NZ Metro TC 5 April 2013 – R 4
ID: JCA10476
Meet Title:
NZ Metro TC - 5 April 2013
Meet Chair:
RMcKenzie
Meet Committee Member 1:
SChing
Race Date:
2013/04/05
Race Number:
R4
Decision:
Mr Alford having admitted the breach, the charge was found proved.
Penalty:
Mr Alford was fined the sum of $350.
Charge:
Excessive use of the whip.
Facts:
Following the running of Race 4, Seelite Windows & Doors NZ Trotting Derby (Group 1), an information was filed by Stipendiary Steward, Mr C J Allison, against Licensed Horseman (Australia), Mr C A Alford, alleging that, as the driver of BLITZTHEMCALDER in the race, he used his whip “in a manner which Stewards deem to be excessive when driving BLITZTHEMCALDER”.
Mr Alford was present at the hearing of the information and he indicated that he admitted the breach.
Rule 869 provides as follows:
(2) No horseman shall during any race:-
(a) use his whip in an unnecessary, excessive or improper manner.
Submissions for Decision:
Mr Allison showed a video replay of the final 300-400 metres of the race. He pointed out Mr Alford, driving BLITZEMCALDER, in the lead as the field turned for home. The Stewards had no concerns with Mr Alford’s use of the whip until inside the final 200 metres from which point, Mr Allison alleged, Mr Alford used his whip continuously on approximately 29 occasions, except for one very brief respite. The Committee noted that Mr Alford was using the whip in his right hand in a backhand fashion on the horse’s near side while holding the reins in his left hand. Mr Alford accepted the allegation of 29 strikes, but submitted that some were on the sulky shaft rather than on the horse.
Mr Alford said that he was not aware of any threshold as to the number of permissible strikes. He added that “flicks” with the whip were acceptable in Victoria. The horse needed to be kept going, he said. Only 10-12 strikes were on the horse, which was unmarked. He said that that he accepted that it looked bad and, for that reason, he had admitted the charge.
Submissions for Penalty:
Mr Allison submitted that the race was a Group 1 race for a stake of $80,000. The number of strikes was “well above the 20” with only one brief respite, he said.
Mr Alford had admitted the breach at the first opportunity. He had two breaches of the whip Rule in Australia – on 6 January and 9 January 2013 for which he was fined $200 and $400 respectively, Mr Allison said. When questioned by the Committee, Mr Alford stated that he would have had some 500 drives since the most recent breach.
Mr Allison said that the appropriate penalty was a fine of no less than $300. Mr Alford had nothing to say by way of a response to that submission.
Reasons for Penalty:
The Penalty Guide recommends a starting point for a breach of the Rule of a $300 fine. A suspension was not appropriate in this case. The Committee believed that Mr Alford was entitled to a discount from that point for his very frank admission of the breach.
However, the Committee took into account a couple of aggravating factors. Firstly, the number of strikes (29) which were effectively continuous and, secondly, the status of the race – a Group 1 race for a stake of $80,000.
The Committee did not take into account the two breaches of the whip Rule in January of this year. The Committee accepted Mr Alford’s advice that he would have had some 500 drives since the later of those two breaches, which made his record a good one.
The Committee also referred to the database of penalties for breaches of the Rule in Group 1 races.
Weighing up all of the above factors, the Committee decided that the appropriate penalty for this particular breach was a fine of $350.
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: 04aa7eab1a9d24f012ba530097b9ee7d
informantnumber: A5911
horsename:
hearing_racingtype:
startdate: no date provided
newcharge:
plea: admitted
penaltyrequired: 1
decisiondate: 01/04/2013
hearing_title: NZ Metro TC 5 April 2013 - R 4
charge:
Excessive use of the whip.
facts:
Following the running of Race 4, Seelite Windows & Doors NZ Trotting Derby (Group 1), an information was filed by Stipendiary Steward, Mr C J Allison, against Licensed Horseman (Australia), Mr C A Alford, alleging that, as the driver of BLITZTHEMCALDER in the race, he used his whip “in a manner which Stewards deem to be excessive when driving BLITZTHEMCALDER”.
