Auckland TC 10 June 2016 – R 7 – Chair, Mr B Scott
ID: JCA11036
Meet Title:
Auckland TC - 10 June 2016
Meet Chair:
BScott
Meet Committee Member 1:
AGodsalve
Race Date:
2016/06/10
Race Number:
R7
Decision:
The breach is admitted and therefore the charge is upheld.
Penalty:
This Committee imposes a fine of $200.00 on Mr Grayling.
Facts:
Following the running of the MARLIN TRANSPORT MOBILE TROT an Information was lodged by Stipendiary Steward Mr JM Muirhead against Junior Driver Mr S Grayling alleging that Mr Grayling used his whip excessively over the concluding stages of the Race when driving HIGHLAND STAR.
Rule 869(2)(a) provides that : no horseman shall during any race use his whip in an unnecessary, excessive or improper manner.
Mr Grayling was present at the Hearing and he acknowledged that he understood the Rule and that he admitted the charge.
Mr Grayling was assisted by Senior Horseman Mr TW Mitchell.
Mr Muirhead demonstrated the incident by use of the race films and showed where HIGHLAND STAR was in the one/one position at the home turn and that Mr Grayling moved it out and began using the whip just prior to the home turn. He then used it in the run home and Mr Muirhead calculated that he used it approximately 22 times. He said that the use of the whip was not aggressive but the Stewards were concerned that it was continuous. He said that although the number of strikes was high it was the manner of use (i.e. continuous ) that was the issue. Mr Muirhead said that the incident was at the lower end of the scale of seriousness.
Mr Mitchell agreed with Mr Muirhead's summary of the facts and his submissions. He also said that the backhand strikes with the whip were not powerful but he acknowledged that the number of strikes were as calculated by Mr Muirhead.
Mr Grayling for his part acknowledged that there were too many strikes with the whip.
Submissions for Penalty:
Mr Muirhead submitted that the JCA Guidelines provide for a starting point penalty of a $500.00 fine or a 2 day suspension. He said that the starting point penalties would be inappropriate in this case.
Mr Muirhead said that Mr Grayling is a Junior Driver who has had 153 drives and he has not been charged with this offence before and he should be given credit for that. He also should be given credit for his admission of the breach and the fact that the incident was at the lower end of the scale of seriousness. Mr Muirhead submitted that a fine in the vicinity of $200.00 would be appropriate.
Mr Mitchell endorsed Mr Muirhead's submissions .
Reasons for Penalty:
The Committee has listened to the parties and we have viewed the films which show the incident clearly.
The aggravating factors are the number of strikes and the continuous use of the whip. The Committee explained to Mr Grayling that although the strikes might not have been forceful the perception over use of the whip is an important issue and that people watching the race at home would only see the number of strikes and not necessarily the fact that they were not forceful. Mr Grayling to his credit understands that.
The mitigating factors of course are the fact that Mr Grayling is a Junior Driver, he has admitted the charge and Mr Muirhead has told us that the breach is at the lower end of the scale of seriousness. We are aware of the impact of any fine on a Junior Driver.
We are aware of the starting point penalties in the JCA Guidelines but we believe that we can give Mr Grayling considerable credit because of the mitigating factors.
Taking all matters into account we are comfortable with the level of fine suggested by Mr Muirhead.
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: 0b35e911c3333e97ccb7193ac4050919
informantnumber: A7445
horsename:
hearing_racingtype:
startdate: no date provided
newcharge: excessive use of the whip
plea: admitted
penaltyrequired: 1
decisiondate: 14/06/2016
hearing_title: Auckland TC 10 June 2016 - R 7 - Chair, Mr B Scott
charge:
facts:
Following the running of the MARLIN TRANSPORT MOBILE TROT an Information was lodged by Stipendiary Steward Mr JM Muirhead against Junior Driver Mr S Grayling alleging that Mr Grayling used his whip excessively over the concluding stages of the Race when driving HIGHLAND STAR.
