Auckland TC 20 November 2015 – R 9 – Chair, Mr A Dooley
ID: JCA15721
Meet Title:
Auckland TC - 20 November 2015
Meet Chair:
ADooley
Meet Committee Member 1:
AGodsalve
Race Date:
2015/11/20
Race Number:
R9
Decision:
As Mrs Neal has admitted the breach we find the charge proved.
Penalty:
Mrs Neal is fined the sum of $400.
Facts:
Following the running of Race 9, IRT Trot, an Information was lodged by Mr Muirhead alleging that Open Horsewoman, Mrs L Neal, had breached Rule 869(2)(a). The charge read that she used her whip excessively driving VENTIMIGLIA over the concluding stages of the race.
Mrs Neal endorsed the Information that she admitted the breach and advised the Registrar that she did not wish to be present at the hearing.
Rule 869(2)(a) provides ' No horseman shall during any race use his whip in an unnecessary, excessive, or improper manner'.
Mr Muirhead identified on the video footage that Mrs Neal struck her horse approximately 22 times in the home straight. He demonstrated that 8 of the strikes were in quick succession before Mrs Neal paused and then struck her horse another 14 times in a row.
Submissions for Penalty:
Mr Muirhead produced Mrs Neal's driving record which showed no previous breach of this Rule in the last 12 months. Mr Muirhead referred to the JCA Guidelines which provide for a starting point penalty of a $500.00 fine or suspension for 2 days.
He said that the number of strikes meant that the use of the whip in this case is excessive. He did say that in mitigation there should be credit for the admission of the breach and also for the fact that Mrs Neal had a good record. He submitted that a fine in the vicinity of $400.00 would be appropriate.
Reasons for Penalty:
The Committee carefully considered the evidence and submissions presented. The mitigating factors are Mrs Neal's admission of the breach and her clear record for which she has been given credit. We assess the number of strikes (22) in the mid to high range and the severity in the low range. We are mindful of the public perception when an incident like this occurs and this is clearly an aggravating factor.
After taking into account of the above factors we consider an appropriate penalty is a $400 fine. This is consistent with penalties imposed for similar breaches since the introduction of the new Penalty Guide effective 1 May 2015.
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: c7e630a4214bdc2c0ac6fd350f33ffb2
informantnumber: A7435
horsename:
hearing_racingtype:
startdate: no date provided
newcharge: Excessive use of the whip
plea: admitted
penaltyrequired: 1
decisiondate: 22/11/2015
hearing_title: Auckland TC 20 November 2015 - R 9 - Chair, Mr A Dooley
charge:
facts:
Following the running of Race 9, IRT Trot, an Information was lodged by Mr Muirhead alleging that Open Horsewoman, Mrs L Neal, had breached Rule 869(2)(a). The charge read that she used her whip excessively driving VENTIMIGLIA over the concluding stages of the race.
Mrs Neal endorsed the Information that she admitted the breach and advised the Registrar that she did not wish to be present at the hearing.
Rule 869(2)(a) provides ' No horseman shall during any race use his whip in an unnecessary, excessive, or improper manner'.
Mr Muirhead identified on the video footage that Mrs Neal struck her horse approximately 22 times in the home straight. He demonstrated that 8 of the strikes were in quick succession before Mrs Neal paused and then struck her horse another 14 times in a row.
appealdecision:
isappeal:
submissionsfordecision:
reasonsfordecision:
Decision:
As Mrs Neal has admitted the breach we find the charge proved.
sumissionsforpenalty:
Mr Muirhead produced Mrs Neal's driving record which showed no previous breach of this Rule in the last 12 months. Mr Muirhead referred to the JCA Guidelines which provide for a starting point penalty of a $500.00 fine or suspension for 2 days.
He said that the number of strikes meant that the use of the whip in this case is excessive. He did say that in mitigation there should be credit for the admission of the breach and also for the fact that Mrs Neal had a good record. He submitted that a fine in the vicinity of $400.00 would be appropriate.
reasonsforpenalty:
The Committee carefully considered the evidence and submissions presented. The mitigating factors are Mrs Neal's admission of the breach and her clear record for which she has been given credit. We assess the number of strikes (22) in the mid to high range and the severity in the low range. We are mindful of the public perception when an incident like this occurs and this is clearly an aggravating factor.
After taking into account of the above factors we consider an appropriate penalty is a $400 fine. This is consistent with penalties imposed for similar breaches since the introduction of the new Penalty Guide effective 1 May 2015.
penalty:
Mrs Neal is fined the sum of $400.
hearing_type: Hearing
Rules: 869(2)
Informant: Mr J Muirhead - Stipendiary Steward
JockeysandTrainer: Mrs L Neal - Driver of VENTIMIGLIA
Otherperson:
PersonPresent:
Respondent:
StipendSteward:
raceid: b2baecbf8445e47ea7bbfa605fc7727c
race_expapproval:
racecancelled: 0
race_noreport: 0
race_emailed1: 0
race_emailed2: 0
race_title: R9
submittochair:
race_expappcomment:
race_km:
race_otherexp:
race_chair:
race_pm1:
race_pm2:
meetid: 6a429689a3616687bbdec6b89144588e
meet_expapproval:
meet_noreport: 0
waitingforpublication: 0
meet_emailed1: 0
meet_emailed2: 0
meetdate: 20/11/2015
meet_title: Auckland TC - 20 November 2015
meet_expappcomment:
meet_km:
meet_otherexp:
tracklocation: auckland-tc
meet_racingtype: harness-racing
meet_chair: ADooley
meet_pm1: AGodsalve
meet_pm2: none
name: Auckland TC