NZ Metro TC 3 June 2011 – R4
ID: JCA16222
Meet Title:
NZ Metro TC - 3 June 2011
Meet Chair:
RMcKenzie
Meet Committee Member 1:
SChing
Race Date:
2011/06/03
Race Number:
R4
Decision:
The charge was found proved.
Penalty:
Mr Butt was fined the sum of $400.
Charge:
Excessive use of whip.
Facts:
Following the running of Race 4, Express Electric Limited Pace, an information was filed by Stipendiary Steward, Mrs K R Williams, against Licensed Junior Driver, Mr R J Butt, alleging that, as the driver of ZAHHARA in the Race, he “used his whip in an excessive manner over the concluding stages”.
Mr Butt was present at the hearing of the information and he indicated that he admitted the breach. He further indicated that he did not wish to have the assistance of a senior horseman at the hearing.
Rule 869 provides as follows:
(2) No horseman shall during any race:-
(a) use his whip in an unnecessary, excessive or improper manner.
Submissions for Decision:
Mrs Williams showed a video replay of the final 400 metres of the race. She pointed out ZAHHARA, driven by Mr Butt, racing outside the leader. Mr Butt commenced using the whip at the 400 metres. He took his hands off the reins. Mrs Williams told the Committee that Mr Butt had admitted to the Stewards that he had used the whip approximately 21 times. He had further explained that it was a very close finish but this was no defence, Mrs Williams submitted.
Mr Butt told the Committee that he accepted that he had used the whip 21 times and that that was too many. He stated that he commenced using the whip with approximately 320 metres to race. He had tried to “break up” his use of the whip but it was a close finish and he admitted that he had hit the horse too many times (the Committee noted that ZAHHARA had finished in 2nd placing, beaten by a neck).
Submissions for Penalty:
Mrs Williams informed the Committee that Mr Butt’s record was “not very good”. He had been fined on two occasions for breaches of the Rule since February 2011 – on 13 February at Waikouaiti he was fined $300 and on 13 May at Forbury Park he was fined $275. She said that Mr Butt was a Junior Horseman who had a large number of drives in a season. In the current season to date, Mr Butt has had 274 drives.
Mrs Williams referred to the Penalty Guide that came into effect on 1 June which recommended a starting point for a second breach of the Rule within a year, of 10 drives or a fine of $500. Mrs Williams pointed out that Mr Butt was a Junior Horseman. She said that the Stewards were seeking a fine of $350-400 or a suspension of 2-3 days.
Mr Butt conceded that his record was not good. He asked the Committee to consider a fine rather than a suspension.
Reasons for Penalty:
In determining penalty, the Committee took into account Mr Butt’s very frank admission of the breach and the Penalty Guide to which Mrs Williams referred. A significant aggravating factor was Mr Butt’s record, this breach being his third in less than 4 months. The Committee was concerned about Mr Butt’s record of recent breaches under the Rule and accepted that Mr Butt himself was concerned. By a very fine margin, the Committee was satisfied that a fine, together with a warning that any further breach of the Rule in the near future will almost certainly result in a lengthy term of suspension, was appropriate for the present breach.
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: cb94286c195586108a46c5180b041a4b
informantnumber: 69076
horsename:
hearing_racingtype:
startdate: no date provided
newcharge:
plea: admitted
penaltyrequired: 1
decisiondate: 25/05/2011
hearing_title: NZ Metro TC 3 June 2011 - R4
charge:
Excessive use of whip.
facts:
Following the running of Race 4, Express Electric Limited Pace, an information was filed by Stipendiary Steward, Mrs K R Williams, against Licensed Junior Driver, Mr R J Butt, alleging that, as the driver of ZAHHARA in the Race, he “used his whip in an excessive manner over the concluding stages”.
Mr Butt was present at the hearing of the information and he indicated that he admitted the breach. He further indicated that he did not wish to have the assistance of a senior horseman at the hearing.
Rule 869 provides as follows:
(2) No horseman shall during any race:-
(a) use his whip in an unnecessary, excessive or improper manner.
appealdecision:
isappeal:
submissionsfordecision:
Mrs Williams showed a video replay of the final 400 metres of the race. She pointed out ZAHHARA, driven by Mr Butt, racing outside the leader. Mr Butt commenced using the whip at the 400 metres. He took his hands off the reins. Mrs Williams told the Committee that Mr Butt had admitted to the Stewards that he had used the whip approximately 21 times. He had further explained that it was a very close finish but this was no defence, Mrs Williams submitted.
Mr Butt told the Committee that he accepted that he had used the whip 21 times and that that was too many. He stated that he commenced using the whip with approximately 320 metres to race. He had tried to “break up” his use of the whip but it was a close finish and he admitted that he had hit the horse too many times (the Committee noted that ZAHHARA had finished in 2nd placing, beaten by a neck).
reasonsfordecision:
Decision:
The charge was found proved.
sumissionsforpenalty:
Mrs Williams informed the Committee that Mr Butt’s record was “not very good”. He had been fined on two occasions for breaches of the Rule since February 2011 – on 13 February at Waikouaiti he was fined $300 and on 13 May at Forbury Park he was fined $275. She said that Mr Butt was a Junior Horseman who had a large number of drives in a season. In the current season to date, Mr Butt has had 274 drives.
Mrs Williams referred to the Penalty Guide that came into effect on 1 June which recommended a starting point for a second breach of the Rule within a year, of 10 drives or a fine of $500. Mrs Williams pointed out that Mr Butt was a Junior Horseman. She said that the Stewards were seeking a fine of $350-400 or a suspension of 2-3 days.
Mr Butt conceded that his record was not good. He asked the Committee to consider a fine rather than a suspension.
reasonsforpenalty:
In determining penalty, the Committee took into account Mr Butt’s very frank admission of the breach and the Penalty Guide to which Mrs Williams referred. A significant aggravating factor was Mr Butt’s record, this breach being his third in less than 4 months. The Committee was concerned about Mr Butt’s record of recent breaches under the Rule and accepted that Mr Butt himself was concerned. By a very fine margin, the Committee was satisfied that a fine, together with a warning that any further breach of the Rule in the near future will almost certainly result in a lengthy term of suspension, was appropriate for the present breach.
penalty:
Mr Butt was fined the sum of $400.
hearing_type: Hearing
Rules: 869 (2) (a)
Informant: K R Williams, Stipendiary Steward
JockeysandTrainer: R J Butt, Licensed Junior Driver
Otherperson:
PersonPresent:
Respondent:
StipendSteward:
raceid: 5d91afb1fb2b60e95543e524a051d81d
race_expapproval:
racecancelled: 0
race_noreport: 0
race_emailed1: 0
race_emailed2: 0
race_title: R4
submittochair:
race_expappcomment:
race_km:
race_otherexp:
race_chair:
race_pm1:
race_pm2:
meetid: fb395bd8d19cfc1be07b859dd55a36ea
meet_expapproval: approved
meet_noreport: 0
waitingforpublication: 0
meet_emailed1: 0
meet_emailed2: 0
meetdate: 03/06/2011
meet_title: NZ Metro TC - 3 June 2011
meet_expappcomment:
meet_km: [{"Comment": [], "MemberRole": "Panel member 1 ", "MemberID": "SChing", "Member": "", "OtherExpenses": "0", "KMs": "0", "Total": "0.0", "kmprice": 0.0, "Approved": "on"}]
meet_otherexp:
tracklocation: nz-metro-tc
meet_racingtype: harness-racing
meet_chair: RMcKenzie
meet_pm1: SChing
meet_pm2: none
name: NZ Metro TC