NZ Metro TC 7 August 2015 – R 1 – Chair, Mr R McKenzie
ID: JCA17076
Meet Title:
NZ Metro TC - 7 August 2015
Meet Chair:
RMcKenzie
Meet Committee Member 1:
SChing
Race Date:
2015/08/07
Race Number:
R1
Decision:
Mr Edge having admitted the charge, the charge was found proved.
Penalty:
Mr Edge was fined the sum of $350.
Facts:
Following the running of Race 1, Bishopdale/Bush Inn TAB’s & Tavern Harewood Amateur Drivers Mobile Pace, an information was filed by Stipendiary Steward, Mr N M Ydgren, against Licensed Amateur Driver, Mr A N Edge, alleging a breach of Rule 869 (2) (a) in that, as the driver of SCANRECO BAY in the race, he “used his whip in an excessive manner”.
Mr Edge 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.
Mr Ydgren had Stipendiary Steward, Mr R A Quirk, show a video replay of the final 300 metres of the race. Mr Quirk pointed out SCANRECO BAY, driven by Mr Edge, in the 3-wide line as the field approached the home straight. Mr Edge then drew the horse wider on the track as the field turned for home. From that point, Mr Edge commenced using the whip and carried this on with only one pause (passing the 75 metres), otherwise his whip use was continuous, in breach of the Use of the Whip Guidelines, Mr Ydgren submitted.
Mr Edge submitted that, although he did not dispute the Stewards’ allegation as to the number of strikes, he did not actually hit the horse. The horse was “flat”, he said. He struck it on the rump four times turning for home, the rest of the strikes were “down the side of the cart”, he submitted. Mr Ydgren agreed that this was the case. Mr Edge acknowledged that he was aware that the Guidelines applied whether or not the horse was hit, but submitted that the Committee should take into account the fact that the majority of the strikes were not on the horse.
Submissions for Penalty:
Mr Ydgren told the Committee that Mr Edge had breached the excessive use of the whip Rule at Banks Peninsula on 13th February 2015, on which occasion he was fined $200. From 1st May 2015, the suggested penalty under the Penalty Guide for a second breach of the Rule within 6 months is a 3-5 day suspension. Mr Ydgren submitted that a term of suspension in this range was appropriate on this occasion.
The possibility of a fine was discussed and Mr Ydgren said that he was not opposed to a fine in this case. Mr Edge said that his preference was for a fine. He told the Committee that he puts a lot of money into amateur races. He races four of his own horses in amateur events and, if he was unable to drive them in amateur races over the next few weeks, he would turn them all out.
Reasons for Penalty:
In looking at penalty, the Committee was prepared to regard Mr Edge’s record as being “reset” for the purposes of determining penalty for this breach. The Penalty Guide provides that a driver’s record will only be reset after 6 months have elapsed from the date of the previous breach. In this case, however, the Committee considered that it was fair to regard Mr Edge’s record as being reset, given that the previous breach was only 6 days inside the reset period of 6 months. The Committee could, therefore, impose a fine rather than a term of suspension – a fine, in the Committee’s view being more appropriate than a 3 days suspension.
The Penalty Guide starting point was, therefore, for a first breach, a $500 fine. Mr Edge was entitled to a discount for his very frank admission of the breach and for the fact that, although the number of strikes was high, all but a few were on the sulky and not the horse.
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: c9f8551a3dbfe50d907ecf0d2f9e9d7b
informantnumber: A6718
horsename:
hearing_racingtype:
startdate: no date provided
newcharge: Excessive Use of Whip
plea: admitted
penaltyrequired: 1
decisiondate: 10/08/2015
hearing_title: NZ Metro TC 7 August 2015 - R 1 - Chair, Mr R McKenzie
charge:
facts:
Following the running of Race 1, Bishopdale/Bush Inn TAB’s & Tavern Harewood Amateur Drivers Mobile Pace, an information was filed by Stipendiary Steward, Mr N M Ydgren, against Licensed Amateur Driver, Mr A N Edge, alleging a breach of Rule 869 (2) (a) in that, as the driver of SCANRECO BAY in the race, he “used his whip in an excessive manner”.
