Cambridge-Te Awamutu RC 30 June 2011 – R 1
ID: JCA16123
Meet Title:
Cambridge - Te Awamutu HRC - 30 June 2011
Meet Chair:
BScott
Meet Committee Member 1:
AGodsalve
Race Date:
2011/06/30
Race Number:
R 1
Decision:
The Committee accordingly finds the charge proved.
Penalty:
The Committee orders that Mr Mitchell’s Horseman’s Licence be suspended from the conclusion of racing on the 1st of July 2011 up to and including the conclusion of racing on the 19th of July 2011. That comprises of four driving days.
Charge:
Execessive use of the whip.
Facts:
An Information was lodged by Stipendiary Steward Mr JM Muirhead against Driver Mr TW Mitchell alleging that Mr Mitchell used his whip excessively when driving FRANCO HASTINGS.
Mr Mitchell was present at the Hearing and he advised this Committee that he did not admit the breach.
Rule 869(2)(a) states:
“No Horseman shall during any race use his whip in an unnecessary, excessive or improper manner.”
Evidence:
Mr Muirhead referred to the Whip Guidelines issued by the then Chief Stipendiary Steward on the 1st of June 2009.
The Guidelines provide:
“Excessive use of the whip simply means “too much” and relates to the number of times and/or the force with which the whip is used”.
The Guidelines further provide:
“Subject to the provisions of Rule 869(2) no Horseman shall use the whip continuously at any time during a race and there must be distinct pauses between the whip being used or the use of the whip shall be interrupted by acceptable alternative actions”.
Mr Mitchell although aware of the Guidelines was not interested in them.
Submissions for Decision:
Mr Muirhead demonstrated the incident by use of the video films and he showed FRANCO HASTINGS being in touch with the leaders down the home straight and it ultimately finished third. Mr Muirhead demonstrated Mr Mitchell’s use of the whip on FRANCO HASTINGS and he said that he counted twenty two continuous strikes with the whip. The Stipendiary Stewards were concerned that Mr Mitchell had used the whip too many times and had used it continuously and accordingly his use of the whip was excessive.
Mr Mitchell was given the opportunity to cross examine Mr Muirhead but declined to do so and rather wanted to make a statement and discounted the evidence given by Mr Muirhead.
Mr Mitchell for his part said that he had only hit the horse 20 times. He told the Committee that it was a lazy horse and that he was driving it for his owner and his using the whip made the difference between the horse finishing third rather than fourth. Mr Mitchell said that as the Driver he knew the horse and as far as he was concerned his use of the whip was not excessive. He was not interested in how it might have looked on Trackside and not interested in the betting Public but his only interest was that he was driving for his owner.
The Use of Whip Guidelines were pointed out to Mr Mitchell by the Committee and he was not interested in hearing about that. The Committee pointed out that it was not only the number of times that he used the whip but the perception of the use of the whip that was important. Mr Mitchell was not interested in that either. Mr Mitchell appeared to convey to the Committee that he was the only one that knew whether the use of the whip was excessive or not and he was not interested in any other opinions.
Reasons for Decision:
The Committee watched the films a number of times and have listened to the evidence presented to it.
Mr Mitchell in his evidence has acknowledged that he hit his horse 20 times and he did not challenge the fact that his use of the whip was continuous.
The Committee’s calculation was that Mr Mitchell had used the whip 22 times in the straight and the use of the whip was continuous throughout. The end result is that the Committee has no difficulty in finding that Mr Mitchell has breached the Rule and this is clearly shown on the film.
Submissions for Penalty:
Mr Muirhead said that this was the fifth time in a twelve month period that Mr Mitchell had been charged with excessive use of the whip. He submitted that a suspension of Mr Mitchell’s Horseman’s Licence was appropriate and he submitted that that suspension should be for one to two weeks. Mr Muirhead referred to the JCA Guidelines which provide for a fine of $250.00 or a suspension for one week for a first offence.
