Franklin TC 25 May 2012 – R 1
ID: JCA11406
Meet Title:
Franklin TC - 25 May 2012
Meet Chair:
GJones
Meet Committee Member 1:
ADooley
Race Date:
2012/05/25
Race Number:
R 1
Decision:
The breach is admitted and is therefore proved.
Penalty:
Having taken all matters into account we impose a penalty of $200.
Charge:
The information alleged that “Amateur Horseman T Wenn used his whip excessively driving Howdy Owl over the concluding stages of the race”.
Mr Wenn endorsed the information “I do wish to be present”. He attended the hearing.
Facts:
Mr Muirhead demonstrated the incident by way of available head and side-on video footage. He told the Judicial Committee (the ‘Committee’) that Mr Wenn, whilst driving the second placed horse Howdy Owl, used his whip excessively by striking his drive 21 times between the straight entrance and the winning post.
Mr Muirhead said that although Mr Wenn used his whip continuously he was not overly vigorous, but his whip use was clearly outside the recommended whip use guidelines.
The use of whip guidelines provide that [R 869 (2) (a)]:
“No horseman shall during any race (a) use his whip in an unnecessary, excessive or improper manner”.
Mr Wenn submitted that he was under the mistaken belief that up to 16 strikes of the whip was within the guidelines and he acknowledged that this misunderstanding of the Rule was naivety on his part. Mr Wenn reassured the Committee that excessive use of the whip was not indicative of his usual style.
Submissions for Penalty:
Mr Muirhead submitted that the JCA guidelines establish a starting point for a breach of this nature at 6 drives or $300. He said that Mr Wenn has not previously breached this rule within the past 12 months and he submitted that the breach should be assessed as mid-range.
Mr Muirhead further submitted the fact that Amateur Horsemen do not receive remuneration should not be taken into account in assessing penalty.
Mr Wenn submitted that the Committee should take into account his amateur status and the fact that amateurs receive no payment.
Reasons for Penalty:
The committee independently reviewed the breach and determined that Mr Wenn used his whip continuously at least 21 times in the home straight. We took particular note of both the frequency and severity of strikes and assessed the breach as mid-range.
In assessing penalty we have taken into account the submissions of both the Informant and Defendant and we have also considered the Penalty Guidelines for Committees as well as recent penalties for similar breaches.
We acknowledge that as an Amateur Horseman, Mr Wenn receives no financial gain from race driving, but we recognise that he has an obligation to drive within the rules and regulations. We have noted his admission of the breach and also his very good driving record.
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: 269996fd5520ae25ff221aa6b1967dd3
informantnumber: 4619
horsename:
hearing_racingtype:
startdate: no date provided
newcharge:
plea: admitted
penaltyrequired: 1
decisiondate: 24/05/2012
hearing_title: Franklin TC 25 May 2012 - R 1
charge:
The information alleged that “Amateur Horseman T Wenn used his whip excessively driving Howdy Owl over the concluding stages of the race”.
Mr Wenn endorsed the information “I do wish to be present”. He attended the hearing.
facts:
Mr Muirhead demonstrated the incident by way of available head and side-on video footage. He told the Judicial Committee (the ‘Committee’) that Mr Wenn, whilst driving the second placed horse Howdy Owl, used his whip excessively by striking his drive 21 times between the straight entrance and the winning post.
Mr Muirhead said that although Mr Wenn used his whip continuously he was not overly vigorous, but his whip use was clearly outside the recommended whip use guidelines.
The use of whip guidelines provide that [R 869 (2) (a)]:
“No horseman shall during any race (a) use his whip in an unnecessary, excessive or improper manner”.
Mr Wenn submitted that he was under the mistaken belief that up to 16 strikes of the whip was within the guidelines and he acknowledged that this misunderstanding of the Rule was naivety on his part. Mr Wenn reassured the Committee that excessive use of the whip was not indicative of his usual style.
appealdecision:
isappeal:
submissionsfordecision:
reasonsfordecision:
Decision:
The breach is admitted and is therefore proved.
sumissionsforpenalty:
Mr Muirhead submitted that the JCA guidelines establish a starting point for a breach of this nature at 6 drives or $300. He said that Mr Wenn has not previously breached this rule within the past 12 months and he submitted that the breach should be assessed as mid-range.
Mr Muirhead further submitted the fact that Amateur Horsemen do not receive remuneration should not be taken into account in assessing penalty.
Mr Wenn submitted that the Committee should take into account his amateur status and the fact that amateurs receive no payment.
reasonsforpenalty:
The committee independently reviewed the breach and determined that Mr Wenn used his whip continuously at least 21 times in the home straight. We took particular note of both the frequency and severity of strikes and assessed the breach as mid-range.
In assessing penalty we have taken into account the submissions of both the Informant and Defendant and we have also considered the Penalty Guidelines for Committees as well as recent penalties for similar breaches.
We acknowledge that as an Amateur Horseman, Mr Wenn receives no financial gain from race driving, but we recognise that he has an obligation to drive within the rules and regulations. We have noted his admission of the breach and also his very good driving record.
penalty:
Having taken all matters into account we impose a penalty of $200.
hearing_type: Hearing
Rules: 869(2)(a)
Informant: Mr J Muirhead - Stipendiary Steward
JockeysandTrainer: Mr T Wenn - Advanced Amateur Horseman
Otherperson:
PersonPresent:
Respondent:
StipendSteward:
raceid: 2f5f168cdaad4e060e72596d7b80e0d6
race_expapproval:
racecancelled: 0
race_noreport: 0
race_emailed1: 0
race_emailed2: 0
race_title: R 1
submittochair:
race_expappcomment:
race_km:
race_otherexp:
race_chair:
race_pm1:
race_pm2:
meetid: aa773f8d35063860a321684908703281
meet_expapproval:
meet_noreport: 0
waitingforpublication: 0
meet_emailed1: 0
meet_emailed2: 0
meetdate: 25/05/2012
meet_title: Franklin TC - 25 May 2012
meet_expappcomment:
meet_km:
meet_otherexp:
tracklocation: franklin-tc
meet_racingtype: harness-racing
meet_chair: GJones
meet_pm1: ADooley
meet_pm2: none
name: Franklin TC