Timaru HRC 13 May 2012 – R 2
ID: JCA16766
Meet Title:
Timaru HRC - 13 May 2012
Meet Chair:
SChing
Meet Committee Member 1:
JPhelan
Race Date:
2012/05/13
Race Number:
R2
Decision:
The charge was found to be proved.
Penalty:
Accordingly Mr Thompson was fined the sum of $300.
Charge:
Breach of Rule 869(2)(a) - excessive use of the whip.
Facts:
Following the running of Race 2, the Port FM Mobile Pace, an Information was filed by Stipendiary Steward Mr S P Renault against Open Horseman Mr S J Thompson, alleging a breach of Rule 869(2)(a) in that he used his whip in an excessive manner.
The charge reads as follows:
“I the above named informant allege that the above named Respondent committed a breach of Rule 869(2)(a) in that Mr Thompson used his whip excessively over the concluding stages when driving “Lexington Lad”.”
Rule 869(2)(a) reads as follows:
“(2) No horseman shall during any race:-
(a) Use his whip in an unnecessary, excessive or improper manner.”
Submissions for Decision:
Mr Thompson had indicated on the Information that this breach of the Rules was admitted, and he also agreed that he understood the charge and the Rule it was brought under.
Mr Renault gave evidence and showed video replays that Mr Thompson driving “Lexington Lad “was in a parked position turning for home when near the 250m Mr Thompson began to use the whip. Mr Renault stated that Mr Thompson struck “Lexington Lad” 19 times from the 250m with brief pauses, and that 19 times was just too much. He also submitted that the strikes were full and forceful strikes of the whip.
Reasons for Decision:
As Mr Thompson had admitted this breach of the Rules it was found to be proved in accordance with Rule 1111(1)(d).
Submissions for Penalty:
Mr Renault submitted that Mr Thompson should be given credit for his frank admission of the breach. He also stated that Mr Thompson had been suspended for 2 days under this Rule in January of this year, after a poor previous record, with this charge being his second offence in the previous 12 months. Mr Renault submitted that a fine of between $300 and $350 be considered.
Mr Thompson submitted that he had put a lot of effort into correcting his whip action and that a fine of $300 to $350 would be excessive. Mr Thompson asked the Committee to consider leniency with the fine or a combination of suspension and fine.
Reasons for Penalty:
In determining penalty we took into consideration as mitigation, Mr Thompson’s ready admission of the breach. We also considered Mr Thompson’s penalty record, with one other breach in the previous 12 months, in conjunction with the number of strikes and the force that was used as aggravating factors. After looking at penalties imposed for similar breaches of this Rule, we were satisfied that a fine of $300-00 was an appropriate penalty in this case.
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: 9e2c952d04eddba84d3f784cee4049ed
informantnumber: A 5261
horsename:
hearing_racingtype:
startdate: no date provided
newcharge:
plea: admitted
penaltyrequired: 1
decisiondate: 06/05/2012
hearing_title: Timaru HRC 13 May 2012 - R 2
charge:
Breach of Rule 869(2)(a) - excessive use of the whip.
facts:
Following the running of Race 2, the Port FM Mobile Pace, an Information was filed by Stipendiary Steward Mr S P Renault against Open Horseman Mr S J Thompson, alleging a breach of Rule 869(2)(a) in that he used his whip in an excessive manner.
The charge reads as follows:
“I the above named informant allege that the above named Respondent committed a breach of Rule 869(2)(a) in that Mr Thompson used his whip excessively over the concluding stages when driving “Lexington Lad”.”
Rule 869(2)(a) reads as follows:
“(2) No horseman shall during any race:-
(a) Use his whip in an unnecessary, excessive or improper manner.”
appealdecision:
isappeal:
submissionsfordecision:
Mr Thompson had indicated on the Information that this breach of the Rules was admitted, and he also agreed that he understood the charge and the Rule it was brought under.
Mr Renault gave evidence and showed video replays that Mr Thompson driving “Lexington Lad “was in a parked position turning for home when near the 250m Mr Thompson began to use the whip. Mr Renault stated that Mr Thompson struck “Lexington Lad” 19 times from the 250m with brief pauses, and that 19 times was just too much. He also submitted that the strikes were full and forceful strikes of the whip.
reasonsfordecision:
As Mr Thompson had admitted this breach of the Rules it was found to be proved in accordance with Rule 1111(1)(d).
Decision:
The charge was found to be proved.
sumissionsforpenalty:
Mr Renault submitted that Mr Thompson should be given credit for his frank admission of the breach. He also stated that Mr Thompson had been suspended for 2 days under this Rule in January of this year, after a poor previous record, with this charge being his second offence in the previous 12 months. Mr Renault submitted that a fine of between $300 and $350 be considered.
Mr Thompson submitted that he had put a lot of effort into correcting his whip action and that a fine of $300 to $350 would be excessive. Mr Thompson asked the Committee to consider leniency with the fine or a combination of suspension and fine.
reasonsforpenalty:
In determining penalty we took into consideration as mitigation, Mr Thompson’s ready admission of the breach. We also considered Mr Thompson’s penalty record, with one other breach in the previous 12 months, in conjunction with the number of strikes and the force that was used as aggravating factors. After looking at penalties imposed for similar breaches of this Rule, we were satisfied that a fine of $300-00 was an appropriate penalty in this case.
penalty:
Accordingly Mr Thompson was fined the sum of $300.
hearing_type: Hearing
Rules: 869(2)(a)
Informant: Mr S P Renault - Stipendiary Steward
JockeysandTrainer: S J Thompson-Open Horseman
Otherperson:
PersonPresent:
Respondent:
StipendSteward:
raceid: 6102bb6bc309c5d05df9260d11f45bbe
race_expapproval:
racecancelled: 0
race_noreport: 0
race_emailed1: 0
race_emailed2: 0
race_title: R2
submittochair:
race_expappcomment:
race_km:
race_otherexp:
race_chair:
race_pm1:
race_pm2:
meetid: 5c5ef98f56427a5f3d3745b79ad148a1
meet_expapproval:
meet_noreport: 0
waitingforpublication: 0
meet_emailed1: 0
meet_emailed2: 0
meetdate: 13/05/2012
meet_title: Timaru HRC - 13 May 2012
meet_expappcomment:
meet_km:
meet_otherexp:
tracklocation: timaru-hrc
meet_racingtype: harness-racing
meet_chair: SChing
meet_pm1: JPhelan
meet_pm2: none
name: Timaru HRC