R Te Aroha 6 July 2018 – R 1 – Chair, Mr G Jones
ID: JCA13547
Code:
Thoroughbred
Meet Title:
Racing Te Aroha - 6 July 2018
Meet Chair:
GJones
Meet Committee Member 1:
ADooley
Race Date:
2018/07/06
Race Number:
R1
Decision:
As Miss Farr admitted the breach the Committee found the charge proved.
Penalty:
We impose a fine of $250.
Facts:
Following the running of race 1, the Te Aroha Stallion Placement Scheme Hurdle, an Information was filed pursuant to Rule 638(2). The Informant, Mr Coles, alleged that Miss Farr made a celebratory gesture prior to passing the winning post.
Miss Farr acknowledged that she understood the Rule and confirmed her admission of the breach.
Rule 638(2) provides: A Rider shall not make a celebratory gesture prior to his horse passing the winning post.
Mr Coles demonstrated the incident using the available video footage. He identified Miss Farr’s mount NEK MINNIT as the field approached the finish in the home straight. He said that the footage clearly showed that Miss Farr raised her whip and made a celebratory gesture 2 strides prior to the winning post. NEK MINNIT won the race.
In response Miss Farr advised the Committee that she has never saluted previously and that she did so on this occasion because her mount was part owned by her parents and she got excited. She added that she rides the horse every day in its work and the breach was the result of a ‘special’ occasion for her and her family.
Submissions for Penalty:
Mr Coles said that Miss Farr freely admitted the breach and she has a clear record under this rule. He submitted that a fine in the vicinity of between $200 and $300 would be appropriate on this occasion.
In her submissions Miss Farr reiterated that NEK MINNIT was a particularly special horse who she described as being like a pet to her rather than a racehorse. She asked the Committee to consider imposing the bare minimum penalty available under this rule.
Reasons for Penalty:
The Committee carefully considered all the evidence and submissions presented.
The JCA Penalty Guide recommended starting point for a breach of this Rule is a $300 fine.
The Committee did not identify any aggravating factors.
Mitigating factors included Miss Farr’s admission of the breach and her clear record under this rule. The Committee also noted that the breach occurred 2 strides before the winning post and the gesture was not overly extravagant. Although we can understand that Miss Farr may have been excited by the prospect of winning the race on a horse part owned by her mother, in our view it is not reasonable excuse and does not discharge her from her obligations to comply with the rules. In addition, we were also mindful of the safety aspect of a rider unnecessarily raised one arm so close to the finish.
The Committee noted that there have been 7 breaches of this rule during the current season which has resulted in fines between $100 and $500.
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: 4405eb286294aab81c1bb34b4f7fbe0a
informantnumber: A10138
horsename:
hearing_racingtype:
startdate: no date provided
newcharge: Celebratory Gesture
plea: admitted
penaltyrequired: 1
decisiondate: 08/07/2018
hearing_title: R Te Aroha 6 July 2018 - R 1 - Chair, Mr G Jones
charge:
facts:
Following the running of race 1, the Te Aroha Stallion Placement Scheme Hurdle, an Information was filed pursuant to Rule 638(2). The Informant, Mr Coles, alleged that Miss Farr made a celebratory gesture prior to passing the winning post.
Miss Farr acknowledged that she understood the Rule and confirmed her admission of the breach.
Rule 638(2) provides: A Rider shall not make a celebratory gesture prior to his horse passing the winning post.
Mr Coles demonstrated the incident using the available video footage. He identified Miss Farr’s mount NEK MINNIT as the field approached the finish in the home straight. He said that the footage clearly showed that Miss Farr raised her whip and made a celebratory gesture 2 strides prior to the winning post. NEK MINNIT won the race.
In response Miss Farr advised the Committee that she has never saluted previously and that she did so on this occasion because her mount was part owned by her parents and she got excited. She added that she rides the horse every day in its work and the breach was the result of a ‘special’ occasion for her and her family.
appealdecision:
isappeal:
submissionsfordecision:
reasonsfordecision:
Decision:
As Miss Farr admitted the breach the Committee found the charge proved.
sumissionsforpenalty:
Mr Coles said that Miss Farr freely admitted the breach and she has a clear record under this rule. He submitted that a fine in the vicinity of between $200 and $300 would be appropriate on this occasion.
In her submissions Miss Farr reiterated that NEK MINNIT was a particularly special horse who she described as being like a pet to her rather than a racehorse. She asked the Committee to consider imposing the bare minimum penalty available under this rule.
reasonsforpenalty:
The Committee carefully considered all the evidence and submissions presented.
The JCA Penalty Guide recommended starting point for a breach of this Rule is a $300 fine.
The Committee did not identify any aggravating factors.
Mitigating factors included Miss Farr’s admission of the breach and her clear record under this rule. The Committee also noted that the breach occurred 2 strides before the winning post and the gesture was not overly extravagant. Although we can understand that Miss Farr may have been excited by the prospect of winning the race on a horse part owned by her mother, in our view it is not reasonable excuse and does not discharge her from her obligations to comply with the rules. In addition, we were also mindful of the safety aspect of a rider unnecessarily raised one arm so close to the finish.
The Committee noted that there have been 7 breaches of this rule during the current season which has resulted in fines between $100 and $500.
penalty:
We impose a fine of $250.
hearing_type: Hearing
Rules: 638(2)
Informant: Mr A Coles - Stipendiary Steward
JockeysandTrainer: Miss E Farr - Class B Jockey
Otherperson:
PersonPresent:
Respondent:
StipendSteward:
raceid: f9fc2d138fe750ea5faed30028526e20
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: a9760ed45dcc246b9b92cdbd6172ac5b
meet_expapproval:
meet_noreport: 0
waitingforpublication: 0
meet_emailed1: 0
meet_emailed2: 0
meetdate: 06/07/2018
meet_title: Racing Te Aroha - 6 July 2018
meet_expappcomment:
meet_km:
meet_otherexp:
tracklocation: racing-te-aroha
meet_racingtype: thoroughbred-racing
meet_chair: GJones
meet_pm1: ADooley
meet_pm2: none
name: Racing Te Aroha