NZ Metropolitan TC – 19 March 2021 – R 3 – Chair, Mr R McKenzie
ID: JCA11483
Meet Title:
NZ Metro TC - 19 March 2021
Meet Chair:
RMcKenzie
Race Date:
2021/03/19
Race Number:
R2
Decision:
Mr May having admitted the breach, it was found proved.
Penalty:
Mr May is fined the sum of $400.
Facts:
Following the running of Race 2, NZB Standardbred Mobile Pace, an Information was filed by Chief Stipendiary Steward, Mr NM Ydgren, against Licensed Open Driver, Mr RT May, alleging that, as the driver of NIKKI NOTO in the race, he “used his whip free of the rein in the early stages of the run home”.
Mr May had signed the Statement by the Respondent on the Information form indicating that he admitted the breach. He confirmed this at the hearing at which he was present.
Rule 869 provides:
(2) No driver shall during any race use a whip in a manner in contravention of the Use of the Whip Regulations made by the Board.
The Whip and Rein Regulations provide as follows:
3.1 A driver may only apply the whip in a wrist only flicking motion whilst holding a rein in each hand with the tip of the whip pointed forward in an action which does not engage the shoulder.
4.5 A driver must drive throughout the race with a hand on each rein (subject to 4.7 below)
4.7 A driver may not cross the reins except:
4.7.3 when activating gear; or
4.7.4 for safety reasons.
Mr Ydgren pointed out NIKKI NOTO, driven by Mr May, racing in the trail behind the leader as the field turned into the home straight. He said that Mr May had then gone to activate gear with his right arm and, after doing so, used his whip freehand on one occasion, before regaining the rein and driving in a compliant manner from that point to the finishing line.
Mr May said that he had been mindful of his recent breach, which he described as “identical”. He said that he was in “downhill mode” when he changed to the other hand. He did not think that he had struck the horse, but it appeared that he had.
Submissions for Penalty:
Mr Ydgren said that Mr May had received a fine of $200 on 5 March last for using his whip free of the rein.
Mr Ydgren said that the breach was low-level - as low-level as possible, he said, involving only one strike and correcting straight after. Mr May had been warned or spoken to on numerous occasions and Stewards were not in a position to issue a warning or speak to him advisedly due to that approach having had no effect. Mr May has an issue that he needs to work on, Mr Ydgren said.
Because of the very low-level, Stewards were seeking a fine, the amount of which would need to be uplifted from the previous fine of $200, which was 27 drives ago prior to this meeting, Mr Ydgren said.
Mr May said that were premier meetings coming up and, therefore, he would prefer a fine over a term of suspension.
Reasons for Penalty:
The HRNZ Whip Penalty Guide (effective 1 October 2020) provides as follows:
Low-level is defined as when a driver inadvertently reverts to the old style (freehand, loose reining and/or more than a flicking motion) but promptly takes corrective steps to return to a compliant style of driving.
The Committee was clearly satisfied that Mr May’s whip use was low-level in terms of the Penalty Guide. There was only one offending use of the whip free of the rein.
The only relevant aggravating factor is the fact that this Mr May’s second breach, only 27 drives (prior to this meeting) since his last breach. The circumstances of this present breach are almost identical to that previous breach.
The prescribed penalty range for a “low-level breach” for a first offence is a fine in the range of $200-400. The usual penalty for a second breach is a 3-5 day suspension. However, having regard to the very low level of this breach, the Committee is of the view that, although this is a second breach, a suspension would be an unduly harsh penalty in the circumstances.
The Committee has decided that it is appropriate to deal with this breach by way of a fine. Accordingly, the Committee has looked at the range of penalty in the guide for a low-level breach ($200-400) and has decided to recognise the aggravating factor by imposing a fine at the top end of that range.
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: 1d7c79fbc869befad5c18bbe2d1fb526
informantnumber: A13303
horsename:
hearing_racingtype:
startdate: no date provided
newcharge: Contravention of the Use of Whip Regulations
plea: admitted
penaltyrequired: 1
decisiondate: 21/03/2021
hearing_title: NZ Metropolitan TC - 19 March 2021 - R 3 - Chair, Mr R McKenzie
charge:
facts:
Following the running of Race 2, NZB Standardbred Mobile Pace, an Information was filed by Chief Stipendiary Steward, Mr NM Ydgren, against Licensed Open Driver, Mr RT May, alleging that, as the driver of NIKKI NOTO in the race, he “used his whip free of the rein in the early stages of the run home”.
