HR Waikato 13 April 2017 -R1- Chair Mr A Godsalve
ID: JCA13314
Meet Title:
Harness Racing Waikato - 13 April 2017
Meet Chair:
AGodsalve
Meet Committee Member 1:
ADooley
Race Date:
2017/04/13
Race Number:
R1
Decision:
As Mr Lethaby had admitted this breach we find the charge proved.
Penalty:
We therefore suspend Mr Lethabys driving licence from after the completion of racing on 17th April until after the completion of racing on 4 May 2017-3 days. The meetings involved in this suspension are-
Cambridge 25 April
Manawatu 2 May
Wairarapa 4 May.
Meetings at Alexandra Park on 21 and 28 April 2017 ( Premier meetings ) were not considered as being part of this penalty as Mr Lethaby, a Junior Horseman, has not had the required number of wins to allow him to drive at Premier meetings.
Facts:
Following the running of Race 1, the KONICA MINOLTA MOBILE TROT, an Information was presented by Mr Mulcay, alleging that Junior Horseman Mr T Lethaby used his whip excessively driving SAINT MICHEL over the final stages.
Mr Lethaby was present at the hearing and acknowledged that he was aware of the Guidelines surrounding use of the whip which were introduced in November 2016. He also confirmed that he admitted the breach. Mr Lethaby was assisted by Senior Horseman Mr S Abernethy in the hearing. Mr Abernethy confirmed that Mr Lethaby admitted the breach of the Rule.
Rule 869(2)(a) provides 'No horseman shall during any race use his whip in an unnecessary, excessive or improper manner'.
The Amendment to the ' Use of the whip guidelines' introduced as of 1 December 2016 states ' The Whip shall not be used more than 10 times in the last 400m of a race. Any breach of this will constitute excessive use of the whip pursuant to Rule 869(2)(a) and be subject to a charge by the RIU.'
Using the available video films, Mr Mulcay stated that as the horses passed the 100m mark Saint Michel was near the lead on the markers. He pointed out that Mr Lethaby activated the gear on the horse and turned his whip around. He the struck the horse with a rapid fire downward motion. Mr Mulcay stated that Mr Lethaby had struck the horse 17 or 18 times, although he did add that he was using a restricted action. He further added that in his opinion the strikes were clearly not punishing the horse.
Mr Lethaby and Mr Abernethy agreed that the horse had been struck approximately 17 times. Mr Lethaby said he was ' tapping' the horse to encourage it as he neared the finish. Saint Michel eventually finished in 2nd place.
Submissions for Penalty:
Mr Mulcay submitted that the JCA Penalty Guide provided a suspension of between 3 to 5 days for a 2nd breach of this Rule within a 6 month period. He said that Mr Lethaby was fined $400 for a breach of the relevant Rule on 5 January 2017 at Taranaki. Mr Mulcay stated that he considered this breach fell into the low end on the scale of seriousness, and added that the Stewards would submit that a suspension of 2 days may be an appropriate penalty.
Mr Abernethy, for Mr Lethaby, stated that Mr Lethaby was learning about holding off on his whip use as long as possible, and that he was taking advice from both he and Mr Mangos in that respect. He added that it was apparent from todays incident that Mr Lethaby was trying to change the style of his whip use.
Mr Lethaby advised the Committee that he intended fulfilling driving obligations at the upcoming Hawera meetings on 15th and 17th April, and could begin any suspension after then.
Reasons for Penalty:
The Committee confirmed that the starting point for a 2nd breach of this Rule is a suspension of between 3 and 5 days. Mr Lethaby has been previously fined under this Rule in the preceding 6 months and is therefore liable to a suspension for this breach. The Committee accepts that most of the strikes involved were not at all forceful; however the Guidelines introduced by Harness Racing New Zealand are clear that a driver striking his horse more than 10 times within the final 400 metres of a race is in breach of the Rule.
When assessing an appropriate penalty in this matter, the Committee is mindful that as a Junior Horseman Mr Lethaby is not a particuarly busy driver. Penalties need to be meaningful to have any effect, and the perception of the viewing public in matters like this has to be taken into consideration. The Committee therefore considers that a period of suspension of Mr Lethabys' licence for a period of 3 days is an appropriate 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: 60f0cb80204da4066cda6f22217b43ec
informantnumber: A2620
horsename:
hearing_racingtype:
startdate: no date provided
newcharge: Using whip excessively
plea: admitted
penaltyrequired: 1
decisiondate: 13/04/2017
hearing_title: HR Waikato 13 April 2017 -R1- Chair Mr A Godsalve
charge:
facts:
Following the running of Race 1, the KONICA MINOLTA MOBILE TROT, an Information was presented by Mr Mulcay, alleging that Junior Horseman Mr T Lethaby used his whip excessively driving SAINT MICHEL over the final stages.
