Ashburton TC 2 June 2019 – R 1 – Chair, Mr R McKenzie
ID: JCA14382
Meet Title:
Ashburton TC - 2 June 2019
Meet Chair:
RMcKenzie
Meet Committee Member 1:
GClapp
Race Date:
2019/06/02
Race Number:
R1
Decision:
Mr Geddes having admitted the breach, the charge was found proved.
Penalty:
Mr Geddes’ Open Horseman’s Licence is suspended from after the close of racing today up to and including 23 June 2019 – 6 days. The meetings intended to be encompassed by the period of suspension are Nelson TC on 7th and 9th June, New Zealand Metropolitan TC on 14th June, Oamaru HRC on 16th June and Marlborough HRC on 21st and 23rd March 2019.
Facts:
Following the running Race 1, Inkwise NZ Trot, 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 NEVER MIND in the race, “used his whip on more occasions than permitted by Clause (b) of the Use of the Whip Regulations”.
Mr Geddes had signed the Statement by the Respondent on the information form indicating that he admitted the breach. He had also signed the information indicating that he did not wish to be present at the hearing.
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 Whip Regulations (effective from 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 had a video replay of the final 400 metres of the race shown to the hearing. He pointed out NEVER MIND, driven by Mr Geddes, racing outside the leader, THE GARDENER’S PRIDE, as the field turned into the final straight. From that point, Mr Renault alleged, Mr Geddes had used his whip, in his right hand, on fifteen occasions to the finishing line, excluding a couple of “flicks” near the finish. The Committee noted that NEVER MIND finished in 4th placing.
Mr Renault confirmed that Mr Geddes had seen the video replay and accepted the alleged count of fifteen.
Submissions for Penalty:
Mr Renault told the Committee that Mr Geddes has a poor record. In the last 6 months, he has two previous breaches of the whip rule – Nelson HRC on 13 January 2019 (suspended 4 days) and, prior to that, at Westport TC on 28 December 2018 (fined $200). This season, Mr Geddes has had a total of 50 drives, Mr Renault said.
Mr Renault then referred to the penalty set out in the Regulation for a second or subsequent breach – a 3-5 days suspension. Mr Renault submitted that, this being Mr Geddes’ third breach, a suspension of not less than 5 days would be appropriate. Mr Geddes had told Stewards that he had intended to drive at the upcoming Nelson and Blenheim meetings. He did not seek a deferment, Mr Renault said.
Reasons for Penalty:
The penalty as prescribed in the Regulations for a second or subsequent breach is a 3-5 days suspension. The breach is mid-range (14-16) and we have, therefore, taken a starting point of 4 days, which was the most recent penalty that Mr Geddes received. This particular breach is a third breach, which warrants an uplift from that starting point. We have fixed that uplift at 2 days. There are no relevant mitigating factors to be taken into consideration.
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: 7c625e9395f5f46f5a1f8cf9b035f7d4
informantnumber: A11417
horsename:
hearing_racingtype:
startdate: no date provided
newcharge: Excessive Use of Whip
plea: admitted
penaltyrequired: 1
decisiondate: 05/06/2019
hearing_title: Ashburton TC 2 June 2019 - R 1 - Chair, Mr R McKenzie
charge:
facts:
Following the running Race 1, Inkwise NZ Trot, 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 NEVER MIND in the race, “used his whip on more occasions than permitted by Clause (b) of the Use of the Whip Regulations”.
Mr Geddes had signed the Statement by the Respondent on the information form indicating that he admitted the breach. He had also signed the information indicating that he did not wish to be present at the hearing.
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 Whip Regulations (effective from 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 had a video replay of the final 400 metres of the race shown to the hearing. He pointed out NEVER MIND, driven by Mr Geddes, racing outside the leader, THE GARDENER’S PRIDE, as the field turned into the final straight. From that point, Mr Renault alleged, Mr Geddes had used his whip, in his right hand, on fifteen occasions to the finishing line, excluding a couple of “flicks” near the finish. The Committee noted that NEVER MIND finished in 4th placing.
Mr Renault confirmed that Mr Geddes had seen the video replay and accepted the alleged count of fifteen.
appealdecision:
isappeal:
submissionsfordecision:
reasonsfordecision:
Decision:
Mr Geddes having admitted the breach, the charge was found proved.
sumissionsforpenalty:
Mr Renault told the Committee that Mr Geddes has a poor record. In the last 6 months, he has two previous breaches of the whip rule – Nelson HRC on 13 January 2019 (suspended 4 days) and, prior to that, at Westport TC on 28 December 2018 (fined $200). This season, Mr Geddes has had a total of 50 drives, Mr Renault said.
Mr Renault then referred to the penalty set out in the Regulation for a second or subsequent breach – a 3-5 days suspension. Mr Renault submitted that, this being Mr Geddes’ third breach, a suspension of not less than 5 days would be appropriate. Mr Geddes had told Stewards that he had intended to drive at the upcoming Nelson and Blenheim meetings. He did not seek a deferment, Mr Renault said.
reasonsforpenalty:
The penalty as prescribed in the Regulations for a second or subsequent breach is a 3-5 days suspension. The breach is mid-range (14-16) and we have, therefore, taken a starting point of 4 days, which was the most recent penalty that Mr Geddes received. This particular breach is a third breach, which warrants an uplift from that starting point. We have fixed that uplift at 2 days. There are no relevant mitigating factors to be taken into consideration.
penalty:
Mr Geddes’ Open Horseman’s Licence is suspended from after the close of racing today up to and including 23 June 2019 – 6 days. The meetings intended to be encompassed by the period of suspension are Nelson TC on 7th and 9th June, New Zealand Metropolitan TC on 14th June, Oamaru HRC on 16th June and Marlborough HRC on 21st and 23rd March 2019.
hearing_type: Hearing
Rules: 869(2)& Use of the Whip Regulations
Informant: S P Renault, Stipendiary Steward
JockeysandTrainer: J B Geddes, Licensed Open Horseman
Otherperson:
PersonPresent:
Respondent:
StipendSteward:
raceid: fa3dc835867a5bb57a674d5f718f8c66
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: a56c1fcd5b2a9e6cc6d5574a28a74fd5
meet_expapproval:
meet_noreport: 0
waitingforpublication: 0
meet_emailed1: 0
meet_emailed2: 0
meetdate: 02/06/2019
meet_title: Ashburton TC - 2 June 2019
meet_expappcomment:
meet_km:
meet_otherexp:
tracklocation: ashburton-tc
meet_racingtype: harness-racing
meet_chair: RMcKenzie
meet_pm1: GClapp
meet_pm2: none
name: Ashburton TC