Methven TC 11 December 2011 – R 11
ID: JCA16587
Meet Title:
Methven TC - 11 December 2011
Meet Chair:
RMcKenzie
Meet Committee Member 1:
SChing
Race Date:
2011/12/11
Race Number:
R11
Decision:
As Mr Geddes admitted the breach, the charge was found proved.
Penalty:
Mr Geddes was fined the sum of $200.
Charge:
Excessive use of the whip.
Facts:
Following the running of Race 11, Mt Somers Garage & Fulton Hogan Limited Handicap Pace, an information was filed by Stipendiary Steward, Mr S W Wallis, against Licensed Graduation Horseman, Mr B C Geddes, alleging a breach of Rule 869 (2) (a) in that Mr Geddes, as the driver of COOLIT Q T DRYDEN in the race, “used his whip excessively in the run home”.
Mr Geddes was present at the hearing of the information and he indicated that he admitted the breach.
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:
Mr Wallis showed a video replay of the final 300-400 metres of the race. He pointed out COOLIT Q T DRYDEN, driven by Mr Geddes, trailing the leaders on the outer as the field turned into the home straight. At that point, Mr Geddes angled the horse into the clear and commenced using his whip. Mr Wallis alleged that Mr Geddes had used his whip a total of 21 times in the home straight. Mr Geddes agreed that he had used the whip 21 times.
Mr Wallis said that the strikes, apart from the first few, were not “forceful” and none were “malicious” but they were continuous.
Submissions for Penalty:
Mr Wallis referred to the Penalty Guide, which gave a starting point for penalty for a breach of the Rule, of 6 drives or a fine of $300. Mr Geddes had a clear record, he said. In the 2010/2011 season, Mr Geddes had a total of 16 drives and, to date this season, has had 8 drives so he was not a “busy” driver, Mr Wallis said.
Mr Wallis submitted that a fine of $200 was appropriate.
Mr Geddes submitted that he was not hitting the horse, which did not have a mark on it after the race. He accepted that he had exceeded the threshold permitted by the Stipendiary Stewards. He expressed preference for a fine rather than a term of suspension.
Reasons for Penalty:
In determining penalty, the Committee had regard to Mr Geddes’ admission of the breach and his previous good record. The Committee regarded the breach as being mid-range at worst. Taking those matters into account, the Committee decided that a fine of $200 was appropriate. The Committee accepted that a fine of that amount was the usual penalty for a breach of the Rule in a case where the breach was admitted and the driver’s record was clear.
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: c971bdb093422a92ffbec2509b7f86a8
informantnumber: A5483
horsename:
hearing_racingtype:
startdate: no date provided
newcharge:
plea: admitted
penaltyrequired: 1
decisiondate: 04/12/2011
hearing_title: Methven TC 11 December 2011 - R 11
charge:
Excessive use of the whip.
facts:
Following the running of Race 11, Mt Somers Garage & Fulton Hogan Limited Handicap Pace, an information was filed by Stipendiary Steward, Mr S W Wallis, against Licensed Graduation Horseman, Mr B C Geddes, alleging a breach of Rule 869 (2) (a) in that Mr Geddes, as the driver of COOLIT Q T DRYDEN in the race, “used his whip excessively in the run home”.
Mr Geddes was present at the hearing of the information and he indicated that he admitted the breach.
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:
Mr Wallis showed a video replay of the final 300-400 metres of the race. He pointed out COOLIT Q T DRYDEN, driven by Mr Geddes, trailing the leaders on the outer as the field turned into the home straight. At that point, Mr Geddes angled the horse into the clear and commenced using his whip. Mr Wallis alleged that Mr Geddes had used his whip a total of 21 times in the home straight. Mr Geddes agreed that he had used the whip 21 times.
Mr Wallis said that the strikes, apart from the first few, were not “forceful” and none were “malicious” but they were continuous.
reasonsfordecision:
Decision:
As Mr Geddes admitted the breach, the charge was found proved.
sumissionsforpenalty:
Mr Wallis referred to the Penalty Guide, which gave a starting point for penalty for a breach of the Rule, of 6 drives or a fine of $300. Mr Geddes had a clear record, he said. In the 2010/2011 season, Mr Geddes had a total of 16 drives and, to date this season, has had 8 drives so he was not a “busy” driver, Mr Wallis said.
Mr Wallis submitted that a fine of $200 was appropriate.
Mr Geddes submitted that he was not hitting the horse, which did not have a mark on it after the race. He accepted that he had exceeded the threshold permitted by the Stipendiary Stewards. He expressed preference for a fine rather than a term of suspension.
reasonsforpenalty:
In determining penalty, the Committee had regard to Mr Geddes’ admission of the breach and his previous good record. The Committee regarded the breach as being mid-range at worst. Taking those matters into account, the Committee decided that a fine of $200 was appropriate. The Committee accepted that a fine of that amount was the usual penalty for a breach of the Rule in a case where the breach was admitted and the driver’s record was clear.
penalty:
Mr Geddes was fined the sum of $200.
hearing_type: Hearing
Rules: 869(2)(a)
Informant: Mr S W Wallis - Stipendiary Steward
JockeysandTrainer: Mr B C Geddes - Licensed Graduation Horseman
Otherperson:
PersonPresent:
Respondent:
StipendSteward:
raceid: 3d501f4ec65cb9dc7edce4b27a6fe256
race_expapproval:
racecancelled: 0
race_noreport: 0
race_emailed1: 0
race_emailed2: 0
race_title: R11
submittochair:
race_expappcomment:
race_km:
race_otherexp:
race_chair:
race_pm1:
race_pm2:
meetid: 2006b5113355ab9fe9bb15d429aa175d
meet_expapproval:
meet_noreport: 0
waitingforpublication: 0
meet_emailed1: 0
meet_emailed2: 0
meetdate: 11/12/2011
meet_title: Methven TC - 11 December 2011
meet_expappcomment:
meet_km:
meet_otherexp:
tracklocation: methven-tc
meet_racingtype: harness-racing
meet_chair: RMcKenzie
meet_pm1: SChing
meet_pm2: none
name: Methven TC