Reefton TC 8 March 2020 – R 8 – Chair, Mr R McKenzie
ID: JCA16635
Meet Title:
Reefton TC - 8 March 2020
Meet Chair:
RMcKenzie
Meet Committee Member 1:
DAnderson
Race Date:
2020/03/08
Race Number:
R8
Decision:
Ms Ottley having admitted the charge, the charge is found proved.
Penalty:
Ms Ottley’s Open Driver’s licence is suspended from 9 March 2020 to 15 March 2020 both dates inclusive – 3 days. The meetings intended to be encompassed by the period of suspension are NZ Metropolitan TC on 13 March, Wyndham HRC on 14 March and Banks Peninsula TC on 15 March 2020.
Facts:
Following the running of Race 8, Flooring Specialists of Christchurch Pace, an information was filed by Stipendiary Steward, Mr R A Quirk, against Licensed Open Driver, Ms S J Ottley, alleging that Ms Ottley, as the driver of FORD RULE in the race, “used her whip on more occasions than permitted by Clause (b) the Use of the Whip Regulations ”.
Ms Ottley had signed the Statement by the Respondent on the information form indicating that she admitted the charge. She confirmed this at the hearing, at which she was present.
Rule 869 provides as follows:
(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.
The Use of Whip Regulations (effective from 30 November 2017) provide:
(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 Quirk showed a video replay of the final 400 metres of the race. Ms Ottley, driving FORD RULE, was leading the field at that point. He said that Stewards were alleging that Ms Ottley, from the 400 metres, had used her whip on twelve occasions to the finishing line. That count was accepted by Ms Ottley, who did not wish to say anything in relation to the breach.
Submissions for Penalty:
Mr Quirk said that Ms Ottley has a previous breach of the whip rule at Banks Peninsula on 26 January last and was fined $200. This being her second breach of the rule within the last 6 months, Stewards were seeking a term of suspension of 3 days. The Penalty Guide in the Regulations prescribes a 3-5 days suspension for a second or subsequent breach of the rule, Mr Quirk said.
Ms Ottley said she is busy at every meeting – she had 11 drives at today’s meeting – and 3 days is a lot for her. She submitted that the Committee might consider, perhaps, a 2-days suspension and a fine or, alternatively, a large fine alone.
After a discussion regarding upcoming meetings, Ms Ottley said that, if she were to receive a 3-days suspension, she would elect to have it start after today’s meeting.
Reasons for Penalty:
The Committee arrived at a suspension period of 3 days based on this being a second breach and low-end number-wise and in terms of force. We noted that Ms Ottley had gone on to win the race, which is an aggravating factor. However, taking a step back and looking at the penalty, a term in excess of 3 days which is, effectively, the minimum penalty which we can impose under the Regulations, would be harsh for this particular breach.
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: cef72d368f40d2c007b061562cc80acc
informantnumber: A10779
horsename:
hearing_racingtype:
startdate: no date provided
newcharge: Excessive Use of Whip
plea: admitted
penaltyrequired: 1
decisiondate: 13/03/2020
hearing_title: Reefton TC 8 March 2020 - R 8 - Chair, Mr R McKenzie
charge:
facts:
Following the running of Race 8, Flooring Specialists of Christchurch Pace, an information was filed by Stipendiary Steward, Mr R A Quirk, against Licensed Open Driver, Ms S J Ottley, alleging that Ms Ottley, as the driver of FORD RULE in the race, “used her whip on more occasions than permitted by Clause (b) the Use of the Whip Regulations ”.
Ms Ottley had signed the Statement by the Respondent on the information form indicating that she admitted the charge. She confirmed this at the hearing, at which she was present.
Rule 869 provides as follows:
(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.
The Use of Whip Regulations (effective from 30 November 2017) provide:
(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 Quirk showed a video replay of the final 400 metres of the race. Ms Ottley, driving FORD RULE, was leading the field at that point. He said that Stewards were alleging that Ms Ottley, from the 400 metres, had used her whip on twelve occasions to the finishing line. That count was accepted by Ms Ottley, who did not wish to say anything in relation to the breach.
appealdecision:
isappeal:
submissionsfordecision:
reasonsfordecision:
Decision:
Ms Ottley having admitted the charge, the charge is found proved.
sumissionsforpenalty:
Mr Quirk said that Ms Ottley has a previous breach of the whip rule at Banks Peninsula on 26 January last and was fined $200. This being her second breach of the rule within the last 6 months, Stewards were seeking a term of suspension of 3 days. The Penalty Guide in the Regulations prescribes a 3-5 days suspension for a second or subsequent breach of the rule, Mr Quirk said.
Ms Ottley said she is busy at every meeting – she had 11 drives at today’s meeting – and 3 days is a lot for her. She submitted that the Committee might consider, perhaps, a 2-days suspension and a fine or, alternatively, a large fine alone.
After a discussion regarding upcoming meetings, Ms Ottley said that, if she were to receive a 3-days suspension, she would elect to have it start after today’s meeting.
reasonsforpenalty:
The Committee arrived at a suspension period of 3 days based on this being a second breach and low-end number-wise and in terms of force. We noted that Ms Ottley had gone on to win the race, which is an aggravating factor. However, taking a step back and looking at the penalty, a term in excess of 3 days which is, effectively, the minimum penalty which we can impose under the Regulations, would be harsh for this particular breach.
penalty:
Ms Ottley’s Open Driver’s licence is suspended from 9 March 2020 to 15 March 2020 both dates inclusive – 3 days. The meetings intended to be encompassed by the period of suspension are NZ Metropolitan TC on 13 March, Wyndham HRC on 14 March and Banks Peninsula TC on 15 March 2020.
hearing_type: Hearing
Rules: 869(2)& Use of the Whip Regulations
Informant: R A Quirk, Stipendiary Steward
JockeysandTrainer: S J Ottley, Licensed Open Driver
Otherperson:
PersonPresent:
Respondent:
StipendSteward:
raceid: 2fb576b9425523718ac30d7d159b546b
race_expapproval:
racecancelled: 0
race_noreport: 0
race_emailed1: 0
race_emailed2: 0
race_title: R8
submittochair:
race_expappcomment:
race_km:
race_otherexp:
race_chair:
race_pm1:
race_pm2:
meetid: 8229fd1ea3ecbe9cfb41f75737002030
meet_expapproval:
meet_noreport: 0
waitingforpublication: 0
meet_emailed1: 0
meet_emailed2: 0
meetdate: 08/03/2020
meet_title: Reefton TC - 8 March 2020
meet_expappcomment:
meet_km:
meet_otherexp:
tracklocation: reefton-tc
meet_racingtype: harness-racing
meet_chair: RMcKenzie
meet_pm1: DAnderson
meet_pm2: none
name: Reefton TC