Mr Edge 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.
Mr Ydgren had Stipendiary Steward, Mr R A Quirk, show a video replay of the final 300 metres of the race. Mr Quirk pointed out SCANRECO BAY, driven by Mr Edge, in the 3-wide line as the field approached the home straight. Mr Edge then drew the horse wider on the track as the field turned for home. From that point, Mr Edge commenced using the whip and carried this on with only one pause (passing the 75 metres), otherwise his whip use was continuous, in breach of the Use of the Whip Guidelines, Mr Ydgren submitted.
Mr Edge submitted that, although he did not dispute the Stewards’ allegation as to the number of strikes, he did not actually hit the horse. The horse was “flat”, he said. He struck it on the rump four times turning for home, the rest of the strikes were “down the side of the cart”, he submitted. Mr Ydgren agreed that this was the case. Mr Edge acknowledged that he was aware that the Guidelines applied whether or not the horse was hit, but submitted that the Committee should take into account the fact that the majority of the strikes were not on the horse.
appealdecision:
isappeal:
submissionsfordecision:
reasonsfordecision:
Decision:
Mr Edge having admitted the charge, the charge was found proved.
sumissionsforpenalty:
Mr Ydgren told the Committee that Mr Edge had breached the excessive use of the whip Rule at Banks Peninsula on 13th February 2015, on which occasion he was fined $200. From 1st May 2015, the suggested penalty under the Penalty Guide for a second breach of the Rule within 6 months is a 3-5 day suspension. Mr Ydgren submitted that a term of suspension in this range was appropriate on this occasion.
The possibility of a fine was discussed and Mr Ydgren said that he was not opposed to a fine in this case. Mr Edge said that his preference was for a fine. He told the Committee that he puts a lot of money into amateur races. He races four of his own horses in amateur events and, if he was unable to drive them in amateur races over the next few weeks, he would turn them all out.
reasonsforpenalty:
In looking at penalty, the Committee was prepared to regard Mr Edge’s record as being “reset” for the purposes of determining penalty for this breach. The Penalty Guide provides that a driver’s record will only be reset after 6 months have elapsed from the date of the previous breach. In this case, however, the Committee considered that it was fair to regard Mr Edge’s record as being reset, given that the previous breach was only 6 days inside the reset period of 6 months. The Committee could, therefore, impose a fine rather than a term of suspension – a fine, in the Committee’s view being more appropriate than a 3 days suspension.
The Penalty Guide starting point was, therefore, for a first breach, a $500 fine. Mr Edge was entitled to a discount for his very frank admission of the breach and for the fact that, although the number of strikes was high, all but a few were on the sulky and not the horse.
penalty:
Mr Edge was fined the sum of $350.
hearing_type: Hearing
Rules: 869(2)(a)
Informant: Mr N M Ydgren, Stipendiary Steward
JockeysandTrainer: A N Edge, Licensed Advanced Amateur Driver
Otherperson: Mr R A Quirk - Stipendiary Steward
PersonPresent:
Respondent:
StipendSteward:
raceid: 8ccd249f1e1fa3b9c38a8eb86de3c302
race_expapproval:
racecancelled: 0
race_noreport: 0
race_emailed1: 0
race_emailed2: 0
race_title: R1
submittochair:
race_expappcomment:
race_km:
race_otherexp:
race_chair:
race_pm1:
race_pm2:
meetid: 838a7f70b4926173b3f9e3243fd9ddbe
meet_expapproval:
meet_noreport: 0
waitingforpublication: 0
meet_emailed1: 0
meet_emailed2: 0
meetdate: 07/08/2015
meet_title: NZ Metro TC - 7 August 2015
meet_expappcomment:
meet_km:
meet_otherexp:
tracklocation: nz-metro-tc
meet_racingtype: harness-racing
meet_chair: RMcKenzie
meet_pm1: SChing
meet_pm2: none
name: NZ Metro TC