Archive Decision

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Waikato/BOP HI 28 January 2018 – R 6 – Chair, Mr A Godsalve

ID: JCA11282

Applicant:
Mr S Mulcay - Senior Stipendiary Steward

Respondent(s):
Mr S Lawson-Open Horseman

Information Number:
A7023

Hearing Type:
Hearing

New Charge:
Excess whip use

Rules:
Rule 869(2)

Plea:
admitted

Meet Title:
Harness Racing Waikato - 28 January 2018

Meet Chair:
AGodsalve

Meet Committee Member 1:
ADooley

Race Date:
2018/01/28

Race Number:
R 6

Decision:

As Mr Lawson has admitted the breach we find the charge proved.

Penalty:

Accordingly we imposed a fine of $200 on Mr Lawson.

Facts:

Following the running of Race 6, the LASER PLUMBING & HEATING TE PUKE MOBILE PACE 1950m, Mr Mulcay produced an Information alleging that Open Horseman Mr S Lawson used his whip excessively inside the final 400 metres.

Mr Lawson endorsed the Information to the effect that (a) he admitted the breach, and (b) that he did not wish to be present at the hearing.

Rule 869(2) provides that 'No horseman shall during any race use a whip in a manner in contravention of the Use of the Whip Regulations made by the Board.'

The Regulations provide that 'No horseman is permitted to use their whip in a striking motion on more than 10 occasions inside the final 400 metres. This is inclusive of 'backhanders' and the use includes the horse, harness and/or sulky.'

Using the films Mr Mulcay identified the horse MCLEOD'S DAUGHTER driven by Mr Lawson, as the field passed the 400 metres mark. From that point until the finish, Mr Lawson struck the horse 13 times with his whip. The strikes were not particuarly forceful, however that number of strikes is in contravention of the Rule and Regulations.

Submissions for Penalty:

Mr Mulcay advised the Committee that Mr Lawson did not have any prior breaches of this Rule or the Regulations within the past 6 months. He added that the breach was at the lower end of the scale in respect of the force used. Mr Mulcay referred to the sliding scale introduced on 30 November 2017 wherein a breach of the Rule involving 11-13 strikes incurred a fine of $200.

Reasons for Penalty:

The Committee took into account that Mr Lawson did not have any  prior breaches of this Rule. We did not consider there were any aggravating factors which would suggest an uplift on the sliding scale where a fine of $200 was indicated. The Committee agreed with Mr Mulcay that Mr Lawson had struck the horse 13 times, and that in our opinion the breach fell into the lower end on the scale of seriousness.

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: 1baaa7e0c6e3fff62958d884c88c54d8


informantnumber: A7023


horsename:


hearing_racingtype:


startdate: no date provided


newcharge: Excess whip use


plea: admitted


penaltyrequired: 1


decisiondate: 28/01/2018


hearing_title: Waikato/BOP HI 28 January 2018 - R 6 - Chair, Mr A Godsalve


charge:


facts:

Following the running of Race 6, the LASER PLUMBING & HEATING TE PUKE MOBILE PACE 1950m, Mr Mulcay produced an Information alleging that Open Horseman Mr S Lawson used his whip excessively inside the final 400 metres.

Mr Lawson endorsed the Information to the effect that (a) he admitted the breach, and (b) that he did not wish to be present at the hearing.

Rule 869(2) provides that 'No horseman shall during any race use a whip in a manner in contravention of the Use of the Whip Regulations made by the Board.'

The Regulations provide that 'No horseman is permitted to use their whip in a striking motion on more than 10 occasions inside the final 400 metres. This is inclusive of 'backhanders' and the use includes the horse, harness and/or sulky.'

Using the films Mr Mulcay identified the horse MCLEOD'S DAUGHTER driven by Mr Lawson, as the field passed the 400 metres mark. From that point until the finish, Mr Lawson struck the horse 13 times with his whip. The strikes were not particuarly forceful, however that number of strikes is in contravention of the Rule and Regulations.


appealdecision:


isappeal:


submissionsfordecision:


reasonsfordecision:


Decision:

As Mr Lawson has admitted the breach we find the charge proved.


sumissionsforpenalty:

Mr Mulcay advised the Committee that Mr Lawson did not have any prior breaches of this Rule or the Regulations within the past 6 months. He added that the breach was at the lower end of the scale in respect of the force used. Mr Mulcay referred to the sliding scale introduced on 30 November 2017 wherein a breach of the Rule involving 11-13 strikes incurred a fine of $200.


reasonsforpenalty:

The Committee took into account that Mr Lawson did not have any  prior breaches of this Rule. We did not consider there were any aggravating factors which would suggest an uplift on the sliding scale where a fine of $200 was indicated. The Committee agreed with Mr Mulcay that Mr Lawson had struck the horse 13 times, and that in our opinion the breach fell into the lower end on the scale of seriousness.


penalty:

Accordingly we imposed a fine of $200 on Mr Lawson.


hearing_type: Hearing


Rules: Rule 869(2)


Informant: Mr S Mulcay - Senior Stipendiary Steward


JockeysandTrainer: Mr S Lawson-Open Horseman


Otherperson:


PersonPresent:


Respondent:


StipendSteward:


raceid: 27c512150a73acfeb0f16cab5648cabe


race_expapproval:


racecancelled: 0


race_noreport: 0


race_emailed1: 0


race_emailed2: 0


race_title: R 6


submittochair:


race_expappcomment:


race_km:


race_otherexp:


race_chair:


race_pm1:


race_pm2:


meetid: 5128a7ca0ea58382c187a779e586f0a2


meet_expapproval:


meet_noreport: 0


waitingforpublication: 0


meet_emailed1: 0


meet_emailed2: 0


meetdate: 28/01/2018


meet_title: Harness Racing Waikato - 28 January 2018


meet_expappcomment:


meet_km:


meet_otherexp:


tracklocation: harness-racing-waikato


meet_racingtype: harness-racing


meet_chair: AGodsalve


meet_pm1: ADooley


meet_pm2: none


name: Harness Racing Waikato