Rule 869(2)(a) provides that : no horseman shall during any race use his whip in an unnecessary, excessive or improper manner.
Mr Grayling was present at the Hearing and he acknowledged that he understood the Rule and that he admitted the charge.
Mr Grayling was assisted by Senior Horseman Mr TW Mitchell.
Mr Muirhead demonstrated the incident by use of the race films and showed where HIGHLAND STAR was in the one/one position at the home turn and that Mr Grayling moved it out and began using the whip just prior to the home turn. He then used it in the run home and Mr Muirhead calculated that he used it approximately 22 times. He said that the use of the whip was not aggressive but the Stewards were concerned that it was continuous. He said that although the number of strikes was high it was the manner of use (i.e. continuous ) that was the issue. Mr Muirhead said that the incident was at the lower end of the scale of seriousness.
Mr Mitchell agreed with Mr Muirhead's summary of the facts and his submissions. He also said that the backhand strikes with the whip were not powerful but he acknowledged that the number of strikes were as calculated by Mr Muirhead.
Mr Grayling for his part acknowledged that there were too many strikes with the whip.
appealdecision:
isappeal:
submissionsfordecision:
reasonsfordecision:
Decision:
The breach is admitted and therefore the charge is upheld.
sumissionsforpenalty:
Mr Muirhead submitted that the JCA Guidelines provide for a starting point penalty of a $500.00 fine or a 2 day suspension. He said that the starting point penalties would be inappropriate in this case.
Mr Muirhead said that Mr Grayling is a Junior Driver who has had 153 drives and he has not been charged with this offence before and he should be given credit for that. He also should be given credit for his admission of the breach and the fact that the incident was at the lower end of the scale of seriousness. Mr Muirhead submitted that a fine in the vicinity of $200.00 would be appropriate.
Mr Mitchell endorsed Mr Muirhead's submissions .
reasonsforpenalty:
The Committee has listened to the parties and we have viewed the films which show the incident clearly.
The aggravating factors are the number of strikes and the continuous use of the whip. The Committee explained to Mr Grayling that although the strikes might not have been forceful the perception over use of the whip is an important issue and that people watching the race at home would only see the number of strikes and not necessarily the fact that they were not forceful. Mr Grayling to his credit understands that.
The mitigating factors of course are the fact that Mr Grayling is a Junior Driver, he has admitted the charge and Mr Muirhead has told us that the breach is at the lower end of the scale of seriousness. We are aware of the impact of any fine on a Junior Driver.
We are aware of the starting point penalties in the JCA Guidelines but we believe that we can give Mr Grayling considerable credit because of the mitigating factors.
Taking all matters into account we are comfortable with the level of fine suggested by Mr Muirhead.
penalty:
This Committee imposes a fine of $200.00 on Mr Grayling.
hearing_type: Hearing
Rules: Rule 869(2)(a)
Informant: Mr J M Muirhead - Stipendiary Steward
JockeysandTrainer: Mr S Grayling - Junior Driver
Otherperson: Mr T W Mitchell - Senior Horseman assisting Mr Grayling
PersonPresent:
Respondent:
StipendSteward:
raceid: 674369db581d86f583cdccd903e45370
race_expapproval:
racecancelled: 0
race_noreport: 0
race_emailed1: 0
race_emailed2: 0
race_title: R7
submittochair:
race_expappcomment:
race_km:
race_otherexp:
race_chair:
race_pm1:
race_pm2:
meetid: 9df1257ba199674c6733314bc992f2e4
meet_expapproval:
meet_noreport: 0
waitingforpublication: 0
meet_emailed1: 0
meet_emailed2: 0
meetdate: 10/06/2016
meet_title: Auckland TC - 10 June 2016
meet_expappcomment:
meet_km:
meet_otherexp:
tracklocation: auckland-tc
meet_racingtype: harness-racing
meet_chair: BScott
meet_pm1: AGodsalve
meet_pm2: none
name: Auckland TC