Mr Alford was present at the hearing of the information and he indicated that he admitted the breach.
Rule 869 provides as follows:
(2) No horseman shall during any race:-
(a) use his whip in an unnecessary, excessive or improper manner.
appealdecision:
isappeal:
submissionsfordecision:
Mr Allison showed a video replay of the final 300-400 metres of the race. He pointed out Mr Alford, driving BLITZEMCALDER, in the lead as the field turned for home. The Stewards had no concerns with Mr Alford’s use of the whip until inside the final 200 metres from which point, Mr Allison alleged, Mr Alford used his whip continuously on approximately 29 occasions, except for one very brief respite. The Committee noted that Mr Alford was using the whip in his right hand in a backhand fashion on the horse’s near side while holding the reins in his left hand. Mr Alford accepted the allegation of 29 strikes, but submitted that some were on the sulky shaft rather than on the horse.
Mr Alford said that he was not aware of any threshold as to the number of permissible strikes. He added that “flicks” with the whip were acceptable in Victoria. The horse needed to be kept going, he said. Only 10-12 strikes were on the horse, which was unmarked. He said that that he accepted that it looked bad and, for that reason, he had admitted the charge.
reasonsfordecision:
Decision:
Mr Alford having admitted the breach, the charge was found proved.
sumissionsforpenalty:
Mr Allison submitted that the race was a Group 1 race for a stake of $80,000. The number of strikes was “well above the 20” with only one brief respite, he said.
Mr Alford had admitted the breach at the first opportunity. He had two breaches of the whip Rule in Australia – on 6 January and 9 January 2013 for which he was fined $200 and $400 respectively, Mr Allison said. When questioned by the Committee, Mr Alford stated that he would have had some 500 drives since the most recent breach.
Mr Allison said that the appropriate penalty was a fine of no less than $300. Mr Alford had nothing to say by way of a response to that submission.
reasonsforpenalty:
The Penalty Guide recommends a starting point for a breach of the Rule of a $300 fine. A suspension was not appropriate in this case. The Committee believed that Mr Alford was entitled to a discount from that point for his very frank admission of the breach.
However, the Committee took into account a couple of aggravating factors. Firstly, the number of strikes (29) which were effectively continuous and, secondly, the status of the race – a Group 1 race for a stake of $80,000.
The Committee did not take into account the two breaches of the whip Rule in January of this year. The Committee accepted Mr Alford’s advice that he would have had some 500 drives since the later of those two breaches, which made his record a good one.
The Committee also referred to the database of penalties for breaches of the Rule in Group 1 races.
Weighing up all of the above factors, the Committee decided that the appropriate penalty for this particular breach was a fine of $350.
penalty:
Mr Alford was fined the sum of $350.
hearing_type: Hearing
Rules: 869(2)(a)
Informant: C J Allison, Stipendiary Steward
JockeysandTrainer: C A Alford, Licensed Horseman (Australia)
Otherperson:
PersonPresent:
Respondent:
StipendSteward:
raceid: 8303eccb420bfd3128b338331abe1185
race_expapproval:
racecancelled: 0
race_noreport: 0
race_emailed1: 0
race_emailed2: 0
race_title: R4
submittochair:
race_expappcomment:
race_km:
race_otherexp:
race_chair:
race_pm1:
race_pm2:
meetid: fa11c0e938fadd6fbdd5000dab48c70c
meet_expapproval:
meet_noreport: 0
waitingforpublication: 0
meet_emailed1: 0
meet_emailed2: 0
meetdate: 05/04/2013
meet_title: NZ Metro TC - 5 April 2013
meet_expappcomment:
meet_km:
meet_otherexp:
tracklocation: nz-metro-tc
meet_racingtype: harness-racing
meet_chair: RMcKenzie
meet_pm1: SChing
meet_pm2: none
name: NZ Metro TC