Archive Decision

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Rangiora HRC 7 May 2017 – R 11 – Chair, Mr S Ching

ID: JCA14770

Applicant:
S Wallis-Stipendiary Steward

Respondent(s):
T Chmiel- Open Horseman

Other Person:
Mr R Quirk - Stipendiary Steward

Information Number:
A9056

Hearing Type:
Hearing

New Charge:
Breach of Rule 869(2)(a)-excessive use of the whip.

Rules:
869(2)(a)

Plea:
admitted

Meet Title:
Rangiora HRC - 7 May 2017

Meet Chair:
SChing

Meet Committee Member 1:
DAnderson

Race Date:
2017/05/07

Race Number:
R11

Decision:

As Mr Chmiel had admitted this breach of the Rules it was found to be proved in accordance with Rule 1111(1)(d).

Penalty:

Accordingly, Mr Chmiel’s Horseman’s Licence was suspended from the conclusion of racing today 7 May up to and including 14 May 2017. Meetings encompassed in this period of suspension are Forbury Park on 11 May, Addington on 12 May and Timaru on 14 May 2017.

Facts:

Following the running of Race 11, the Woodend Mobile Pace, an Information was filed by Stipendiary Steward Mr S Wallis against Licensed Open Horseman Mr T Chmiel alleging a breach of Rule 869(2)(a) in that he used his whip in an excessive manner over the final 400m.

Rule 869(2)(a) reads as follows:

“(2) No horseman shall during any race:-

(a) Use his whip in an unnecessary, excessive or improper manner.”

Use of the Whip Guidelines provides:

-The whip shall not be used more than 10 times in the last 400m of a race, otherwise this will be deemed excessive use pursuant to these guidelines.

Mr Chmiel had endorsed the information that the breach was admitted which he confirmed at the hearing. He also confirmed that he understood the rule he was being charged with.

Mr Wallis gave evidence and showed video replays, with the assistance of Stipendiary Steward, Mr R Quirk, of the run home. He pointed out Mr Chmiel, driving REAL DASH, positioned 3 wide without cover as the field turned for home. Mr Wallis said that after the field had entered the home straight, Mr Chmiel drew the whip and struck REAL DASH 12 times, free of the rein and in a fore hand manner, over the final stages. Mr Wallis stated that 12 strikes was just over the Guidelines limit of 10 strikes over the last 400m of the race.

Mr Chmiel did not dispute the number of strikes and conceded he was in breach of the Rule. He said it was a tight finish with a nose margin, in which he was attempting to finish in 3rd place. He said he finished up in 4th place and had struck REAL DASH a couple of extra times, to which the horse responded. He stated that the horse hadn’t been trying too hard lately which was why he had carried on with the whip.

Submissions for Penalty:

Mr Wallis stated that Mr Chmiel had admitted the breach at the first opportunity and was a busy horseman. He said Mr Chmiel had driven on 275 occasions last season with drives this season, 176 to date. Mr Wallis stated that Mr Chmiel had a penalty record which showed 2 breaches of this rule within the previous 6 months being a 2-day suspension at Blenheim and a 3-day suspension at Forbury Park on 30 March 2017, which he said was an aggravating factor. Mr Wallis stated that the JCA Penalty Guide recommended a starting point of a 3 to 5-day suspension for a 2nd or subsequent breach of this rule. He submitted that a 4-day suspension be considered as penalty in this case.

Mr Chmiel submitted that a 3-day suspension be considered as penalty due to the next 2 days at Addington Raceway were both Premier days and a 4-day suspension would include both of these days.

Deferment of penalty was discussed with Mr Chmiel opting to start any suspension immediately.

Reasons for Penalty:

The JCA Penalty Guide recommends a starting point of a 3 to 5-day suspension for a 2nd or subsequent breach of this rule. We assessed this breach to be low level due to the number of strikes being 12, only 2 above the limit of 10. The Committee adopted a 3-day starting point in this case and determined that the aggravating factor of Mr Chmiel’s penalty record warranted an uplift in penalty, which we set at 1 day. We were however able to afford Mr Chmiel a discount of 1 day for his frank admission of the breach. We therefore determined that a 3-day suspension was an appropriate penalty in this case.

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: 79c90475d5aaef343e7358a9d4fdeb68


informantnumber: A9056


horsename:


hearing_racingtype:


startdate: no date provided


newcharge: Breach of Rule 869(2)(a)-excessive use of the whip.


plea: admitted


penaltyrequired: 1


decisiondate: 10/05/2017


hearing_title: Rangiora HRC 7 May 2017 - R 11 - Chair, Mr S Ching


charge:


facts:

Following the running of Race 11, the Woodend Mobile Pace, an Information was filed by Stipendiary Steward Mr S Wallis against Licensed Open Horseman Mr T Chmiel alleging a breach of Rule 869(2)(a) in that he used his whip in an excessive manner over the final 400m.

