Archive Decision

This decision has been migrated from the JCA website. Information is accurate but formatting may differ from contemporary decisions. Please contact us for any further enquiries.

Waikato/BOP HI 28 January 2018 – R 1 – Chair, Mr A Godsalve

ID: JCA11975

Applicant:
Mr S Mulcay - Senior Stipendiary Steward

Respondent(s):
Mr S Quill-Junior Driver, driver of MEANDER WITH PEGASUS

Information Number:
A7020

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:
R1

Decision:

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

Penalty:

The Committee therefore imposed a fine of $200 on Mr Quill.

Facts:

Following the running of Race 1, the R & R TRACTORS HANDICAP TROT 2100m, Mr Mulcay submitted an Information alleging that Junior Driver Mr S Quill used his whip excessively inside the final 400 metres.

Mr Quill had 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. As Mr Quill is a Junior Driver, the Committee confirmed with Mr Mulcay that at his initial interview he had been assisted by Open Horseman Mr J Abernethy.

Rule 869(2) provides that 'No horseman shall during any race use a whip in a manner in contravention 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 applies to the horse, harness and/or sulky'.

Using the available films Mr Mulcay identified the horse MEANDER WITH PEGASUS, driven by Mr Quill, as the horse approached the 400 metre marker in the final lap. From just past the 400 metres mark until the finish Mr Quill struck his drive 12 times with the whip. The horse finished in 3rd place. Mr Mulcay said that the force involved was minimal, however he added that the Regulations allowed 10 strikes within the last 400 metres and Mr Quill had exceeded that quota.

Submissions for Penalty:

Mr Mulcay referred to the Sliding Scale regarding whip use which was introduced on 30 November 2017. The scale refers to using the whip between 11-13 times and Mr Mulcay submitted that a fine of $200 was an applicable penalty.. Mr Mulcay added that Mr Quill had not breached this Rule before. He added that Mr Quill was an overseas based driver spending some time in New Zealand. He added that the Stewards considered the use of the whip  to be at the lower end of the scale in regards to force and severity.

Reasons for Penalty:

The Committee confirmed that where a driver has not breached this Rule within 6 months, the scale referred to provides a fine of $200 where the number of strikes is between 11-13 times. The Committee confirmed that the strikes were not severe and were not applied with much force. We did not believe there were any circumstances which would make us consider an uplift on the starting point of $200.

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: 29ffb48f44842eb3255fb77f2bf454cc


informantnumber: A7020


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 1 - Chair, Mr A Godsalve


charge:


facts:

Following the running of Race 1, the R & R TRACTORS HANDICAP TROT 2100m, Mr Mulcay submitted an Information alleging that Junior Driver Mr S Quill used his whip excessively inside the final 400 metres.

Mr Quill had 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. As Mr Quill is a Junior Driver, the Committee confirmed with Mr Mulcay that at his initial interview he had been assisted by Open Horseman Mr J Abernethy.

Rule 869(2) provides that 'No horseman shall during any race use a whip in a manner in contravention 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 applies to the horse, harness and/or sulky'.

Using the available films Mr Mulcay identified the horse MEANDER WITH PEGASUS, driven by Mr Quill, as the horse approached the 400 metre marker in the final lap. From just past the 400 metres mark until the finish Mr Quill struck his drive 12 times with the whip. The horse finished in 3rd place. Mr Mulcay said that the force involved was minimal, however he added that the Regulations allowed 10 strikes within the last 400 metres and Mr Quill had exceeded that quota.


appealdecision:


isappeal:


submissionsfordecision:


reasonsfordecision:


Decision:

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


sumissionsforpenalty:

Mr Mulcay referred to the Sliding Scale regarding whip use which was introduced on 30 November 2017. The scale refers to using the whip between 11-13 times and Mr Mulcay submitted that a fine of $200 was an applicable penalty.. Mr Mulcay added that Mr Quill had not breached this Rule before. He added that Mr Quill was an overseas based driver spending some time in New Zealand. He added that the Stewards considered the use of the whip  to be at the lower end of the scale in regards to force and severity.


reasonsforpenalty:

The Committee confirmed that where a driver has not breached this Rule within 6 months, the scale referred to provides a fine of $200 where the number of strikes is between 11-13 times. The Committee confirmed that the strikes were not severe and were not applied with much force. We did not believe there were any circumstances which would make us consider an uplift on the starting point of $200.


penalty:

The Committee therefore imposed a fine of $200 on Mr Quill.


hearing_type: Hearing


Rules: Rule 869(2)


Informant: Mr S Mulcay - Senior Stipendiary Steward


JockeysandTrainer: Mr S Quill-Junior Driver, driver of MEANDER WITH PEGASUS


Otherperson:


PersonPresent:


Respondent:


StipendSteward:


raceid: c4f3cfa01506f0069d4c468c86244f59


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: 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