Mr Lethaby was present at the hearing and acknowledged that he was aware of the Guidelines surrounding use of the whip which were introduced in November 2016. He also confirmed that he admitted the breach. Mr Lethaby was assisted by Senior Horseman Mr S Abernethy in the hearing. Mr Abernethy confirmed that Mr Lethaby admitted the breach of the Rule.
Rule 869(2)(a) provides 'No horseman shall during any race use his whip in an unnecessary, excessive or improper manner'.
The Amendment to the ' Use of the whip guidelines' introduced as of 1 December 2016 states ' The Whip shall not be used more than 10 times in the last 400m of a race. Any breach of this will constitute excessive use of the whip pursuant to Rule 869(2)(a) and be subject to a charge by the RIU.'
Using the available video films, Mr Mulcay stated that as the horses passed the 100m mark Saint Michel was near the lead on the markers. He pointed out that Mr Lethaby activated the gear on the horse and turned his whip around. He the struck the horse with a rapid fire downward motion. Mr Mulcay stated that Mr Lethaby had struck the horse 17 or 18 times, although he did add that he was using a restricted action. He further added that in his opinion the strikes were clearly not punishing the horse.
Mr Lethaby and Mr Abernethy agreed that the horse had been struck approximately 17 times. Mr Lethaby said he was ' tapping' the horse to encourage it as he neared the finish. Saint Michel eventually finished in 2nd place.
appealdecision:
isappeal:
submissionsfordecision:
reasonsfordecision:
Decision:
As Mr Lethaby had admitted this breach we find the charge proved.
sumissionsforpenalty:
Mr Mulcay submitted that the JCA Penalty Guide provided a suspension of between 3 to 5 days for a 2nd breach of this Rule within a 6 month period. He said that Mr Lethaby was fined $400 for a breach of the relevant Rule on 5 January 2017 at Taranaki. Mr Mulcay stated that he considered this breach fell into the low end on the scale of seriousness, and added that the Stewards would submit that a suspension of 2 days may be an appropriate penalty.
Mr Abernethy, for Mr Lethaby, stated that Mr Lethaby was learning about holding off on his whip use as long as possible, and that he was taking advice from both he and Mr Mangos in that respect. He added that it was apparent from todays incident that Mr Lethaby was trying to change the style of his whip use.
Mr Lethaby advised the Committee that he intended fulfilling driving obligations at the upcoming Hawera meetings on 15th and 17th April, and could begin any suspension after then.
reasonsforpenalty:
The Committee confirmed that the starting point for a 2nd breach of this Rule is a suspension of between 3 and 5 days. Mr Lethaby has been previously fined under this Rule in the preceding 6 months and is therefore liable to a suspension for this breach. The Committee accepts that most of the strikes involved were not at all forceful; however the Guidelines introduced by Harness Racing New Zealand are clear that a driver striking his horse more than 10 times within the final 400 metres of a race is in breach of the Rule.
When assessing an appropriate penalty in this matter, the Committee is mindful that as a Junior Horseman Mr Lethaby is not a particuarly busy driver. Penalties need to be meaningful to have any effect, and the perception of the viewing public in matters like this has to be taken into consideration. The Committee therefore considers that a period of suspension of Mr Lethabys' licence for a period of 3 days is an appropriate penalty.
penalty:
We therefore suspend Mr Lethabys driving licence from after the completion of racing on 17th April until after the completion of racing on 4 May 2017-3 days. The meetings involved in this suspension are-
Cambridge 25 April
Manawatu 2 May
Wairarapa 4 May.
Meetings at Alexandra Park on 21 and 28 April 2017 ( Premier meetings ) were not considered as being part of this penalty as Mr Lethaby, a Junior Horseman, has not had the required number of wins to allow him to drive at Premier meetings.
hearing_type: Hearing
Rules: Rule 869(2)(a)
Informant: Mr S Mulcay - Senior Stipendiary Steward
JockeysandTrainer: Mr T Lethaby-Junior Driver
Otherperson: Mr S Abernethy-Open Horseman assisting Mr Lethaby
PersonPresent:
Respondent:
StipendSteward:
raceid: 430270efc20a2d5a5afa6945522e6eb8
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: 2405ea950968b72d83b30bcb479c1a17
meet_expapproval:
meet_noreport: 0
waitingforpublication: 0
meet_emailed1: 0
meet_emailed2: 0
meetdate: 13/04/2017
meet_title: Harness Racing Waikato - 13 April 2017
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