Auckland TC 14 December 2019 – R 6 – Chair, Mr G Jones
ID: JCA15252
Meet Title:
Auckland TC - 14 December 2019
Meet Chair:
GJones
Meet Committee Member 1:
ADooley
Race Date:
2019/12/14
Race Number:
R6
Decision:
Pursuant to Rule 1111(1)(d) as Mr Williamson admitted the breach the Committee found the charge proved.
Penalty:
Mr Williamson's license to drive in races is suspended from the conclusion of racing on 15 December 2019 until after racing on 27 December 2019. We also impose a $500 fine.
For the sake of clarity the suspension encompasses the following meetings:
Forbury (18/12/19), Christchurch (20/12/19), Winton (21/12/19), Ashburton (24/12/19) and Gore (27/12/19).
Facts:
This charge arises from the running of race 6, the Group 1 HR Fisken and Sons Idom Champs Final Mobile 2700m. Chief Stipendiary Steward Mr Ydgren filed an information alleging Licensed Open Horseman; Mr B Williamson breached Rule 869(2) in that he used his whip on more occasions than permitted by clause (b) of the whip regulations.
Rule 869(2)(a) provides that:
(2) No horseman shall during any race:-
(a) Use his whip in an unnecessary, excessive or improper manner.
The Use of the Whip Guidelines provides that:
The whip shall not be used more than 10 times in the last 400m of a race, this is inclusive of “backhanders” and the use applies to the horse, harness and/or sulky.
At no stage of a race will Stewards permit continuous use of the whip. Horseman must show distinct pauses between the whip being used.
The Information was signed by Mr Williamson and noted “I do admit the breach of the rule”. Mr Williamson was present at the hearing. He acknowledged he understood the nature of the charge and the rule.
Using available video footage Mr Ydgren demonstrated the alleged breach. He identified MAJESTIC MAN (Mr Williamson) who was racing in the trail as the field entered the home straight. He said that between the 200 metre mark and the winning post Mr Williamson used his whip 12 times, with some of the strikes applied in a back-hand motion. He added that MAJESTIC MAN finished in second place.
In response Mr Williamson said that he accepted the number of strikes and had nothing further to add.
Submissions for Penalty:
Mr Ydgren produced Mr Williamson’s driving record which showed this is his third breach of the whip rule since 18 July 2019. On 18 July he received a $300 fine. On 24 October 2019 he received a 3-day suspension for his second breach, and in the intervening period Mr Williamson has had 60 drives.
Mr Ydgren said in mitigation, Mr Williamson admitted the breach and cooperated with Stewards during the investigation. He added this breach occurred in a Group 1 race worth $150,000 and urged the Committee to take this into account. He suggested that a 5-day suspension would be appropriate.
Mr Williamson submitted that any proposed suspension could commence immediately after Winton on 15 December 2019. A discussion followed as to the meetings Mr Williamson would most likely drive at in the immediate future. It was agreed that although he was predominantly an Otago and Southland based driver, there was a consensus that on occasions he drove outside that region.
Reasons for Penalty:
In assessing penalty after considering submissions and reviewing the race films, the Committee adopted a penalty decision making framework that had due regard for the following factors; (1) the JCA Penalty Guide; (2) the need for consistency; (3) the number of strikes and force used; and (4) the status of the race, the stakes payable for having finished in second place. Also, at the forefront of our thinking was the need to take into account public perception of whip use, noting that this was an iconic race televised through-out Australasia.
We noted that the initial strikes of the whip were back hand and the later strikes were applied with a downward motion with moderate force.
The JCA Penalty Guide establishes starting point of 3 to 5 days suspension for a second (or more) breach of this rule. As this was Mr Williamson's third breach in 5 months (being within the 6-month reset period), the Committee adopted and applied a 5-day suspension as our starting point.
In addition, it is also of significance that this breach occurred in the grand final trotters Group 1 race with a stake of $150,000. Mr Williamson's drive finished in second place earning stake money of $24,750. These are aggravating factors for which we applied a $500 fine in addition to the 5-day suspension. The application of a combined suspension and fine is not inconsistent with penalties handed out in Group or Listed races.
There are no relevant mitigating factors.
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: 7b815c08f5f45f239247849f2ceda20e
informantnumber: A12952
horsename:
hearing_racingtype:
startdate: no date provided
newcharge: Contravention of the Use of Whip Regulations
plea: admitted
penaltyrequired: 1
decisiondate: 15/12/2019
hearing_title: Auckland TC 14 December 2019 - R 6 - Chair, Mr G Jones
charge:
facts:
This charge arises from the running of race 6, the Group 1 HR Fisken and Sons Idom Champs Final Mobile 2700m. Chief Stipendiary Steward Mr Ydgren filed an information alleging Licensed Open Horseman; Mr B Williamson breached Rule 869(2) in that he used his whip on more occasions than permitted by clause (b) of the whip regulations.
