Wairarapa HRC 2 January 2016 – R1 – Chair, Mr P Williams
ID: JCA15406
Meet Title:
Wairarapa HRC - 2 January 2016
Meet Chair:
PWilliams
Meet Committee Member 1:
TCastles
Race Date:
2016/01/02
Race Number:
R1
Decision:
As Mr Marshall admitted the breach the charge was found proved.
Penalty:
Mr Marshall is fined $300.
Facts:
Following the running of Race 1, the “Farriers Bar & Eatery Mobile Pace” Information A6839 was filed by Co-Chief Stipendiary Steward, Mr R Neal alleging a breach of Rule 869(2)(a) by Junior Horseman, Mr K Marshall. The Information stated “that K Marshall used his whip in an excessive manner in his driving out of “Pure Desire” in the final straight”.
Mr Marshall signed the Information admitting the breach and at the beginning of the hearing confirmed he understood the rule under which he had been charged. He was assisted during the hearing by Open Horseman Mr J Abernethy.
Rule 869(2)(a) states:- “No horseman shall during any race use his whip in an unnecessary, excessive or improper manner.”
Submissions for Decision:
Mr Neal used the side-on film to identify Mr Marshall driving “Pure Desire” 2nd from the outside of the track as the horses entered the final straight. Mr Neal said that from the top of the straight to the finish line Mr Marshall struck his horse at least 22 times with few discernible pauses. He said the number of strikes was clearly outside the “Use of Whip” guidelines which Mr Marshall was fully aware of.
Mr Abernethy said Mr Marshall had been caught out by the length of the straight which, at 350m, was much longer than most of the courses he drove at. He said he agreed with Mr Neal’s view that Mr Marshall had struck his horse approximately 22 times.
Submissions for Penalty:
Mr Neal said Mr Marshall had not breached this Rule in the previous 12 months and was a highly promising junior horseman. He agreed that the length of the straight at Tauherenikau may have been a contributing factor in Mr Marshall breaching the Rule. Mr Neal said he was aware that the JCA Guidelines stated the starting point for a breach of the Rule was a $500 fine or a 2 day suspension and submitted that the penalty on this occasion should be a fine of not less than $300.
Mr Abernethy reminded the Committee that Mr Marshall was a Junior Horseman who had a very good record in relation to this Rule. He said Mr Marshall preferred a fine to a suspension. He also highlighted a couple of previous decisions where Open Horseman who had breached this Rule in races of far higher Status and stakes and who had struck their horses more times than Mr Marshall had today had only received fines of $400.
Reasons for Penalty:
The Committee has reviewed the side-on film of the final 350m of the race and notes that Mr Marshall used his whip approximately 22 times over that distance. The Committee believes the strikes were at times forceful and rapid and that the severity of breach of the rules is in the mid range. We note Mr Marshall won the race by half a head in a tight finish and some might argue Mr Marshall only won because, in using the whip in the manner he did, he had an unfair advantage over those drivers who did not use their whips excessively over the concluding stages of the race.
The JCA Penalty Guidelines state the starting point for a breach of this Rule is a $500 fine or 2 day suspension. We have reviewed the range of penalties for similar breaches of this Rule in recent months to ensure as best we can consistency with those decisions. We have also noted Mr Marshall’s preference for a fine over a suspension. We believe on this occasion a fine is an appropriate penalty and that the mitigating factors of Mr Marshall’s admittance of the breach justifies a reduction of $100 from the starting point of $500 and also that his excellent driving record justifies a further $100 reduction.
JCA Decision Fields (raw)
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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: 8e90bea317476a8cbca4a33162802e0d
informantnumber: A6839
horsename:
hearing_racingtype:
startdate: no date provided
newcharge: Excessive use of the whip
plea: admitted
penaltyrequired: 1
decisiondate: 02/01/2016
hearing_title: Wairarapa HRC 2 January 2016 - R1 - Chair, Mr P Williams
charge:
facts:
Following the running of Race 1, the “Farriers Bar & Eatery Mobile Pace” Information A6839 was filed by Co-Chief Stipendiary Steward, Mr R Neal alleging a breach of Rule 869(2)(a) by Junior Horseman, Mr K Marshall. The Information stated “that K Marshall used his whip in an excessive manner in his driving out of “Pure Desire” in the final straight”.