Mr May had signed the Statement by the Respondent on the Information form indicating that he admitted the breach. He confirmed this at the hearing at which he was present.
Rule 869 provides:
(2) No driver shall during any race use a whip in a manner in contravention of the Use of the Whip Regulations made by the Board.
The Whip and Rein Regulations provide as follows:
3.1 A driver may only apply the whip in a wrist only flicking motion whilst holding a rein in each hand with the tip of the whip pointed forward in an action which does not engage the shoulder.
4.5 A driver must drive throughout the race with a hand on each rein (subject to 4.7 below)
4.7 A driver may not cross the reins except:
4.7.3 when activating gear; or
4.7.4 for safety reasons.
Mr Ydgren pointed out NIKKI NOTO, driven by Mr May, racing in the trail behind the leader as the field turned into the home straight. He said that Mr May had then gone to activate gear with his right arm and, after doing so, used his whip freehand on one occasion, before regaining the rein and driving in a compliant manner from that point to the finishing line.
Mr May said that he had been mindful of his recent breach, which he described as “identical”. He said that he was in “downhill mode” when he changed to the other hand. He did not think that he had struck the horse, but it appeared that he had.
appealdecision:
isappeal:
submissionsfordecision:
reasonsfordecision:
Decision:
Mr May having admitted the breach, it was found proved.
sumissionsforpenalty:
Mr Ydgren said that Mr May had received a fine of $200 on 5 March last for using his whip free of the rein.
Mr Ydgren said that the breach was low-level - as low-level as possible, he said, involving only one strike and correcting straight after. Mr May had been warned or spoken to on numerous occasions and Stewards were not in a position to issue a warning or speak to him advisedly due to that approach having had no effect. Mr May has an issue that he needs to work on, Mr Ydgren said.
Because of the very low-level, Stewards were seeking a fine, the amount of which would need to be uplifted from the previous fine of $200, which was 27 drives ago prior to this meeting, Mr Ydgren said.
Mr May said that were premier meetings coming up and, therefore, he would prefer a fine over a term of suspension.
reasonsforpenalty:
The HRNZ Whip Penalty Guide (effective 1 October 2020) provides as follows:
Low-level is defined as when a driver inadvertently reverts to the old style (freehand, loose reining and/or more than a flicking motion) but promptly takes corrective steps to return to a compliant style of driving.
The Committee was clearly satisfied that Mr May’s whip use was low-level in terms of the Penalty Guide. There was only one offending use of the whip free of the rein.
The only relevant aggravating factor is the fact that this Mr May’s second breach, only 27 drives (prior to this meeting) since his last breach. The circumstances of this present breach are almost identical to that previous breach.
The prescribed penalty range for a “low-level breach” for a first offence is a fine in the range of $200-400. The usual penalty for a second breach is a 3-5 day suspension. However, having regard to the very low level of this breach, the Committee is of the view that, although this is a second breach, a suspension would be an unduly harsh penalty in the circumstances.
The Committee has decided that it is appropriate to deal with this breach by way of a fine. Accordingly, the Committee has looked at the range of penalty in the guide for a low-level breach ($200-400) and has decided to recognise the aggravating factor by imposing a fine at the top end of that range.
penalty:
Mr May is fined the sum of $400.
hearing_type: Hearing
Rules: 869(2)& Whip & Rein Rgulations
Informant: Mr NM Ydgren - Chief Stipendiary Steward
JockeysandTrainer: Mr RT May - Licensed Open Driver
Otherperson:
PersonPresent:
Respondent:
StipendSteward:
raceid: 04e30a657030045abf367b184242f60e
race_expapproval:
racecancelled: 0
race_noreport: 0
race_emailed1: 0
race_emailed2: 0
race_title: R2
submittochair:
race_expappcomment:
race_km:
race_otherexp:
race_chair:
race_pm1:
race_pm2:
meetid: 95f6fd7a46c24c4d26df1fa3eac81c57
meet_expapproval:
meet_noreport: 0
waitingforpublication: 0
meet_emailed1: 0
meet_emailed2: 0
meetdate: 19/03/2021
meet_title: NZ Metro TC - 19 March 2021
meet_expappcomment:
meet_km:
meet_otherexp:
tracklocation: nz-metro-tc
meet_racingtype: harness-racing
meet_chair: RMcKenzie
meet_pm1: none
meet_pm2: none
name: NZ Metro TC