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Winton HRC 9 April 2017 – R5 – Chair Mr P Knowles

ID: JCA17237

Applicant:
Mr S Wallis - Stipendiary Steward

Respondent(s):
Mr R Swain - Open Horseman

Information Number:
A9007

Hearing Type:
Hearing

New Charge:
Excessive Use of Whip

Rules:
869(2)(a)

Plea:
admitted

Meet Title:
Winton HRC - 9 April 2017

Meet Chair:
PKnowles

Meet Committee Member 1:
GHall

Race Date:
2017/04/09

Race Number:
Winton HRC 9 April 2017 - R5 - Chair Mr P Knowles

Decision:

Mr Swain admitted the charge and it is found proved.

Penalty:

Mr Swain is suspended from the completion of racing today, up to and including April 20th. This includes Forbury Park on the 13th and 20th April (2 days).

Facts:

Following the running of the PGG Wrightson Mobile Pace Stewards lodged an Information alleging Mr Swain (BOOM TIME) used his whip in an excessive manner over the final 400m.
 
Rule 869 (2) (a) reads
No horseman shall during any race:
(b) use his whip in an unnecessary, excessive or improper manner.
 
The Whip Guidelines read:
Stewards deem the “use of the whip” throughout the race as listed below:
Free of the rein
On the horse itself
On the sulky or dust sheet
Back handers
Excessive use of the whip simply means “too much” and relates to the number of times and/or force with which the whip is used. The whip shall not be used more than 10 times in the last 400m of a race, otherwise this will be deemed excessive use pursuant to these Guidelines

Mr Swain appeared at the hearing and understood the charge. He also indicated he admitted the charge.

Mr Wallis, with the aid of the video replays, stated Mr Swain (Boom Time) was the leading horse in the home straight. He was observed to strike his horse 22 times in a continuous manner. In doing so Mr Swain was in breach of the Rule.

Mr Swain stated he had the whip and rein in the same hand and believed he was complying with the rule and the Guidelines following discussions within the industry. He further stated 10-12 strikes were on the dustsheet.

Submissions for Penalty:

Mr Wallis submitted Mr Swain had admitted the breach and had a clear record. He had had 208 drives last season and 27 this current season. The JCA Penalty Guide recommended a 5 days suspension or a $500 fine. He sought a fine of $300.

Mr Swain submitted he would prefer a suspension as opposed to a fine.

Reasons for Penalty:

After considering the submissions we take into account Mr Swain’s admission of the breach and his excellent record. We note Mr Swain’s comment that he thought his use of the whip was acceptable after taking advice from industry sources. We believe a two day suspension is appropriate.

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: ee1bcdb8ac32571a5af31dcff063cc6f

informantnumber: A9007

horsename:

hearing_racingtype:

startdate: no date provided

newcharge: Excessive Use of Whip

plea: admitted

penaltyrequired: 1

decisiondate: 12/04/2017

hearing_title: Winton HRC 9 April 2017 - R5 - Chair Mr P Knowles

charge:

facts:

Following the running of the PGG Wrightson Mobile Pace Stewards lodged an Information alleging Mr Swain (BOOM TIME) used his whip in an excessive manner over the final 400m.
 
Rule 869 (2) (a) reads
No horseman shall during any race:
(b) use his whip in an unnecessary, excessive or improper manner.
 
The Whip Guidelines read:
Stewards deem the “use of the whip” throughout the race as listed below:
Free of the rein
On the horse itself
On the sulky or dust sheet
Back handers
Excessive use of the whip simply means “too much” and relates to the number of times and/or force with which the whip is used. The whip shall not be used more than 10 times in the last 400m of a race, otherwise this will be deemed excessive use pursuant to these Guidelines

Mr Swain appeared at the hearing and understood the charge. He also indicated he admitted the charge.

Mr Wallis, with the aid of the video replays, stated Mr Swain (Boom Time) was the leading horse in the home straight. He was observed to strike his horse 22 times in a continuous manner. In doing so Mr Swain was in breach of the Rule.

Mr Swain stated he had the whip and rein in the same hand and believed he was complying with the rule and the Guidelines following discussions within the industry. He further stated 10-12 strikes were on the dustsheet.

appealdecision:

isappeal:

submissionsfordecision:

reasonsfordecision:

Decision:

Mr Swain admitted the charge and it is found proved.

sumissionsforpenalty:

Mr Wallis submitted Mr Swain had admitted the breach and had a clear record. He had had 208 drives last season and 27 this current season. The JCA Penalty Guide recommended a 5 days suspension or a $500 fine. He sought a fine of $300.

Mr Swain submitted he would prefer a suspension as opposed to a fine.

reasonsforpenalty:

After considering the submissions we take into account Mr Swain’s admission of the breach and his excellent record. We note Mr Swain’s comment that he thought his use of the whip was acceptable after taking advice from industry sources. We believe a two day suspension is appropriate.

penalty:

Mr Swain is suspended from the completion of racing today, up to and including April 20th. This includes Forbury Park on the 13th and 20th April (2 days).

hearing_type: Hearing

Rules: 869(2)(a)

Informant: Mr S Wallis - Stipendiary Steward

JockeysandTrainer: Mr R Swain - Open Horseman

Otherperson:

PersonPresent:

Respondent:

StipendSteward:

raceid: 7656c2d20783f8755b7c4ad5eff3df62

race_expapproval:

racecancelled: 0

race_noreport: 0

race_emailed1: 0

race_emailed2: 0

race_title: Winton HRC 9 April 2017 - R5 - Chair Mr P Knowles

submittochair:

race_expappcomment:

race_km:

race_otherexp:

race_chair:

race_pm1:

race_pm2:

meetid: 8bbc96b1871f112ef1e4259e5d8b2330

meet_expapproval:

meet_noreport: 0

waitingforpublication: 1

meet_emailed1: 0

meet_emailed2: 0

meetdate: 09/04/2017

meet_title: Winton HRC - 9 April 2017

meet_expappcomment:

meet_km:

meet_otherexp:

tracklocation: winton-hrc

meet_racingtype: harness-racing

meet_chair: PKnowles

meet_pm1: GHall

meet_pm2: none

name: Winton HRC