HR Waikato 21 January 2017 – R 8 – Chair, Mr A Godsalve
ID: JCA15653
Meet Title:
Harness Racing Waikato - 21 January 2017
Meet Chair:
AGodsalve
Meet Committee Member 1:
ADooley
Race Date:
2017/01/21
Race Number:
R8
Decision:
As Mr Sharpe has admitted the breach we find the charge proved.
Penalty:
The Committee therefore imposes a fine of $300 on Mr Sharpe. He was advised that a similar breach within the next 6 months would attract a period of a suspension of his drivers licence.
Facts:
Following the running of race 8, the PLACEMAKERS THAMES MOBILE PACE, an Information was lodged by Mr Mulcay alleging that Licensed Horseman, Mr A Sharpe 'used his whip excessively when driving PRIME LUSTRE over the concluding stages'.
Mr Sharpe was present at the hearing and acknowledged that he understood the Rule and that he admitted the breach.
Rule 869(2)(a) provides that 'No horseman shall during any race use his whip in an unnecessary, excessive or improper manner '.
Using the available video films Mr Mulcay identified the horse PRIME LUSTRE, driven by Mr Sharpe, as it approached the final 300 metres of the race in question. PRIME LUSTRE was at that stage trailing the leading horse. Mr Mulcay pointed out that Mr Sharpe had his whip in his left hand and it was apparent on the film that he had activated the headgear on the horse. Mr Sharpe struck the horse twice with his whip, then picked up the reins in a 'loose' fashion and struck the horse a further 16 times until near the finish. The horse eventually finished in 5th place. Mr Mulcay added that Mr Sharpe had 'loose reined' the horse while applying the whip and on that basis the Stewards had taken exception to the number of strikes.
Mr Mulcay referred to the Harness Racing New Zealand Whip Guidelines, stating that in those Guidelines excessive simply meant 'too much', and that at no stage of a race would the Stewards allow continuous use of the whip.
Mr Sharpe agreed that he had struck the horse 18 times. He said the strikes were not 'forceful' but acknowledged that they had been continuous.
Submissions for Penalty:
Mr Mulcay referred to the JCA Guidelines when presenting his penalty submissions. He stated that the starting point for a breach of this Rule was a fine of $500 or a 2 day suspension. He stated that Mr Sharpe had a clear record under this Rule, and that he had admitted the breach. He added that he understood Mr Sharpe preferred a fine as a penalty for this breach.
Mr Sharpe, in answer to a question from the Committee, said that driving in races was a 'hobby' for him. He added that today was his first day of driving in races after returning from a period living in Australia.
Reasons for Penalty:
The Committee took into account that Mr Sharpe had admitted the breach, and that he had a clear record under this Rule. The JCA Penalty Guide provides a starting point of a fine of $500 or a 2 day suspension.
The Committee expressed its concern to Mr Sharpe that striking a horse 18 times, whatever force was involved, was unacceptable; and that we did conside an uplift on other fines that had been imposed for that reason. However taking all of the factors into consideration we determined that a fine of $300, in line with fines imposed on other drivers recently in similar circumstances would be an appropriate penalty for this breach.
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: c00f3115caf285ea3f60c9860035a97f
informantnumber: A7014
horsename:
hearing_racingtype:
startdate: no date provided
newcharge: Excess Whip use
plea: admitted
penaltyrequired: 1
decisiondate: 23/01/2017
hearing_title: HR Waikato 21 January 2017 - R 8 - Chair, Mr A Godsalve
charge:
facts:
Following the running of race 8, the PLACEMAKERS THAMES MOBILE PACE, an Information was lodged by Mr Mulcay alleging that Licensed Horseman, Mr A Sharpe 'used his whip excessively when driving PRIME LUSTRE over the concluding stages'.
Mr Sharpe was present at the hearing and acknowledged that he understood the Rule and that he admitted the breach.
Rule 869(2)(a) provides that 'No horseman shall during any race use his whip in an unnecessary, excessive or improper manner '.
Using the available video films Mr Mulcay identified the horse PRIME LUSTRE, driven by Mr Sharpe, as it approached the final 300 metres of the race in question. PRIME LUSTRE was at that stage trailing the leading horse. Mr Mulcay pointed out that Mr Sharpe had his whip in his left hand and it was apparent on the film that he had activated the headgear on the horse. Mr Sharpe struck the horse twice with his whip, then picked up the reins in a 'loose' fashion and struck the horse a further 16 times until near the finish. The horse eventually finished in 5th place. Mr Mulcay added that Mr Sharpe had 'loose reined' the horse while applying the whip and on that basis the Stewards had taken exception to the number of strikes.
Mr Mulcay referred to the Harness Racing New Zealand Whip Guidelines, stating that in those Guidelines excessive simply meant 'too much', and that at no stage of a race would the Stewards allow continuous use of the whip.
Mr Sharpe agreed that he had struck the horse 18 times. He said the strikes were not 'forceful' but acknowledged that they had been continuous.
appealdecision:
isappeal:
submissionsfordecision:
reasonsfordecision:
Decision:
As Mr Sharpe has admitted the breach we find the charge proved.
sumissionsforpenalty:
Mr Mulcay referred to the JCA Guidelines when presenting his penalty submissions. He stated that the starting point for a breach of this Rule was a fine of $500 or a 2 day suspension. He stated that Mr Sharpe had a clear record under this Rule, and that he had admitted the breach. He added that he understood Mr Sharpe preferred a fine as a penalty for this breach.
Mr Sharpe, in answer to a question from the Committee, said that driving in races was a 'hobby' for him. He added that today was his first day of driving in races after returning from a period living in Australia.
reasonsforpenalty:
The Committee took into account that Mr Sharpe had admitted the breach, and that he had a clear record under this Rule. The JCA Penalty Guide provides a starting point of a fine of $500 or a 2 day suspension.
The Committee expressed its concern to Mr Sharpe that striking a horse 18 times, whatever force was involved, was unacceptable; and that we did conside an uplift on other fines that had been imposed for that reason. However taking all of the factors into consideration we determined that a fine of $300, in line with fines imposed on other drivers recently in similar circumstances would be an appropriate penalty for this breach.
penalty:
The Committee therefore imposes a fine of $300 on Mr Sharpe. He was advised that a similar breach within the next 6 months would attract a period of a suspension of his drivers licence.
hearing_type: Hearing
Rules: Rule 869(2)(a)
Informant: Mr S Mulcay - Senior Stipendiary Steward
JockeysandTrainer: Mr A Sharpe - Licensed Horseman
Otherperson:
PersonPresent:
Respondent:
StipendSteward:
raceid: dac40cbf469d723c812425c9f8dfd72d
race_expapproval:
racecancelled: 0
race_noreport: 0
race_emailed1: 0
race_emailed2: 0
race_title: R8
submittochair:
race_expappcomment:
race_km:
race_otherexp:
race_chair:
race_pm1:
race_pm2:
meetid: a6c7d379dcd9bb162e531f2ca34b187d
meet_expapproval:
meet_noreport: 0
waitingforpublication: 0
meet_emailed1: 0
meet_emailed2: 0
meetdate: 21/01/2017
meet_title: Harness Racing Waikato - 21 January 2017
meet_expappcomment:
meet_km:
meet_otherexp:
tracklocation: harness-racing-waikato
meet_racingtype: harness-racing
meet_chair: AGodsalve
meet_pm1: ADooley
meet_pm2: none
name: Harness Racing Waikato