Westport TC 26 December 2019 – R 1 – Chair, Mr S Ching
ID: JCA15053
Meet Title:
Westport TC - 26 December 2019
Meet Chair:
SChing
Meet Committee Member 1:
DAnderson
Race Date:
2019/12/26
Race Number:
R1
Decision:
As Mr Hope had admitted this breach of the Rules it was found to be proved in accordance with Rule 1111(1)(d).
Penalty:
Accordingly, Mr Hope’s Horseman’s Licence is suspended from the conclusion of racing 2 January 2020, up to and including 10 January 2020. Relevant meetings encompassed in this period of suspension are Rangiora on 3 January, Roxburgh on 4 January, Cromwell on 6 January, Timaru on 7 January and Nelson on 10 January 2020.
Facts:
Following the running of Race 1, an Information was filed by Stipendiary Steward, Mr S Renault against Licensed Junior Horseman, Mr B Hope, alleging a breach of Rule 869(2) in that he used his whip on more occasions than permitted by Clause (b) of the Use of the Whip Regulations
Rule 869(2) reads as follows:
869 (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.
Whip Regulation (b) reads as follows;
(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 Hope had endorsed the Information that the breach was admitted which he confirmed at the hearing. Mr Hope also acknowledged that he understood the charge and the Rule it was brought under.
Mr Hope, being a Junior Driver, was advised he was entitled to assistance at the hearing, to which he declined and said he was comfortable without.
Mr Renault gave evidence and showed video replays of the run home. He pointed out Mr Hope, driving HANDSOME HARRY, placed in the one, one position, passing the 400m. Inside the 400m Mr Hope drew the whip and used it on 15 occasions in a forehand striking manner prior to the line.
Mr Hope did not dispute the number of strikes and stated it was obvious that he was over the limit. He added that the strikes were not forceful.
Submissions for Penalty:
Mr Renault stated that Mr Hope had previous breaches of this Rule within the prior six months, being on 24 October 2019 at Oamaru where he received a $200 fine and a 4-day suspension for a subsequent mid-range breach at Geraldine on 23 November 2019. He stated that the JCA Penalty Guide provides for a 3 to 5-day suspension for a second or subsequent breach of this Rule within a 6-month period.
Mr Renault stated that the breach was mid-level and as this was Mr Hope’s 3rd breach within the 6-month reset period submitted that a 4 to 5-day suspension be considered as penalty.
Mr Hope requested a deferment of a suspension until after racing at Omakau on 2 January 2020.
Reasons for Penalty:
The JCA Penalty Guide provides a 3 to 5-day suspension for a second or subsequent breach of this Rule within a 6-month period, mitigation inclusive. This Committee also assessed the breach as mid-level with the number of strikes being 15 and agreed with Mr Hope that the strikes were not forceful. We therefore adopted a 4-day starting point. The only aggravating factor was Mr Hope’s record which showed that this was the 3rd breach since 24 October 2019, which warranted an uplift in penalty. This uplift we set at 1 day. We therefore determined that a 5-day suspension was an appropriate penalty in this case.
Mr Hope’s request for a deferment of suspension until after racing on 2 January 2020 is granted.
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: 9fe6bb5af475e63711d0abb68512c5ea
informantnumber: A13201
horsename:
hearing_racingtype:
startdate: no date provided
newcharge: Contravention of the Use of Whip Regulations
plea: admitted
penaltyrequired: 1
decisiondate: 30/12/2019
hearing_title: Westport TC 26 December 2019 - R 1 - Chair, Mr S Ching
charge:
facts:
Following the running of Race 1, an Information was filed by Stipendiary Steward, Mr S Renault against Licensed Junior Horseman, Mr B Hope, alleging a breach of Rule 869(2) in that he used his whip on more occasions than permitted by Clause (b) of the Use of the Whip Regulations
Rule 869(2) reads as follows:
869 (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.
Whip Regulation (b) reads as follows;
(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 Hope had endorsed the Information that the breach was admitted which he confirmed at the hearing. Mr Hope also acknowledged that he understood the charge and the Rule it was brought under.
Mr Hope, being a Junior Driver, was advised he was entitled to assistance at the hearing, to which he declined and said he was comfortable without.
Mr Renault gave evidence and showed video replays of the run home. He pointed out Mr Hope, driving HANDSOME HARRY, placed in the one, one position, passing the 400m. Inside the 400m Mr Hope drew the whip and used it on 15 occasions in a forehand striking manner prior to the line.
Mr Hope did not dispute the number of strikes and stated it was obvious that he was over the limit. He added that the strikes were not forceful.
appealdecision:
isappeal:
submissionsfordecision:
reasonsfordecision:
Decision:
As Mr Hope had admitted this breach of the Rules it was found to be proved in accordance with Rule 1111(1)(d).
sumissionsforpenalty:
Mr Renault stated that Mr Hope had previous breaches of this Rule within the prior six months, being on 24 October 2019 at Oamaru where he received a $200 fine and a 4-day suspension for a subsequent mid-range breach at Geraldine on 23 November 2019. He stated that the JCA Penalty Guide provides for a 3 to 5-day suspension for a second or subsequent breach of this Rule within a 6-month period.
Mr Renault stated that the breach was mid-level and as this was Mr Hope’s 3rd breach within the 6-month reset period submitted that a 4 to 5-day suspension be considered as penalty.
Mr Hope requested a deferment of a suspension until after racing at Omakau on 2 January 2020.
reasonsforpenalty:
The JCA Penalty Guide provides a 3 to 5-day suspension for a second or subsequent breach of this Rule within a 6-month period, mitigation inclusive. This Committee also assessed the breach as mid-level with the number of strikes being 15 and agreed with Mr Hope that the strikes were not forceful. We therefore adopted a 4-day starting point. The only aggravating factor was Mr Hope’s record which showed that this was the 3rd breach since 24 October 2019, which warranted an uplift in penalty. This uplift we set at 1 day. We therefore determined that a 5-day suspension was an appropriate penalty in this case.
Mr Hope’s request for a deferment of suspension until after racing on 2 January 2020 is granted.
penalty:
Accordingly, Mr Hope’s Horseman’s Licence is suspended from the conclusion of racing 2 January 2020, up to and including 10 January 2020. Relevant meetings encompassed in this period of suspension are Rangiora on 3 January, Roxburgh on 4 January, Cromwell on 6 January, Timaru on 7 January and Nelson on 10 January 2020.
hearing_type: Hearing
Rules: 869(2)and Whip Regulation (b)
Informant: Mr S Renault - Stipendiary Steward
JockeysandTrainer: Mr B Hope - Licensed Junior Horseman
Otherperson:
PersonPresent:
Respondent:
StipendSteward:
raceid: 090d560c4b47c3944fca77fad3e18aef
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: f0d594f523c405874ddc04da82ff00fd
meet_expapproval:
meet_noreport: 0
waitingforpublication: 0
meet_emailed1: 0
meet_emailed2: 0
meetdate: 26/12/2019
meet_title: Westport TC - 26 December 2019
meet_expappcomment:
meet_km:
meet_otherexp:
tracklocation: westport-tc
meet_racingtype: harness-racing
meet_chair: SChing
meet_pm1: DAnderson
meet_pm2: none
name: Westport TC