Ashburton TC 21 July 2013 – R1
ID: JCA17672
Meet Title:
Ashburton TC - 21 July 2013
Meet Chair:
RMcKenzie
Meet Committee Member 1:
KHales
Race Date:
2013/07/21
Race Number:
R1
Decision:
Mr Smith having admitted the charge, the charge was found proved.
Penalty:
Mr Smith was fined the sum of $400.
Charge:
Improper use of the whip.
Facts:
Following the running of Race 1, Ashburton Function Centre Trot, an information was filed by Stipendiary Steward, Mr R A Quirk, against Licensed Open Horseman, Mr G D Smith, alleging that Mr Smith used his whip in an improper manner in that he “drove REGAL LIGHT with the whip while his foot was out of the sulky footrest”.
Mr Smith was present at the hearing of the information and he indicated that he admitted the charge.
Rule 869 provides as follows:
(2) No horseman shall during any race:-
(a) use his whip in an unnecessary, excessive or improper manner.
Rule 867 provides:
Every horseman shall drive throughout the race with both feet in the rests of the sulky provided for that purpose.
Submissions for Decision:
Mr Quirk referred to the Use of Whip Guidelines which provide that “improper use of the whip includes . . . using the whip while having a foot out of the footrest. In conjunction with Rule 867)”.
Mr Quirk then showed the only available video replay (head-on) of the incident in the final 200 metres of the race. He pointed out Mr Smith, driving REGAL LIGHT, racing about midfield, angle the horse wider on the track. His right foot then dropped from the sulky footrest and struck the horse once with the whip before replacing his foot.
Mr Smith said that he had used another horseman’s sulky in the race as he had his own cart on another stable runner in the same race. He had not adjusted the seat of that sulky and could not reach to activate the deafeners which, he said, was why his foot had slipped. He was not aware that he had used the whip while his foot was down. He did not gain any advantage, he submitted, but admitted that he had used the whip while his foot was out of the footrest. (The Committee accepted that the horse was out of contention at the time).
Submissions for Penalty:
Mr Quirk informed the Committee that Mr Smith has had four charges of breaching Rule 867 in the current season and, for that reason, Mr Smith had been charged with using the whip in an improper manner on this occasion. This particular incident was at the lower end of the scale, but it was of concern the number of times that Mr Smith has been charged with using his whip while his foot was out of the footrest. The most recent charge was at Marlborough in June, Mr Quirk said.
The Penalty Guide suggests a penalty of 6 drives or a fine of $300 for a first breach and 10 drives or a fine of $500 for a second breach of Rule 869 (2) (a) within a year, Mr Quirk said. He made no submission as to an appropriate penalty. Mr Quirk submitted that Mr Smith’s admission of the breach should be taken into account by the Committee.
Mr Smith said that he has now made adjustments to his own sulky so that his foot is unlikely to slip from the footrest in the future.
Mr Smith said that he would prefer the Committee to impose a fine rather than a suspension. He accepted that he had a bad record.
Reasons for Penalty:
The Committee was concerned that Mr Smith’s record was not a good one. Mr Smith freely acknowledged that. His frank admission of the breach was a mitigating factor.
Although this was, technically, Mr Smith’s first breach of Rule 869 (2) (a), the Committee could not ignore the previous breaches, referred to by Mr Quirk, of Rule 867 where Mr Smith had used the whip with his foot out of the rest. So the Committee took, as an appropriate starting point, the recommendation in the Penalty Guide of a $500 fine for a second breach of Rule 869 (2) (a). Mr Smith is entitled to a discount for his very frank admission of this breach and his apparent contrition.
The Committee urges Mr Smith to take steps to address the problems that he has under Rules 867 and 869 (2) (a) and thereby avoid any similar breach in the future.
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: de8b40be5f50e6fba210f1cc732e30f7
informantnumber: A1129
horsename:
hearing_racingtype:
startdate: no date provided
newcharge:
plea: admitted
penaltyrequired: 1
decisiondate: 18/07/2013
hearing_title: Ashburton TC 21 July 2013 - R1
charge:
Improper use of the whip.
facts:
Following the running of Race 1, Ashburton Function Centre Trot, an information was filed by Stipendiary Steward, Mr R A Quirk, against Licensed Open Horseman, Mr G D Smith, alleging that Mr Smith used his whip in an improper manner in that he “drove REGAL LIGHT with the whip while his foot was out of the sulky footrest”.