Mr Marshall signed the Information admitting the breach and at the beginning of the hearing confirmed he understood the rule under which he had been charged. He was assisted during the hearing by Open Horseman Mr J Abernethy.
Rule 869(2)(a) states:- “No horseman shall during any race use his whip in an unnecessary, excessive or improper manner.”
appealdecision:
isappeal:
submissionsfordecision:
Mr Neal used the side-on film to identify Mr Marshall driving “Pure Desire” 2nd from the outside of the track as the horses entered the final straight. Mr Neal said that from the top of the straight to the finish line Mr Marshall struck his horse at least 22 times with few discernible pauses. He said the number of strikes was clearly outside the “Use of Whip” guidelines which Mr Marshall was fully aware of.
Mr Abernethy said Mr Marshall had been caught out by the length of the straight which, at 350m, was much longer than most of the courses he drove at. He said he agreed with Mr Neal’s view that Mr Marshall had struck his horse approximately 22 times.
reasonsfordecision:
Decision:
As Mr Marshall admitted the breach the charge was found proved.
sumissionsforpenalty:
Mr Neal said Mr Marshall had not breached this Rule in the previous 12 months and was a highly promising junior horseman. He agreed that the length of the straight at Tauherenikau may have been a contributing factor in Mr Marshall breaching the Rule. Mr Neal said he was aware that the JCA Guidelines stated the starting point for a breach of the Rule was a $500 fine or a 2 day suspension and submitted that the penalty on this occasion should be a fine of not less than $300.
Mr Abernethy reminded the Committee that Mr Marshall was a Junior Horseman who had a very good record in relation to this Rule. He said Mr Marshall preferred a fine to a suspension. He also highlighted a couple of previous decisions where Open Horseman who had breached this Rule in races of far higher Status and stakes and who had struck their horses more times than Mr Marshall had today had only received fines of $400.
reasonsforpenalty:
The Committee has reviewed the side-on film of the final 350m of the race and notes that Mr Marshall used his whip approximately 22 times over that distance. The Committee believes the strikes were at times forceful and rapid and that the severity of breach of the rules is in the mid range. We note Mr Marshall won the race by half a head in a tight finish and some might argue Mr Marshall only won because, in using the whip in the manner he did, he had an unfair advantage over those drivers who did not use their whips excessively over the concluding stages of the race.
The JCA Penalty Guidelines state the starting point for a breach of this Rule is a $500 fine or 2 day suspension. We have reviewed the range of penalties for similar breaches of this Rule in recent months to ensure as best we can consistency with those decisions. We have also noted Mr Marshall’s preference for a fine over a suspension. We believe on this occasion a fine is an appropriate penalty and that the mitigating factors of Mr Marshall’s admittance of the breach justifies a reduction of $100 from the starting point of $500 and also that his excellent driving record justifies a further $100 reduction.
penalty:
Mr Marshall is fined $300.
hearing_type: Hearing
Rules: 869(2)(a)
Informant: Mr R Neal - Co-Chief Stipendiary Steward
JockeysandTrainer: Mr K Marshall - Junior Horseman
Otherperson: Mr J Abernethy - Open Horseman assisting Mr Marshall
PersonPresent:
Respondent:
StipendSteward:
raceid: adc32167b3285e549075cc652b41ebcf
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: 3b1500c68341d7d407fb3ba01c3455e0
meet_expapproval:
meet_noreport: 0
waitingforpublication: 0
meet_emailed1: 0
meet_emailed2: 0
meetdate: 02/01/2016
meet_title: Wairarapa HRC - 2 January 2016
meet_expappcomment:
meet_km:
meet_otherexp:
tracklocation: wairarapa-hrc
meet_racingtype: harness-racing
meet_chair: PWilliams
meet_pm1: TCastles
meet_pm2: none
name: Wairarapa HRC