Hororata TC 11 February 2018 – R 9 – Chair, Mr R McKenzie
ID: JCA14102
Meet Title:
Hororata TC - 11 February 2018
Meet Chair:
RMcKenzie
Meet Committee Member 1:
GClapp
Race Date:
2018/02/11
Race Number:
R9
Decision:
Mr Geddes having admitted the charge, the charge was found proved.
Penalty:
Mr Geddes was fined the sum of $200.
Facts:
Following the running of Race 9, Bayer NZ Limited Pace, an information was filed by Stipendiary Steward, Mr S P Renault, against Licensed Open Driver, Mr J B Geddes, alleging that Mr Geddes, as the driver of BUCKEYE in the race, “used his whip excessively over the final 400 metres (12 times)”.
Mr Geddes had signed the Statement by the Respondent on the information form indicating that he admitted the breach. He further indicated that he did not wish to be present at the hearing of the information.
Rule 869 provides as follows:
(2) No horseman shall during any race use a whip in a manner in contravention of the Use of the Whip Regulations made by the Board.
The Use of the Whip Regulations (effective 30 November 2017) provide:
(b) No horseman is permitted to use their whip in a striking motion on more than ten occasions inside the final 400 metres. This is inclusive of “backhanders” and the use applies to the horse, harness and/or sulky.
Mr Renault showed a video replay of the final 400 metres of the race. He pointed out BUCKEYE, driven by Mr Geddes, disputing the lead 3-wide as the field entered the final straight. From that point, Mr Geddes commenced using his whip and used it on a total of twelve occasions with the rein in his hand. Mr Geddes then ceased using his whip and urged the horse to the finishing line with the reins. Mr Geddes had acknowledged to Stewards that he accepted the count of twelve strikes. The Committee noted that BUCKEYE finished in 6th placing.
Submissions for Penalty:
Mr Wadley, Stipendiary Steward, informed the Committee that Mr Geddes has had 23 drives to date in the current season. Last season, he had 39 drives. Mr Geddes has a clear record, Mr Wadley said.
Mr Wadley referred the Committee to the sliding scale of penalties as set out in the Use of the Whip Regulations. Given the count of twelve strikes in this case, Mr Wadley said, Stewards were submitting that a fine of $200 was an appropriate penalty.
Reasons for Penalty:
In determining penalty, the Committee had regard to the sliding scale of penalties as set out in the Use of the Whip Regulations. The prescribed penalty for a first breach, as this breach is, involving a number of strikes in the range of 11-13 is a fine of $200. There were no aggravating factors in this case and no mitigating factors warranting a discount.
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: 9884c56ef9c89bbb75c0749f03f4ef77
informantnumber: A10161
horsename:
hearing_racingtype:
startdate: no date provided
newcharge: Excessive Use of the Whip
plea: admitted
penaltyrequired: 1
decisiondate: 14/02/2018
hearing_title: Hororata TC 11 February 2018 - R 9 - Chair, Mr R McKenzie
charge:
facts:
Following the running of Race 9, Bayer NZ Limited Pace, an information was filed by Stipendiary Steward, Mr S P Renault, against Licensed Open Driver, Mr J B Geddes, alleging that Mr Geddes, as the driver of BUCKEYE in the race, “used his whip excessively over the final 400 metres (12 times)”.
Mr Geddes had signed the Statement by the Respondent on the information form indicating that he admitted the breach. He further indicated that he did not wish to be present at the hearing of the information.
Rule 869 provides as follows:
(2) No horseman shall during any race use a whip in a manner in contravention of the Use of the Whip Regulations made by the Board.
The Use of the Whip Regulations (effective 30 November 2017) provide:
(b) No horseman is permitted to use their whip in a striking motion on more than ten occasions inside the final 400 metres. This is inclusive of “backhanders” and the use applies to the horse, harness and/or sulky.
Mr Renault showed a video replay of the final 400 metres of the race. He pointed out BUCKEYE, driven by Mr Geddes, disputing the lead 3-wide as the field entered the final straight. From that point, Mr Geddes commenced using his whip and used it on a total of twelve occasions with the rein in his hand. Mr Geddes then ceased using his whip and urged the horse to the finishing line with the reins. Mr Geddes had acknowledged to Stewards that he accepted the count of twelve strikes. The Committee noted that BUCKEYE finished in 6th placing.
appealdecision:
isappeal:
submissionsfordecision:
reasonsfordecision:
Decision:
Mr Geddes having admitted the charge, the charge was found proved.
sumissionsforpenalty:
Mr Wadley, Stipendiary Steward, informed the Committee that Mr Geddes has had 23 drives to date in the current season. Last season, he had 39 drives. Mr Geddes has a clear record, Mr Wadley said.
Mr Wadley referred the Committee to the sliding scale of penalties as set out in the Use of the Whip Regulations. Given the count of twelve strikes in this case, Mr Wadley said, Stewards were submitting that a fine of $200 was an appropriate penalty.
reasonsforpenalty:
In determining penalty, the Committee had regard to the sliding scale of penalties as set out in the Use of the Whip Regulations. The prescribed penalty for a first breach, as this breach is, involving a number of strikes in the range of 11-13 is a fine of $200. There were no aggravating factors in this case and no mitigating factors warranting a discount.
penalty:
Mr Geddes was fined the sum of $200.
hearing_type: Hearing
Rules: 869(2) & Use of the Whip Regulations
Informant: Mr S P Renault, Stipendiary Steward
JockeysandTrainer: J B Geddes, Licensed Open Horseman
Otherperson: Mr Wadley - Stipendiary Steward
PersonPresent:
Respondent:
StipendSteward:
raceid: b549ab94ad15f0cdac0993d8f5832ebe
race_expapproval:
racecancelled: 0
race_noreport: 0
race_emailed1: 0
race_emailed2: 0
race_title: R9
submittochair:
race_expappcomment:
race_km:
race_otherexp:
race_chair:
race_pm1:
race_pm2:
meetid: d2b92bbf52eee6bdfe4b471ac99c2d6b
meet_expapproval:
meet_noreport: 0
waitingforpublication: 0
meet_emailed1: 0
meet_emailed2: 0
meetdate: 11/02/2018
meet_title: Hororata TC - 11 February 2018
meet_expappcomment:
meet_km:
meet_otherexp:
tracklocation: hororata-tc
meet_racingtype: harness-racing
meet_chair: RMcKenzie
meet_pm1: GClapp
meet_pm2: none
name: Hororata TC