Archive Decision

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Rangiora HRC 5 November 2015 – R 1 – Chair, Mr KG Hales

ID: JCA11584

Applicant:
Mr S Renault - Stipendiary Steward

Respondent(s):
Mr A Edge – Amateur Driver

Information Number:
A3624

Hearing Type:
Hearing

New Charge:
Excessive use of the whip

Rules:
Rule 869(2) No horseman shall during any race:-, (a) use his whip in an unnecessary, excessive or improper manner;

Plea:
admitted

Meet Title:
Rangiora HRC - 5 November 2015

Meet Chair:
KHales

Meet Committee Member 1:
RMcKenzie

Race Date:
2015/11/05

Race Number:
R1

Decision:

As Mr Edge has admitted the breach, the charge was deemed to be proved.

Penalty:

Mr Edge will have his Amateur Horseman's licence suspended for two days which period will cover race meetings at Forbury Park (19th November) and NZMTC on 27th November 2015. In addition, Mr Edge is fined the sum of $200.

Facts:

As a result of his whip actions in the closing stages of the Bishopdale/Bush Inn TAB's & Tavern Harewood Mobile Amateur Drivers Mobile Pace, Mr A Edge, Amateur Horseman, and the driver of the winner, SCANRECO BAY, was charged with using his whip excessively. Mr Edge admitted the breach of the rule.

Evidence of Mr Edge's actions was demonstrated on the video coverage of the home straight run, which revealed that Mr Edge used his whip 18 times, which although not forceful, nevertheless was regarded as excessive.

In response, Mr Edge said that the majority of the strikes were on the sulky shaft as it is the noise which urges this particular horse on. He did not contest the facts. 

Submissions for Penalty:

Mr Renault, on behalf of the Stipendiary Stewards told the hearing, that Mr Edge appeared before a Judicial Committee on the 7th August 2015, on a similar charge and was fined $350. Because this was a second breach within 6 months, Mr Renault submitted that a suspension of driver's licence should be imposed, of between 3-4 days. Mr Renault conceded that the breach was not at the top end of the scale, but that it was the public perception of the matter which had to be taken into account.

In reply, Mr Edge submitted that because Amateur races were not regular, that a suspension of that period could be unusually harsh for an Amateur driver, particularly as he was still faced with the expense of keeping his horse/s in training. He submitted that a two day suspension was adequate, perhaps coupled with a fine, otherwise he may not be able to drive again until late January 2016.

Reasons for Penalty:

Having considered and balanced the submissions of the Stipendiary Stewards and Mr Edge, as well as being provided with details of the forthcoming Amateur races, we consider that a two day suspension coupled with a fine, is a proper penalty in this instance. We have not found any aggravating features associated with Mr Edge's whip use on this occasion, which would warrant an uplift on the JCA's Penalty Guide. The mitigating factors are Mr Edge's early admission of the breach, and the Stipendiary Stewards' view that it was not the most serious breach of its kind.

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: 1e37f7117211b52ebcc1791dcd94cae7


informantnumber: A3624


horsename:


hearing_racingtype:


startdate: no date provided


newcharge: Excessive use of the whip


plea: admitted


penaltyrequired: 1


decisiondate: 06/11/2015


hearing_title: Rangiora HRC 5 November 2015 - R 1 - Chair, Mr KG Hales


charge:


facts:

As a result of his whip actions in the closing stages of the Bishopdale/Bush Inn TAB's & Tavern Harewood Mobile Amateur Drivers Mobile Pace, Mr A Edge, Amateur Horseman, and the driver of the winner, SCANRECO BAY, was charged with using his whip excessively. Mr Edge admitted the breach of the rule.

Evidence of Mr Edge's actions was demonstrated on the video coverage of the home straight run, which revealed that Mr Edge used his whip 18 times, which although not forceful, nevertheless was regarded as excessive.

In response, Mr Edge said that the majority of the strikes were on the sulky shaft as it is the noise which urges this particular horse on. He did not contest the facts. 


appealdecision:


isappeal:


submissionsfordecision:


reasonsfordecision:


Decision:

As Mr Edge has admitted the breach, the charge was deemed to be proved.


sumissionsforpenalty:

Mr Renault, on behalf of the Stipendiary Stewards told the hearing, that Mr Edge appeared before a Judicial Committee on the 7th August 2015, on a similar charge and was fined $350. Because this was a second breach within 6 months, Mr Renault submitted that a suspension of driver's licence should be imposed, of between 3-4 days. Mr Renault conceded that the breach was not at the top end of the scale, but that it was the public perception of the matter which had to be taken into account.

In reply, Mr Edge submitted that because Amateur races were not regular, that a suspension of that period could be unusually harsh for an Amateur driver, particularly as he was still faced with the expense of keeping his horse/s in training. He submitted that a two day suspension was adequate, perhaps coupled with a fine, otherwise he may not be able to drive again until late January 2016.


reasonsforpenalty:

Having considered and balanced the submissions of the Stipendiary Stewards and Mr Edge, as well as being provided with details of the forthcoming Amateur races, we consider that a two day suspension coupled with a fine, is a proper penalty in this instance. We have not found any aggravating features associated with Mr Edge's whip use on this occasion, which would warrant an uplift on the JCA's Penalty Guide. The mitigating factors are Mr Edge's early admission of the breach, and the Stipendiary Stewards' view that it was not the most serious breach of its kind.


penalty:

Mr Edge will have his Amateur Horseman's licence suspended for two days which period will cover race meetings at Forbury Park (19th November) and NZMTC on 27th November 2015. In addition, Mr Edge is fined the sum of $200.


hearing_type: Hearing


Rules: Rule 869(2) No horseman shall during any race:-, (a) use his whip in an unnecessary, excessive or improper manner;


Informant: Mr S Renault - Stipendiary Steward


JockeysandTrainer: Mr A Edge – Amateur Driver


Otherperson:


PersonPresent:


Respondent:


StipendSteward:


raceid: 98b03792b666bd3c9fab7a255d98b6e2


race_expapproval:


racecancelled: 0


race_noreport: 0


race_emailed1: 0


race_emailed2: 0


race_title: R1


submittochair:


race_expappcomment:


race_km:


race_otherexp:


race_chair:


race_pm1:


race_pm2:


meetid: aa417dd2f6e4b39828f21f325fcf9ef2


meet_expapproval:


meet_noreport: 0


waitingforpublication: 0


meet_emailed1: 0


meet_emailed2: 0


meetdate: 05/11/2015


meet_title: Rangiora HRC - 5 November 2015


meet_expappcomment:


meet_km:


meet_otherexp:


tracklocation: rangiora-hrc


meet_racingtype: harness-racing


meet_chair: KHales


meet_pm1: RMcKenzie


meet_pm2: none


name: Rangiora HRC