Anarchy
December 5th 2008 08:38
The decision by Racing NSW to grant Chris Munce a licence appears to be the beginning of a saga, rather than an end to a story.
(photo: AP)
Chris Munce spent 20 months in gaol in Hong Kong - later being transferred to Silverwater Gaol to serve out the latter stages of his detention - after being found guilty by a Hong Kong court of tipping horses he was riding in exchange for money. Munce was released from Silverwater Gaol on October 30th and granted a licence by Racing NSW on November 10th.
Racing NSW reciprocated 35 of the 36 of the penalties handed down by Hong Kong stewards - apart from the one penalty that would have seen Munce barred from riding until September 2009. This penalty imposed to keep parity with the court’s decision (and full term of the sentence). But as the crime committed by Munce is purely a racing matter in Australia, and not subject to a judicial process, Racing NSW has deemed that the penalty (or sufficient time) has already been served.
Most would agree that the penalty Munce has served is sufficient for the (silly and stupid) crime of which he was convicted. Given Munce’s age and his need to pursue his profession to support his family, most have assessed this as a fair and reasonable decision. And that would be fine if left at that. But this decision has implications that move far beyond an interpretation of what is fair and just, as decreed by opposing groups of stewards.
ARB (the Australian Racing Board) is a signatory to the International Agreement on Breeding, Racing and Wagering, which assumes that principal racing authorities across Australia will respect the terms of the agreement entered into by ARB on their behalf. And the stumbling block is Article 10 of the Agreement which stipulates that signatories will reciprocate penalties imposed by other horseracing authorities and jurisdictions.
There is now a furious dispute between Hong Kong and Australia that may jeopardise the current close ties enjoyed between the two large racing jurisdictions. Perhaps Hong Kong will look at the licensing of Australian jockeys to ride in their jurisdiction - after all penalties imposed now have a precedent for being altered - or even withdrawn. Perhaps a full scale dispute would see a lack of invitations granted to Australian horses to compete in the premier invitation races in Hong Kong. Australia and Hong Kong had been coming very close together in recent times.
Further afield - in response to this ripple - the British Horseracing Authority (BHA) have come out backing the system that supports the reciprocation of racing penalties. A repeat of this situation is deemed unlikely in Britain.
“We fully support the international agreement and, therefore, in principal the reciprocation of penalties. If a jockey rides in a foreign jurisdiction, they agree to accept the penalty system in that country even if the consequence for a similar breach in this country could be different.”
'Under normal circumstances, unless all options are exhausted in the jurisdiction of the authority where the offence took place, we would not normally consider an application under Rule 66 (iii), that the penalty should not have effect under our rules.' - BHA spokesman, Paul Struthers.
The Federation of Horseracing Authorities have been working towards harmonising rules and penalties of racing jurisdictions around the world. In this age of the international thoroughbred, we need the international system of (racing) law.
And closer to home Queensland Racing Limited (QRL) has described the NSW decision as "anarchy".
“I don't wish to criticise Racing NSW. It's their decision. Chris Munce might have got a bad deal but their response is near anarchy if they think they can do what they like." - Bob Bentley, QRL Chairman.
The tone of comments coming from Queensland suggest that Munce may have difficulty in gaining a licence to ride there.
If Chris Munce wishes to ride anywhere other than NSW he must apply for a licence in each state.
Would (or will) Victoria grant Munce a licence?
If the Hong Kong racing authorities dig in their heels over this case, it could be a matter of Munce being a permanent fixture (solely seen) in NSW racing. No more Jezabeel’s. No more Melbourne Cup victories.
Chris Munce on Jezabeel in happy times
(photo: AP)
Chris Munce spent 20 months in gaol in Hong Kong - later being transferred to Silverwater Gaol to serve out the latter stages of his detention - after being found guilty by a Hong Kong court of tipping horses he was riding in exchange for money. Munce was released from Silverwater Gaol on October 30th and granted a licence by Racing NSW on November 10th.
Racing NSW reciprocated 35 of the 36 of the penalties handed down by Hong Kong stewards - apart from the one penalty that would have seen Munce barred from riding until September 2009. This penalty imposed to keep parity with the court’s decision (and full term of the sentence). But as the crime committed by Munce is purely a racing matter in Australia, and not subject to a judicial process, Racing NSW has deemed that the penalty (or sufficient time) has already been served.
Most would agree that the penalty Munce has served is sufficient for the (silly and stupid) crime of which he was convicted. Given Munce’s age and his need to pursue his profession to support his family, most have assessed this as a fair and reasonable decision. And that would be fine if left at that. But this decision has implications that move far beyond an interpretation of what is fair and just, as decreed by opposing groups of stewards.
ARB (the Australian Racing Board) is a signatory to the International Agreement on Breeding, Racing and Wagering, which assumes that principal racing authorities across Australia will respect the terms of the agreement entered into by ARB on their behalf. And the stumbling block is Article 10 of the Agreement which stipulates that signatories will reciprocate penalties imposed by other horseracing authorities and jurisdictions.
There is now a furious dispute between Hong Kong and Australia that may jeopardise the current close ties enjoyed between the two large racing jurisdictions. Perhaps Hong Kong will look at the licensing of Australian jockeys to ride in their jurisdiction - after all penalties imposed now have a precedent for being altered - or even withdrawn. Perhaps a full scale dispute would see a lack of invitations granted to Australian horses to compete in the premier invitation races in Hong Kong. Australia and Hong Kong had been coming very close together in recent times.
Further afield - in response to this ripple - the British Horseracing Authority (BHA) have come out backing the system that supports the reciprocation of racing penalties. A repeat of this situation is deemed unlikely in Britain.
“We fully support the international agreement and, therefore, in principal the reciprocation of penalties. If a jockey rides in a foreign jurisdiction, they agree to accept the penalty system in that country even if the consequence for a similar breach in this country could be different.”
'Under normal circumstances, unless all options are exhausted in the jurisdiction of the authority where the offence took place, we would not normally consider an application under Rule 66 (iii), that the penalty should not have effect under our rules.' - BHA spokesman, Paul Struthers.
The Federation of Horseracing Authorities have been working towards harmonising rules and penalties of racing jurisdictions around the world. In this age of the international thoroughbred, we need the international system of (racing) law.
And closer to home Queensland Racing Limited (QRL) has described the NSW decision as "anarchy".
“I don't wish to criticise Racing NSW. It's their decision. Chris Munce might have got a bad deal but their response is near anarchy if they think they can do what they like." - Bob Bentley, QRL Chairman.
The tone of comments coming from Queensland suggest that Munce may have difficulty in gaining a licence to ride there.
If Chris Munce wishes to ride anywhere other than NSW he must apply for a licence in each state.
Would (or will) Victoria grant Munce a licence?
If the Hong Kong racing authorities dig in their heels over this case, it could be a matter of Munce being a permanent fixture (solely seen) in NSW racing. No more Jezabeel’s. No more Melbourne Cup victories.
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