R Tauranga 16 November 2019 – R 7 – Chair, Mr A Godsalve
ID: JCA13461
Code:
Thoroughbred
Meet Title:
Racing Tauranga - 16 November 2019
Meet Chair:
AGodsalve
Meet Committee Member 1:
ADooley
Race Date:
2019/11/16
Race Number:
R7
Decision:
As Mr McKay has admitted the breach we find the elements of the charge to be satisfied.
Penalty:
The Committee therefore fined Mr McKay the sum of $750.
Facts:
Following the running of Race 7, the Gartshore Tauranga Stakes, Mr Williamson submitted an Information alleging that Mr S McKay 'used his whip excessively when riding THE MITIGATOR prior to the 100 metres.
Mr McKay was present at the hearing and acknowledged that:
(a) He understood the Rule, and
(b) He admitted the breach.
Rule 638(3)(b)(ii) provides : A rider shall not strike a horse with a whip in a manner or to an extent which is: excessive.
Without affecting the generality of Rule 638(3)(b)(ii), a rider may be penalised if their whip use is outside of the following Guidelines:
Prior to the 100 metre mark in a race, official trial or jump out:
(i) The whip may not be used on more than 5 occasions.
(ii) The whip should not be used in consecutive strides.
(iii) The rider may at their discretion use the whip with a slapping motion down the shoulder, with the whip hand remaining on the reins.
Using the video films Mr Jones identified the horse THE MITIGATOR, ridden by Mr McKay prior to the 100 metres. Mr Jones pointed out that the films showed Mr McKay strike THE MITIGATOR 8 times with his whip, 5 of which were in consecutive strides, and also identified a 9th strike which Mr Jones stated had been applied to the horse just as the horse passed the 100 metres marker. He added that the Stewards did not consider this strike to be additional to the 8 previously identified and which form the basis of this charge. Mr Jones added that the horse had finished in 2nd place in the race.
Mr McKay acknowledged that he had been aware of the Guidelines and agreed with Mr Jones' assessment of the whip useage.
Submissions for Penalty:
Mr Williamson advised the Committee that Mr McKay had not breached the Rule since the Guidelines were amended in October 2019. He said that Mr McKay had breached the number of strikes prior to the 100 metres and was also in breach of the Guidelines' restrictions of consecutive strikes, being 5.
Mr Williamson stated that the Guidelines provided a fine of $300, being the higher amount where a rider without prior breaches strikes a horse too many times and also in consecutive strides before the 100 metres. He said that the race in question was a Group 2 race, and as THE MITIGATOR had finished in 2nd place its stake earnings were $20,000. Mr McKay earned a rider's percentage of $1000 in addition to his riding fee. Mr Williamson added that the matter could be dealt with by way of a fine, the amount of which to be determined by the Committee.
Mr McKay said that his record was clear since the Guidelines were amended.
Reasons for Penalty:
The Committee viewed the films to determine (a) the number of strikes, (b) the number of consecutive strikes, and (c) the force used by Mr McKay when applying the whip.
We concur with Mr Williamson that there were 8 strikes, with 5 of those strikes being consecutive. As regards to the force used, we were satisfied that Mr McKay had not been striking the horse with excessive force, the horse appeared to be responding to his urging and eventually finished in 2nd place.
We adopted a starting point of a fine of $300 as provided for in the Guidelines. We took into account that the race had an overall stake of $100,000, was a Group 2 race, and provided $20,000 to the 2nd horse. We deemed these to be aggravating factors.
We accepted Mr McKay has not breached the Rule since the Guidelines were amended, and that he admitted the breach. However we reminded Mr McKay that it was clear from the films that he had breached the Guidelines and his admission was therefore a neutral factor.
Taking into account the aggravating factors referred to we advised Mr McKay that there would be an uplift on the starting point.
We also pointed out to Mr McKay that had the charge referred to 9 strikes he would have been liable to a 6 day suspension and a considerable fine.
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: 3a80e9058de0a5e59853e3b090bb8d4b
informantnumber: A11343
horsename:
hearing_racingtype:
startdate: no date provided
newcharge: Using whip excessively
plea: admitted
penaltyrequired: 1
decisiondate: 18/11/2019
hearing_title: R Tauranga 16 November 2019 - R 7 - Chair, Mr A Godsalve
charge:
facts:
Following the running of Race 7, the Gartshore Tauranga Stakes, Mr Williamson submitted an Information alleging that Mr S McKay 'used his whip excessively when riding THE MITIGATOR prior to the 100 metres.
