CHANGE OF DRIVING TACTICS
At the Harness Racing Australia (HRA) National Integrity Conference in May 2017, the change of driving tactic requirements within the Australian Harness Racing Rules (AHRR) were again the subject of discussion.
It was evident through this discussion, that there are variations as to how these requirements are policed in other harness racing jurisdictions in Australia and therefore the Harness Racing Victoria (HRV) ‘Change of Tactics’ (COT) policy was subject to further review.
Following a review of the HRV COT Policy, which included consultation with the Victorian Trainers and Drivers Association (VTDA) and approval from the HRV Board, HRV stewards have amended the application of the HRV COT Policy with immediate effect in the following manner:
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The removal of the provision for connections of a horse to notify of an intention to adopt driving tactics during a race to “attempt to lead and hold the lead” or “attempt to lead and then surrender the lead” and to replace such a requirement with a determination by Stewards that ensures the tactics adopted by a driver are reasonable and or acceptable in accordance with AHRR 149(1) or 149(2) and furthermore that any instructions provided by connections of a horse are reasonable and therefore compliant with AHRR 149(4).
This interpretation would complement the implementation of the ‘HRV Stewards Minimum Penalty Guidelines’ in January 2017, whereby HRV Stewards reaffirmed the significance and importance of a drivers obligation under AHRR 149(1) and 149(2) so as to maintain appropriate and reasonable standards of driving.
AHRR 149(1) states: A driver shall take all reasonable and permissible measures during the course of a race to ensure that the horse driven by that driver is given full opportunity to win or obtain the best possible placing in the field.
The ‘HRV Stewards Minimum Penalty Guidelines’ indicate a starting point for an offence under AHRR 149(1) as an 8 week driving suspension and a minimum penalty of a 4 week driving suspension.
AHRR 149(2) states: A person shall not drive in a manner which in the opinion of the Stewards is unacceptable.
The ‘HRV Stewards Minimum Penalty Guidelines’ indicate a starting point for an offence under AHRR 149(2) as a 6 week driving suspension and a minimum penalty of a 3 week driving suspension.
AHRR 149(4) states: The connections of a horse shall not give a direction or instruction to the driver of that horse if that direction or instruction is unreasonable or is likely to prevent the driver from giving the horse full opportunity to win or obtain the best possible placing in the field.
As distinct from the previous option that enabled connections to notify of the intention to “attempt to lead and hold the lead” or “attempt to lead and surrender the lead” etc., Stewards will instead monitor and investigate where necessary to ensure consistent driving tactics are adopted. Stewards will therefore determine if a horse has settled in a relatively similar position in the field as compared to its most recent race starts in accordance with the provisions of AHRR 44(5).
Meaning, that if a horse has an established recent racing pattern of being driven forward during the early stages of a race and settling in a forward position in the field, the expectation would be, provided similar circumstances exist, that such horse would again be driven forward to obtain a similar position in the field. Conversely, for a horse that has an established recent racing pattern of being driven back in the field during the early stages of a race, the expectation would be that such horse would again be driven in a similar manner, unless prior notification by connections to Stewards indicated otherwise.
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The intended notification of driving tactics provided by connections, approved by Stewards and then publicly declared are to be confined to either one of the following options:
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Further forward at the start;
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Further back at the start;
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More aggressively after the start;
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Less aggressively after the start.
Importantly, the previous requirements for the notification of a change of driving tactics in accordance with the HRV Change of Driving Tactics Policy remain in place, which include the following:
The trainer and/or driver of a horse intending to adopt driving tactics contrary to the usual racing pattern of a horse shall notify this intended change of tactics one (1) hour prior to the advertised start time of Race 1 for that particular race meeting.
This notification must be performed by phoning the dedicated change of tactics phone line on 03 9214 0650. The trainer and or driver are required to provide the following information:
- Name of trainer / driver and licence number
- Name of racemeeting
- Name of horse and race number
- Intended change in driving tactics
Once the HRV Stewards have compiled the change of tactics for a meeting they will then be notified to the public and industry participants via the following avenues:
- Placed on the harness.org.au website under the ‘Stewards Wrap’ heading;
- Via the HRV Stewards Twitter account: @HRVinformer;
- Announced by the on-course racecaller;
- On the stewards notice board, located outside the stewards room.
Relevant Links:
Australian Harness Racing Rules
Harness Racing Victoria ‘Change of Driving Tactics Policy’
Harness Racing Victoria Stewards ‘Minimum Penalty Guidelines’
For any further information in relation to this notice please contact HRV Stewards on 8378 0222.
