meeting should continue due to horses suffering slipping in races 1 and 2.
Prior to the hearing the track was inspected by the stewards and this Committee, and by representatives of the jockeys, trainers and the Waimate Racing Club.
Submissions for Decision:
Mr McLaughlin demonstrated on the videos that the back end of one horse in race 1 shifted and that a horse in race 2, when racing clear of any pressure, lost its footing. He said when he inspected the track there was evidence of sideways movement where the incidents happened. He said both horses had slipped at roughly the same place on the track. With respect to race 2, he said the horse was merely attempting to take the bend and it was rather lucky to have stood up. In his experience, he said, once a track shifts it will continue to do so for the day. He cited Wingatui as a recent example. After a track inspection there was uncompetitive racing for one race and when the jockeys “went for it” in the next, there was a fall. He concluded by saying he was asking us to abandon the meeting as the track was unsafe.
Mr Walters, the rider of the horse that slipped in race 2, said his horse might have been on the wrong leg and that there was not much frost other than in that area, but he would not feel safe riding. Mr Robinson, the rider of the horse that slipped in race 1, confirmed it had lost its footing. He would not express an opinion as to whether it was safe to ride, pointing out that he did not have a ride in the next race.
We had requested that the jockeys meet prior to the hearing. We asked Mr Walsh, as a senior rider, to speak on their behalf. He said only one jockey was keen to ride, the rest were 50/50 but were not keen to race. When questioned directly by the Chairman, he said he believed the track was unsafe.
On behalf of the trainers it was said that after viewing the track and the videos it was evident the horses had moved and that the track was not safe.
Club officials said they believed the worst was over and that the frost was gone. They emphasised it was only one section of the track that was of concern. They highlighted the fact that the horse in race 2 was a 2 year-old, was quite unbalanced and had changed legs. They said it slipped when asked to quicken. In response Mr Walters said he was nudging his horse forward and it slipped totally free of interference.
Mr Walsh confirmed this.
Reasons for Decision:
As above.
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: f6c1db676f4979a1ecb904f638a56b04
informantnumber:
horsename:
hearing_racingtype:
startdate: no date provided
newcharge:
plea:
penaltyrequired:
decisiondate: 06/07/2011
hearing_title: Waimate RC 3 July 2011 - R 3 (request for a ruling)
charge:
facts:
Mr J McLaughlin, stipendiary steward sought a ruling under rule 902(2)(a)(ii) as to whether the race meeting should continue due to horses suffering slipping in races 1 and 2.
Prior to the hearing the track was inspected by the stewards and this Committee, and by representatives of the jockeys, trainers and the Waimate Racing Club.
appealdecision:
isappeal:
submissionsfordecision:
Mr McLaughlin demonstrated on the videos that the back end of one horse in race 1 shifted and that a horse in race 2, when racing clear of any pressure, lost its footing. He said when he inspected the track there was evidence of sideways movement where the incidents happened. He said both horses had slipped at roughly the same place on the track. With respect to race 2, he said the horse was merely attempting to take the bend and it was rather lucky to have stood up. In his experience, he said, once a track shifts it will continue to do so for the day. He cited Wingatui as a recent example. After a track inspection there was uncompetitive racing for one race and when the jockeys “went for it” in the next, there was a fall. He concluded by saying he was asking us to abandon the meeting as the track was unsafe.
Mr Walters, the rider of the horse that slipped in race 2, said his horse might have been on the wrong leg and that there was not much frost other than in that area, but he would not feel safe riding. Mr Robinson, the rider of the horse that slipped in race 1, confirmed it had lost its footing. He would not express an opinion as to whether it was safe to ride, pointing out that he did not have a ride in the next race.
We had requested that the jockeys meet prior to the hearing. We asked Mr Walsh, as a senior rider, to speak on their behalf. He said only one jockey was keen to ride, the rest were 50/50 but were not keen to race. When questioned directly by the Chairman, he said he believed the track was unsafe.
On behalf of the trainers it was said that after viewing the track and the videos it was evident the horses had moved and that the track was not safe.
Club officials said they believed the worst was over and that the frost was gone. They emphasised it was only one section of the track that was of concern. They highlighted the fact that the horse in race 2 was a 2 year-old, was quite unbalanced and had changed legs. They said it slipped when asked to quicken. In response Mr Walters said he was nudging his horse forward and it slipped totally free of interference.
Mr Walsh confirmed this.
reasonsfordecision:
As above.
Decision:
Upon hearing this evidence, and having viewed the videos and the track, we are clearly of the view that the track is unsafe and that the meeting should be abandoned. The Club officials asked us to postpone rather than abandon the meeting as they wished to attempt to hold a meeting in a few days time.
We agreed to postpone the meeting indefinitely, although we expressed our doubt that this would have any effect on whether the club would be able to obtain a new date.
sumissionsforpenalty:
reasonsforpenalty:
penalty:
hearing_type: Request Ruling
Rules: 902(2)(a)(ii)
Informant:
JockeysandTrainer:
Otherperson:
PersonPresent: Mr Walters, Mr Walsh
Respondent:
StipendSteward: Mr McLaughlin - Stipendiary Steward
raceid: ae226dd8d0bffc14d16130d7a64063f7
race_expapproval:
racecancelled: 0
race_noreport: 0
race_emailed1: 0
race_emailed2: 0
race_title: R 3
submittochair:
race_expappcomment:
race_km:
race_otherexp:
race_chair:
race_pm1:
race_pm2:
meetid: 2a06c2d857be9bb3e0a4534af333448f
meet_expapproval:
meet_noreport: 0
waitingforpublication: 0
meet_emailed1: 0
meet_emailed2: 0
meetdate: 03/07/2011
meet_title: Waimate RC - 3 July 2011
meet_expappcomment:
meet_km:
meet_otherexp:
tracklocation: waimate-rc
meet_racingtype: thoroughbred-racing
meet_chair: GHall
meet_pm1: PKnowles
meet_pm2: none
name: Waimate RC