Avondale JC 16 September 2013 – R 6
ID: JCA11824
Code:
Thoroughbred
Meet Title:
Avondale JC - 16 September 2013
Meet Chair:
ADooley
Race Date:
2013/09/16
Race Number:
R6
Decision:
As Mr Cameron admitted the breach I find the charge proved.
Penalty:
Accordingly, Mr Cameron is fined $250.
Charge:
Following race 6, Perfection Print 1400, an information was filed pursuant to Rule 638(3) (b). The Informant, Mr Oatham, alleged that Mr Cameron used his whip in an excessive manner prior to the 200 metres on his mount SECRETS ONLY.
Mr Cameron acknowledged that he understood the Rule and the nature of the charge.
Rule 638(3)(b) states: A Rider shall not strike a horse with a whip in a manner or to an extent which is unnecessary, excessive or improper.
Facts:
Mr Williamson demonstrated on the video films that Mr Cameron used his whip 13 times prior to the 200 metres. He said while Mr Cameron did pause twice for 4 strides and once for 3 strides they were not for the required 6 strides.
Mr Cameron advised me that he misjudged the number of strikes and conceded he was outside the guidelines.
Submissions for Penalty:
Mr Oatham produced Mr Cameron's record which showed he had 1 previous breach under this Rule in the last 12 months which resulted in a $150 fine. He acknowledged that Mr Cameron had rectified his previous poor record under this Rule. He described the offence as low end but added that the aggravating fact was Mr Cameron went onto win the race. He submitted a fine in the range of $250 to $300 would be an appropriate penalty.
Mr Cameron submitted he had a very good record for the quantity of rides in the last 12 months and agreed with Mr Oatham's assessment of the breach.
Reasons for Penalty:
The Committee carefully considered all the evidence and submissions presented. The mitigating factors are Mr Cameron's admission of the breach, the number of strikes (13) is assessed as low range, I note Mr Cameron paused on 3 occasions and the severity of strikes is assessed as low range. The aggravating fact is his 2nd breach under this Rule in the last 12 months.
I note the winning margin by SECRETS ONLY is one and a half lengths.
I informed Mr Cameron that the JCA penalty guide recommended a starting point for a 2nd breach within a year (a $500 fine or 2 riding days suspension). However, in assessing the gravity of the breach regard is to be had to the number of rides a defendant has had in this time. I did take into account that Mr Cameron is a very busy rider.
The recommended starting point is adjusted downwards because of the mitigating factors.
I referred to the JCA listing of penalties for similar breaches which showed fines in the vicinity of $250.
After taking into account all the above factors I consider an appropriate penalty is a $250 fine.
Finally, I did advise Mr Cameron that any further breaches of this Rule in the next 12 months would result in a higher penalty.
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: 2c9385937c2958091df55d0ecb5a36ce
informantnumber: A4296
horsename:
hearing_racingtype:
startdate: no date provided
newcharge:
plea: admitted
penaltyrequired: 1
decisiondate: 01/09/2013
hearing_title: Avondale JC 16 September 2013 - R 6
charge:
Following race 6, Perfection Print 1400, an information was filed pursuant to Rule 638(3) (b). The Informant, Mr Oatham, alleged that Mr Cameron used his whip in an excessive manner prior to the 200 metres on his mount SECRETS ONLY.
Mr Cameron acknowledged that he understood the Rule and the nature of the charge.
Rule 638(3)(b) states: A Rider shall not strike a horse with a whip in a manner or to an extent which is unnecessary, excessive or improper.
facts:
Mr Williamson demonstrated on the video films that Mr Cameron used his whip 13 times prior to the 200 metres. He said while Mr Cameron did pause twice for 4 strides and once for 3 strides they were not for the required 6 strides.
Mr Cameron advised me that he misjudged the number of strikes and conceded he was outside the guidelines.
appealdecision:
isappeal:
submissionsfordecision:
reasonsfordecision:
Decision:
As Mr Cameron admitted the breach I find the charge proved.
sumissionsforpenalty:
Mr Oatham produced Mr Cameron's record which showed he had 1 previous breach under this Rule in the last 12 months which resulted in a $150 fine. He acknowledged that Mr Cameron had rectified his previous poor record under this Rule. He described the offence as low end but added that the aggravating fact was Mr Cameron went onto win the race. He submitted a fine in the range of $250 to $300 would be an appropriate penalty.
Mr Cameron submitted he had a very good record for the quantity of rides in the last 12 months and agreed with Mr Oatham's assessment of the breach.
reasonsforpenalty:
The Committee carefully considered all the evidence and submissions presented. The mitigating factors are Mr Cameron's admission of the breach, the number of strikes (13) is assessed as low range, I note Mr Cameron paused on 3 occasions and the severity of strikes is assessed as low range. The aggravating fact is his 2nd breach under this Rule in the last 12 months.
I note the winning margin by SECRETS ONLY is one and a half lengths.
I informed Mr Cameron that the JCA penalty guide recommended a starting point for a 2nd breach within a year (a $500 fine or 2 riding days suspension). However, in assessing the gravity of the breach regard is to be had to the number of rides a defendant has had in this time. I did take into account that Mr Cameron is a very busy rider.
The recommended starting point is adjusted downwards because of the mitigating factors.
I referred to the JCA listing of penalties for similar breaches which showed fines in the vicinity of $250.
After taking into account all the above factors I consider an appropriate penalty is a $250 fine.
Finally, I did advise Mr Cameron that any further breaches of this Rule in the next 12 months would result in a higher penalty.
penalty:
Accordingly, Mr Cameron is fined $250.
hearing_type: Hearing
Rules: 638(3)(b)
Informant: Mr J Oatham - Senior Stipendiary Steward
JockeysandTrainer: Mr M Cameron - Class A Rider
Otherperson: Mr M Williamson - Stipendiary Steward
PersonPresent:
Respondent:
StipendSteward:
raceid: df3f42b2bbaa91b029ece94f8e4fd155
race_expapproval:
racecancelled: 0
race_noreport: 0
race_emailed1: 0
race_emailed2: 0
race_title: R6
submittochair:
race_expappcomment:
race_km:
race_otherexp:
race_chair:
race_pm1:
race_pm2:
meetid: ba971679cec36be22e6f624a2134e8f9
meet_expapproval:
meet_noreport: 0
waitingforpublication: 0
meet_emailed1: 0
meet_emailed2: 0
meetdate: 16/09/2013
meet_title: Avondale JC - 16 September 2013
meet_expappcomment:
meet_km:
meet_otherexp:
tracklocation: avondale-jc
meet_racingtype: thoroughbred-racing
meet_chair: ADooley
meet_pm1: none
meet_pm2: none
name: Avondale JC