Mr Mitchell for his part said that he didn’t care what the penalty was. He believed that he did not breach the Rule.
The Committee endeavoured to point out to Mr Mitchell the new JCA Guidelines that came into force on the 1st of June 2011 and that for a second breach of this Rule within a year the starting point penalty would be suspension for 10 drives or a fine of $500.00. Mr Mitchell was not interested in the Guidelines.
Reasons for Penalty:
In deciding on penalty the Committee finds that this was a very clear breach of the Rule. The evidence presented to the Committee supported this. Mr Mitchell has breached the Rule and the Guidelines by not only the number of times he used the whip but also the continuous use of it.
Mr Mitchell has defended the charge when quite clearly he was in breach of the Rule.
The Committee notes that the reasons given by Mr Mitchell are similar reasons to that given to JCA Committees previously and the Committee is concerned by Mr Mitchell’s attitude concerning his use of the whip. He acknowledged using the whip at least 20 times in the straight and did not challenge the fact that the use was continuous, yet he still takes the view that this was not excessive. Mr Mitchell also does not have a good record as far as use of the whip is concerned. He needs to be realistic about this.
The Committee proposes to deal with this matter by suspension of Mr Mitchell’s Licence and it is aware that he already has declared drives for the Thames Harness Racing Club Meeting tomorrow night the 1st of July 2011. The commencement of the suspension of Mr Mitchell’s Licence will accordingly be deferred until after the conclusion of tomorrow night’s Meeting.
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: bfcbc0f963098d73b31693a4342b160e
informantnumber: 67310
horsename:
hearing_racingtype:
startdate: no date provided
newcharge:
plea: denied
penaltyrequired: 1
decisiondate: 06/07/2011
hearing_title: Cambridge-Te Awamutu RC 30 June 2011 - R 1
charge:
Execessive use of the whip.
facts:
An Information was lodged by Stipendiary Steward Mr JM Muirhead against Driver Mr TW Mitchell alleging that Mr Mitchell used his whip excessively when driving FRANCO HASTINGS.
Mr Mitchell was present at the Hearing and he advised this Committee that he did not admit the breach.
Rule 869(2)(a) states:
“No Horseman shall during any race use his whip in an unnecessary, excessive or improper manner.”
Evidence:
Mr Muirhead referred to the Whip Guidelines issued by the then Chief Stipendiary Steward on the 1st of June 2009.
The Guidelines provide:
“Excessive use of the whip simply means “too much” and relates to the number of times and/or the force with which the whip is used”.
The Guidelines further provide:
“Subject to the provisions of Rule 869(2) no Horseman shall use the whip continuously at any time during a race and there must be distinct pauses between the whip being used or the use of the whip shall be interrupted by acceptable alternative actions”.
Mr Mitchell although aware of the Guidelines was not interested in them.
appealdecision:
isappeal:
submissionsfordecision:
Mr Muirhead demonstrated the incident by use of the video films and he showed FRANCO HASTINGS being in touch with the leaders down the home straight and it ultimately finished third. Mr Muirhead demonstrated Mr Mitchell’s use of the whip on FRANCO HASTINGS and he said that he counted twenty two continuous strikes with the whip. The Stipendiary Stewards were concerned that Mr Mitchell had used the whip too many times and had used it continuously and accordingly his use of the whip was excessive.
Mr Mitchell was given the opportunity to cross examine Mr Muirhead but declined to do so and rather wanted to make a statement and discounted the evidence given by Mr Muirhead.
Mr Mitchell for his part said that he had only hit the horse 20 times. He told the Committee that it was a lazy horse and that he was driving it for his owner and his using the whip made the difference between the horse finishing third rather than fourth. Mr Mitchell said that as the Driver he knew the horse and as far as he was concerned his use of the whip was not excessive. He was not interested in how it might have looked on Trackside and not interested in the betting Public but his only interest was that he was driving for his owner.