Rule 869(2)(a) provides that:
(2) No horseman shall during any race:-
(a) Use his whip in an unnecessary, excessive or improper manner.
The Use of the Whip Guidelines provides that:
The whip shall not be used more than 10 times in the last 400m of a race, this is inclusive of “backhanders” and the use applies to the horse, harness and/or sulky.
At no stage of a race will Stewards permit continuous use of the whip. Horseman must show distinct pauses between the whip being used.
The Information was signed by Mr Williamson and noted “I do admit the breach of the rule”. Mr Williamson was present at the hearing. He acknowledged he understood the nature of the charge and the rule.
Using available video footage Mr Ydgren demonstrated the alleged breach. He identified MAJESTIC MAN (Mr Williamson) who was racing in the trail as the field entered the home straight. He said that between the 200 metre mark and the winning post Mr Williamson used his whip 12 times, with some of the strikes applied in a back-hand motion. He added that MAJESTIC MAN finished in second place.
In response Mr Williamson said that he accepted the number of strikes and had nothing further to add.
appealdecision:
isappeal:
submissionsfordecision:
reasonsfordecision:
Decision:
Pursuant to Rule 1111(1)(d) as Mr Williamson admitted the breach the Committee found the charge proved.
sumissionsforpenalty:
Mr Ydgren produced Mr Williamson’s driving record which showed this is his third breach of the whip rule since 18 July 2019. On 18 July he received a $300 fine. On 24 October 2019 he received a 3-day suspension for his second breach, and in the intervening period Mr Williamson has had 60 drives.
Mr Ydgren said in mitigation, Mr Williamson admitted the breach and cooperated with Stewards during the investigation. He added this breach occurred in a Group 1 race worth $150,000 and urged the Committee to take this into account. He suggested that a 5-day suspension would be appropriate.
Mr Williamson submitted that any proposed suspension could commence immediately after Winton on 15 December 2019. A discussion followed as to the meetings Mr Williamson would most likely drive at in the immediate future. It was agreed that although he was predominantly an Otago and Southland based driver, there was a consensus that on occasions he drove outside that region.
reasonsforpenalty:
In assessing penalty after considering submissions and reviewing the race films, the Committee adopted a penalty decision making framework that had due regard for the following factors; (1) the JCA Penalty Guide; (2) the need for consistency; (3) the number of strikes and force used; and (4) the status of the race, the stakes payable for having finished in second place. Also, at the forefront of our thinking was the need to take into account public perception of whip use, noting that this was an iconic race televised through-out Australasia.
We noted that the initial strikes of the whip were back hand and the later strikes were applied with a downward motion with moderate force.
The JCA Penalty Guide establishes starting point of 3 to 5 days suspension for a second (or more) breach of this rule. As this was Mr Williamson's third breach in 5 months (being within the 6-month reset period), the Committee adopted and applied a 5-day suspension as our starting point.
In addition, it is also of significance that this breach occurred in the grand final trotters Group 1 race with a stake of $150,000. Mr Williamson's drive finished in second place earning stake money of $24,750. These are aggravating factors for which we applied a $500 fine in addition to the 5-day suspension. The application of a combined suspension and fine is not inconsistent with penalties handed out in Group or Listed races.
There are no relevant mitigating factors.
penalty:
Mr Williamson's license to drive in races is suspended from the conclusion of racing on 15 December 2019 until after racing on 27 December 2019. We also impose a $500 fine.
For the sake of clarity the suspension encompasses the following meetings:
Forbury (18/12/19), Christchurch (20/12/19), Winton (21/12/19), Ashburton (24/12/19) and Gore (27/12/19).
hearing_type: Hearing
Rules: Rule 869(2) and Whip Regulations
Informant: Mr N Ydgren - Chief Stipendiary Steward
JockeysandTrainer: Mr B Williamson - Licensed Open Horseman, (Driver of MAJESTIC MAN)
Otherperson:
PersonPresent:
Respondent:
StipendSteward:
raceid: 5cc563b61fbd7f8427f068a969164044
race_expapproval:
racecancelled: 0
race_noreport: 0
race_emailed1: 0
race_emailed2: 0
race_title: R6
submittochair:
race_expappcomment:
race_km:
race_otherexp:
race_chair:
race_pm1:
race_pm2:
meetid: 588f8b57c9fa1600049c9f739bed42d6
meet_expapproval:
meet_noreport: 0
waitingforpublication: 0
meet_emailed1: 0
meet_emailed2: 0
meetdate: 14/12/2019
meet_title: Auckland TC - 14 December 2019
meet_expappcomment:
meet_km:
meet_otherexp:
tracklocation: auckland-tc
meet_racingtype: harness-racing
meet_chair: GJones
meet_pm1: ADooley
meet_pm2: none
name: Auckland TC