Mr McKay was present at the hearing and acknowledged that:
(a) He understood the Rule, and
(b) He admitted the breach.
Rule 638(3)(b)(ii) provides : A rider shall not strike a horse with a whip in a manner or to an extent which is: excessive.
Without affecting the generality of Rule 638(3)(b)(ii), a rider may be penalised if their whip use is outside of the following Guidelines:
Prior to the 100 metre mark in a race, official trial or jump out:
(i) The whip may not be used on more than 5 occasions.
(ii) The whip should not be used in consecutive strides.
(iii) The rider may at their discretion use the whip with a slapping motion down the shoulder, with the whip hand remaining on the reins.
Using the video films Mr Jones identified the horse THE MITIGATOR, ridden by Mr McKay prior to the 100 metres. Mr Jones pointed out that the films showed Mr McKay strike THE MITIGATOR 8 times with his whip, 5 of which were in consecutive strides, and also identified a 9th strike which Mr Jones stated had been applied to the horse just as the horse passed the 100 metres marker. He added that the Stewards did not consider this strike to be additional to the 8 previously identified and which form the basis of this charge. Mr Jones added that the horse had finished in 2nd place in the race.
Mr McKay acknowledged that he had been aware of the Guidelines and agreed with Mr Jones' assessment of the whip useage.
appealdecision:
isappeal:
submissionsfordecision:
reasonsfordecision:
Decision:
As Mr McKay has admitted the breach we find the elements of the charge to be satisfied.
sumissionsforpenalty:
Mr Williamson advised the Committee that Mr McKay had not breached the Rule since the Guidelines were amended in October 2019. He said that Mr McKay had breached the number of strikes prior to the 100 metres and was also in breach of the Guidelines' restrictions of consecutive strikes, being 5.
Mr Williamson stated that the Guidelines provided a fine of $300, being the higher amount where a rider without prior breaches strikes a horse too many times and also in consecutive strides before the 100 metres. He said that the race in question was a Group 2 race, and as THE MITIGATOR had finished in 2nd place its stake earnings were $20,000. Mr McKay earned a rider's percentage of $1000 in addition to his riding fee. Mr Williamson added that the matter could be dealt with by way of a fine, the amount of which to be determined by the Committee.
Mr McKay said that his record was clear since the Guidelines were amended.
reasonsforpenalty:
The Committee viewed the films to determine (a) the number of strikes, (b) the number of consecutive strikes, and (c) the force used by Mr McKay when applying the whip.
We concur with Mr Williamson that there were 8 strikes, with 5 of those strikes being consecutive. As regards to the force used, we were satisfied that Mr McKay had not been striking the horse with excessive force, the horse appeared to be responding to his urging and eventually finished in 2nd place.
We adopted a starting point of a fine of $300 as provided for in the Guidelines. We took into account that the race had an overall stake of $100,000, was a Group 2 race, and provided $20,000 to the 2nd horse. We deemed these to be aggravating factors.
We accepted Mr McKay has not breached the Rule since the Guidelines were amended, and that he admitted the breach. However we reminded Mr McKay that it was clear from the films that he had breached the Guidelines and his admission was therefore a neutral factor.
Taking into account the aggravating factors referred to we advised Mr McKay that there would be an uplift on the starting point.
We also pointed out to Mr McKay that had the charge referred to 9 strikes he would have been liable to a 6 day suspension and a considerable fine.
penalty:
The Committee therefore fined Mr McKay the sum of $750.
hearing_type: Hearing
Rules: 638(3)(b)(ii)
Informant: Mr M Williamson - Senior Stipendiary Steward
JockeysandTrainer: Mr S McKay - Class A Rider
Otherperson: Mr B Jones - Stipendiary Steward
PersonPresent:
Respondent:
StipendSteward:
raceid: ef87d0601ca0056a9db6f61dbb924f0f
race_expapproval:
racecancelled: 0
race_noreport: 0
race_emailed1: 0
race_emailed2: 0
race_title: R7
submittochair:
race_expappcomment:
race_km:
race_otherexp:
race_chair:
race_pm1:
race_pm2:
meetid: 8c31975cf86575bd39abcb25a7075f54
meet_expapproval:
meet_noreport: 0
waitingforpublication: 1
meet_emailed1: 0
meet_emailed2: 0
meetdate: 16/11/2019
meet_title: Racing Tauranga - 16 November 2019
meet_expappcomment:
meet_km:
meet_otherexp:
tracklocation: racing-tauranga
meet_racingtype: thoroughbred-racing
meet_chair: AGodsalve
meet_pm1: ADooley
meet_pm2: none
name: Racing Tauranga