The Use of Whip Guidelines were pointed out to Mr Mitchell by the Committee and he was not interested in hearing about that. The Committee pointed out that it was not only the number of times that he used the whip but the perception of the use of the whip that was important. Mr Mitchell was not interested in that either. Mr Mitchell appeared to convey to the Committee that he was the only one that knew whether the use of the whip was excessive or not and he was not interested in any other opinions.
reasonsfordecision:
The Committee watched the films a number of times and have listened to the evidence presented to it.
Mr Mitchell in his evidence has acknowledged that he hit his horse 20 times and he did not challenge the fact that his use of the whip was continuous.
The Committee’s calculation was that Mr Mitchell had used the whip 22 times in the straight and the use of the whip was continuous throughout. The end result is that the Committee has no difficulty in finding that Mr Mitchell has breached the Rule and this is clearly shown on the film.
Decision:
The Committee accordingly finds the charge proved.
sumissionsforpenalty:
Mr Muirhead said that this was the fifth time in a twelve month period that Mr Mitchell had been charged with excessive use of the whip. He submitted that a suspension of Mr Mitchell’s Horseman’s Licence was appropriate and he submitted that that suspension should be for one to two weeks. Mr Muirhead referred to the JCA Guidelines which provide for a fine of $250.00 or a suspension for one week for a first offence.
Mr Mitchell for his part said that he didn’t care what the penalty was. He believed that he did not breach the Rule.
The Committee endeavoured to point out to Mr Mitchell the new JCA Guidelines that came into force on the 1st of June 2011 and that for a second breach of this Rule within a year the starting point penalty would be suspension for 10 drives or a fine of $500.00. Mr Mitchell was not interested in the Guidelines.
reasonsforpenalty:
In deciding on penalty the Committee finds that this was a very clear breach of the Rule. The evidence presented to the Committee supported this. Mr Mitchell has breached the Rule and the Guidelines by not only the number of times he used the whip but also the continuous use of it.
Mr Mitchell has defended the charge when quite clearly he was in breach of the Rule.
The Committee notes that the reasons given by Mr Mitchell are similar reasons to that given to JCA Committees previously and the Committee is concerned by Mr Mitchell’s attitude concerning his use of the whip. He acknowledged using the whip at least 20 times in the straight and did not challenge the fact that the use was continuous, yet he still takes the view that this was not excessive. Mr Mitchell also does not have a good record as far as use of the whip is concerned. He needs to be realistic about this.
The Committee proposes to deal with this matter by suspension of Mr Mitchell’s Licence and it is aware that he already has declared drives for the Thames Harness Racing Club Meeting tomorrow night the 1st of July 2011. The commencement of the suspension of Mr Mitchell’s Licence will accordingly be deferred until after the conclusion of tomorrow night’s Meeting.
penalty:
The Committee orders that Mr Mitchell’s Horseman’s Licence be suspended from the conclusion of racing on the 1st of July 2011 up to and including the conclusion of racing on the 19th of July 2011. That comprises of four driving days.
hearing_type: Hearing
Rules: 869(2)(a)
Informant: Mr JM Muirhead - Stipendiary Steward
JockeysandTrainer: Mr TW Mitchell - Licensed Open Horseman
Otherperson:
PersonPresent:
Respondent:
StipendSteward:
raceid: 591a1bf6dba8f26d9d9adc2d5dddba77
race_expapproval:
racecancelled: 0
race_noreport: 0
race_emailed1: 0
race_emailed2: 0
race_title: R 1
submittochair:
race_expappcomment:
race_km:
race_otherexp:
race_chair:
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meetid: d26b00f9a313204b1065230f11aedbd0
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waitingforpublication: 0
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meetdate: 30/06/2011
meet_title: Cambridge - Te Awamutu HRC - 30 June 2011
meet_expappcomment:
meet_km:
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tracklocation: cambridge-te-awamutu-hrc
meet_racingtype: harness-racing
meet_chair: BScott
meet_pm1: AGodsalve
meet_pm2: none
name: Cambridge - Te Awamutu HRC