Westport TC 26 December 2019 – R 7 – Chair, Mr S Ching
ID: JCA16391
Meet Title:
Westport TC - 26 December 2019
Meet Chair:
SChing
Meet Committee Member 1:
DAnderson
Race Date:
2019/12/26
Race Number:
R7
Decision:
As Mr Curtin had admitted this breach of the Rules it was found to be proved in accordance with Rule 1111(1)(d).
Penalty:
Accordingly, Mr Curtin’s Horseman’s Licence is suspended from the conclusion of racing 30 December up to and including 12 January 2020. Relevant meetings encompassed in this period of suspension are Rangiora on 3 January, Timaru on 7 January, Nelson on 10 January and Nelson on 12 January 2020.
Facts:
Following the running of Race 7, an Information was filed by Stipendiary Steward, Mr S Renault against Licensed Open Horseman, Mr J Curtin, alleging a breach of Rule 869(2) in that he used his whip on more occasions than permitted by Clause (b) of the Use of the Whip Regulations
Rule 869(2) reads as follows:
869 (2) No horseman shall during any race use a whip in a manner in contravention of the Use of the Whip Regulations made by the Board.
Whip Regulation (b) reads as follows;
(b) No horseman is permitted to use their whip in a striking motion on more than ten occasions inside the final 400 metres. This is inclusive of “backhanders” and the use applies to the horse, harness and/or sulky.
Mr Curtin had endorsed the Information that the breach was admitted which he confirmed at the hearing. Mr Curtin also acknowledged that he understood the charge and the Rule it was brought under.
Mr Renault gave evidence and showed video replays of the final 400m of the race. He pointed out Mr Curtin, driving TANGO TARA, positioned in a 3 wide, midfield position passing the 400m. Inside the 400m Mr Curtin, when improving forward, drew the whip and used it on 16 occasions prior to the line.
Mr Curtin did not dispute the number of strikes.
Submissions for Penalty:
Mr Renault stated that Mr Curtin had a prior breach of this Rule within the previous six months, being on 12 November 2019 at Addington where he received a $200 fine. He stated that the JCA Penalty Guide provides for a 3 to 5-day suspension for a second or subsequent breach of this Rule within a 6-month period.
Mr Renault stated that the breach was at the high end of mid-range and submitted that a suspension of 4 days be considered as penalty in this case.
Mr Curtin requested a deferment of penalty until after the Reefton meeting on 30 December 2019.
Reasons for Penalty:
The JCA Penalty Guide provides a 3 to 5-day suspension for a second or subsequent breach of this Rule within a 6-month period, mitigation inclusive. This Committee also assessed the breach as mid-level, with the strikes being 16 in number and therefore adopted a 4-day starting point. There were no aggravating factors to consider, therefore no uplift in penalty warranted. We therefore determined that a 4-day suspension was an appropriate penalty in this case.
Mr Curtin’s request for a deferment until after racing on 30 December was granted.
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: ad85a6b0cc3328cf7745ffa44c49c34e
informantnumber: A13202
horsename:
hearing_racingtype:
startdate: no date provided
newcharge: Contravention of the Use of Whip Regulations
plea: admitted
penaltyrequired: 1
decisiondate: 30/12/2019
hearing_title: Westport TC 26 December 2019 - R 7 - Chair, Mr S Ching
charge:
facts:
Following the running of Race 7, an Information was filed by Stipendiary Steward, Mr S Renault against Licensed Open Horseman, Mr J Curtin, alleging a breach of Rule 869(2) in that he used his whip on more occasions than permitted by Clause (b) of the Use of the Whip Regulations
Rule 869(2) reads as follows:
869 (2) No horseman shall during any race use a whip in a manner in contravention of the Use of the Whip Regulations made by the Board.
Whip Regulation (b) reads as follows;
(b) No horseman is permitted to use their whip in a striking motion on more than ten occasions inside the final 400 metres. This is inclusive of “backhanders” and the use applies to the horse, harness and/or sulky.
Mr Curtin had endorsed the Information that the breach was admitted which he confirmed at the hearing. Mr Curtin also acknowledged that he understood the charge and the Rule it was brought under.
Mr Renault gave evidence and showed video replays of the final 400m of the race. He pointed out Mr Curtin, driving TANGO TARA, positioned in a 3 wide, midfield position passing the 400m. Inside the 400m Mr Curtin, when improving forward, drew the whip and used it on 16 occasions prior to the line.
Mr Curtin did not dispute the number of strikes.
appealdecision:
isappeal:
submissionsfordecision:
reasonsfordecision:
Decision:
As Mr Curtin had admitted this breach of the Rules it was found to be proved in accordance with Rule 1111(1)(d).
sumissionsforpenalty:
Mr Renault stated that Mr Curtin had a prior breach of this Rule within the previous six months, being on 12 November 2019 at Addington where he received a $200 fine. He stated that the JCA Penalty Guide provides for a 3 to 5-day suspension for a second or subsequent breach of this Rule within a 6-month period.
Mr Renault stated that the breach was at the high end of mid-range and submitted that a suspension of 4 days be considered as penalty in this case.
Mr Curtin requested a deferment of penalty until after the Reefton meeting on 30 December 2019.
reasonsforpenalty:
The JCA Penalty Guide provides a 3 to 5-day suspension for a second or subsequent breach of this Rule within a 6-month period, mitigation inclusive. This Committee also assessed the breach as mid-level, with the strikes being 16 in number and therefore adopted a 4-day starting point. There were no aggravating factors to consider, therefore no uplift in penalty warranted. We therefore determined that a 4-day suspension was an appropriate penalty in this case.
Mr Curtin’s request for a deferment until after racing on 30 December was granted.
penalty:
Accordingly, Mr Curtin’s Horseman’s Licence is suspended from the conclusion of racing 30 December up to and including 12 January 2020. Relevant meetings encompassed in this period of suspension are Rangiora on 3 January, Timaru on 7 January, Nelson on 10 January and Nelson on 12 January 2020.
hearing_type: Hearing
Rules: 869(2) and Whip Regulation (b)
Informant: Mr S Renault - Stipendiary Steward
JockeysandTrainer: Mr J Curtin - Licensed Open Horseman
Otherperson:
PersonPresent:
Respondent:
StipendSteward:
raceid: 200d39722478a07bd8e21c5d2049f389
race_expapproval:
racecancelled: 0
race_noreport: 0
race_emailed1: 0
race_emailed2: 0
race_title: R7
submittochair:
race_expappcomment:
race_km:
race_otherexp:
race_chair:
race_pm1:
race_pm2:
meetid: f0d594f523c405874ddc04da82ff00fd
meet_expapproval:
meet_noreport: 0
waitingforpublication: 0
meet_emailed1: 0
meet_emailed2: 0
meetdate: 26/12/2019
meet_title: Westport TC - 26 December 2019
meet_expappcomment:
meet_km:
meet_otherexp:
tracklocation: westport-tc
meet_racingtype: harness-racing
meet_chair: SChing
meet_pm1: DAnderson
meet_pm2: none
name: Westport TC