Mr Smith was present at the hearing of the information and he indicated that he admitted the charge.
Rule 869 provides as follows:
(2) No horseman shall during any race:-
(a) use his whip in an unnecessary, excessive or improper manner.
Rule 867 provides:
Every horseman shall drive throughout the race with both feet in the rests of the sulky provided for that purpose.
appealdecision:
isappeal:
submissionsfordecision:
Mr Quirk referred to the Use of Whip Guidelines which provide that “improper use of the whip includes . . . using the whip while having a foot out of the footrest. In conjunction with Rule 867)”.
Mr Quirk then showed the only available video replay (head-on) of the incident in the final 200 metres of the race. He pointed out Mr Smith, driving REGAL LIGHT, racing about midfield, angle the horse wider on the track. His right foot then dropped from the sulky footrest and struck the horse once with the whip before replacing his foot.
Mr Smith said that he had used another horseman’s sulky in the race as he had his own cart on another stable runner in the same race. He had not adjusted the seat of that sulky and could not reach to activate the deafeners which, he said, was why his foot had slipped. He was not aware that he had used the whip while his foot was down. He did not gain any advantage, he submitted, but admitted that he had used the whip while his foot was out of the footrest. (The Committee accepted that the horse was out of contention at the time).
reasonsfordecision:
Decision:
Mr Smith having admitted the charge, the charge was found proved.
sumissionsforpenalty:
Mr Quirk informed the Committee that Mr Smith has had four charges of breaching Rule 867 in the current season and, for that reason, Mr Smith had been charged with using the whip in an improper manner on this occasion. This particular incident was at the lower end of the scale, but it was of concern the number of times that Mr Smith has been charged with using his whip while his foot was out of the footrest. The most recent charge was at Marlborough in June, Mr Quirk said.
The Penalty Guide suggests a penalty of 6 drives or a fine of $300 for a first breach and 10 drives or a fine of $500 for a second breach of Rule 869 (2) (a) within a year, Mr Quirk said. He made no submission as to an appropriate penalty. Mr Quirk submitted that Mr Smith’s admission of the breach should be taken into account by the Committee.
Mr Smith said that he has now made adjustments to his own sulky so that his foot is unlikely to slip from the footrest in the future.
Mr Smith said that he would prefer the Committee to impose a fine rather than a suspension. He accepted that he had a bad record.
reasonsforpenalty:
The Committee was concerned that Mr Smith’s record was not a good one. Mr Smith freely acknowledged that. His frank admission of the breach was a mitigating factor.
Although this was, technically, Mr Smith’s first breach of Rule 869 (2) (a), the Committee could not ignore the previous breaches, referred to by Mr Quirk, of Rule 867 where Mr Smith had used the whip with his foot out of the rest. So the Committee took, as an appropriate starting point, the recommendation in the Penalty Guide of a $500 fine for a second breach of Rule 869 (2) (a). Mr Smith is entitled to a discount for his very frank admission of this breach and his apparent contrition.
The Committee urges Mr Smith to take steps to address the problems that he has under Rules 867 and 869 (2) (a) and thereby avoid any similar breach in the future.
penalty:
Mr Smith was fined the sum of $400.
hearing_type: Hearing
Rules: 869(2)(a)
Informant: R A Quirk, Stipendiary Steward
JockeysandTrainer: G D Smith, Licensed Open Horseman
Otherperson:
PersonPresent:
Respondent:
StipendSteward:
raceid: 6b7cd15aaab0eba224b662ecf14e5a40
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:
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meetid: 80bbc856dce1bf2785b49139e6c52716
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waitingforpublication: 0
meet_emailed1: 0
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meetdate: 21/07/2013
meet_title: Ashburton TC - 21 July 2013
meet_expappcomment:
meet_km:
meet_otherexp:
tracklocation: ashburton-tc
meet_racingtype: harness-racing
meet_chair: RMcKenzie
meet_pm1: KHales
meet_pm2: none
name: Ashburton TC