Rule 869(2)(a) reads as follows:

“(2) No horseman shall during any race:-

(a) Use his whip in an unnecessary, excessive or improper manner.”

Use of the Whip Guidelines provides:

-The whip shall not be used more than 10 times in the last 400m of a race, otherwise this will be deemed excessive use pursuant to these guidelines.

Mr Chmiel had endorsed the information that the breach was admitted which he confirmed at the hearing. He also confirmed that he understood the rule he was being charged with.

Mr Wallis gave evidence and showed video replays, with the assistance of Stipendiary Steward, Mr R Quirk, of the run home. He pointed out Mr Chmiel, driving REAL DASH, positioned 3 wide without cover as the field turned for home. Mr Wallis said that after the field had entered the home straight, Mr Chmiel drew the whip and struck REAL DASH 12 times, free of the rein and in a fore hand manner, over the final stages. Mr Wallis stated that 12 strikes was just over the Guidelines limit of 10 strikes over the last 400m of the race.

Mr Chmiel did not dispute the number of strikes and conceded he was in breach of the Rule. He said it was a tight finish with a nose margin, in which he was attempting to finish in 3rd place. He said he finished up in 4th place and had struck REAL DASH a couple of extra times, to which the horse responded. He stated that the horse hadn’t been trying too hard lately which was why he had carried on with the whip.


appealdecision:


isappeal:


submissionsfordecision:


reasonsfordecision:


Decision:

As Mr Chmiel had admitted this breach of the Rules it was found to be proved in accordance with Rule 1111(1)(d).


sumissionsforpenalty:

Mr Wallis stated that Mr Chmiel had admitted the breach at the first opportunity and was a busy horseman. He said Mr Chmiel had driven on 275 occasions last season with drives this season, 176 to date. Mr Wallis stated that Mr Chmiel had a penalty record which showed 2 breaches of this rule within the previous 6 months being a 2-day suspension at Blenheim and a 3-day suspension at Forbury Park on 30 March 2017, which he said was an aggravating factor. Mr Wallis stated that the JCA Penalty Guide recommended a starting point of a 3 to 5-day suspension for a 2nd or subsequent breach of this rule. He submitted that a 4-day suspension be considered as penalty in this case.

Mr Chmiel submitted that a 3-day suspension be considered as penalty due to the next 2 days at Addington Raceway were both Premier days and a 4-day suspension would include both of these days.

Deferment of penalty was discussed with Mr Chmiel opting to start any suspension immediately.


reasonsforpenalty:

The JCA Penalty Guide recommends a starting point of a 3 to 5-day suspension for a 2nd or subsequent breach of this rule. We assessed this breach to be low level due to the number of strikes being 12, only 2 above the limit of 10. The Committee adopted a 3-day starting point in this case and determined that the aggravating factor of Mr Chmiel’s penalty record warranted an uplift in penalty, which we set at 1 day. We were however able to afford Mr Chmiel a discount of 1 day for his frank admission of the breach. We therefore determined that a 3-day suspension was an appropriate penalty in this case.


penalty:

Accordingly, Mr Chmiel’s Horseman’s Licence was suspended from the conclusion of racing today 7 May up to and including 14 May 2017. Meetings encompassed in this period of suspension are Forbury Park on 11 May, Addington on 12 May and Timaru on 14 May 2017.


hearing_type: Hearing


Rules: 869(2)(a)


Informant: S Wallis-Stipendiary Steward


JockeysandTrainer: T Chmiel- Open Horseman


Otherperson: Mr R Quirk - Stipendiary Steward


PersonPresent:


Respondent:


StipendSteward:


raceid: 8838bd20c071657a25f8ec64ece9967e


race_expapproval:


racecancelled: 0


race_noreport: 0


race_emailed1: 0


race_emailed2: 0


race_title: R11


submittochair:


race_expappcomment:


race_km:


race_otherexp:


race_chair:


race_pm1:


race_pm2:


meetid: 4fc7c32e046b5738f23d499a21d30886


meet_expapproval:


meet_noreport: 0


waitingforpublication: 0


meet_emailed1: 0


meet_emailed2: 0


meetdate: 07/05/2017


meet_title: Rangiora HRC - 7 May 2017


meet_expappcomment:


meet_km:


meet_otherexp:


tracklocation: rangiora-hrc


meet_racingtype: harness-racing


meet_chair: SChing


meet_pm1: DAnderson


meet_pm2: none


name: Rangiora HRC