Ashburton TC 2 June 2019 – R 6 – Chair, Mr R McKenzie
ID: JCA17605
Meet Title:
Ashburton TC - 2 June 2019
Meet Chair:
RMcKenzie
Meet Committee Member 1:
GClapp
Race Date:
2019/06/02
Race Number:
R6
Decision:
Mr Close having admitted the breach, the charge was found proved.
Penalty:
Mr Close is fined the sum of $200.
Facts:
Following the running Race 6, Chertsey Trotting Club Mobile Pace, an information was filed by Stipendiary Steward, Mr S P Renault, against Licensed Open Driver, Mr R D Close, alleging that Mr Close, as the driver of BRINGITONHOME in the race, “used his whip on more occasions than permitted by Clause (b) of the Use of the Whip Regulations”.
Mr Close had signed the Statement by the Respondent on the information form indicating that he admitted the breach. He had also signed the information indicating that he did not wish to be present at the hearing.
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 Renault had a video replay of the final 400 metres of the race shown to the hearing. He pointed out BRINGITONHOME, driven by Mr Close, racing in the trail behind the leader, ALTA ORLANDO, as the field turned into the final straight. From that point, Mr Renault alleged, Mr Close had used his whip, in his left hand, on eleven occasions to the finishing line, excluding “a little flick” in the middle. The Committee noted that BRINGITONHOME finished in 4th placing.
Mr Renault confirmed that Mr Close had seen the video replay and accepted the alleged count of eleven.
Submissions for Penalty:
Mr Renault told the Committee that Mr Close has had 323 drives to date in the current season. His last whip offence was in July 2018, so his record is clear, Mr Renault said. He referred the Committee to the sliding scale of penalties under the Regulations – for a first breach in the range of 11-13 strikes, a fine of $200.
Reasons for Penalty:
The penalty is prescribed in the Regulations for a first breach in the range of 11-13 strikes as a fine of $200. In this case, there were no aggravating or mitigating factors requiring an uplift or a discount. The Regulations call for a fine of $200 for this breach.
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: f77456fc14abe6908723522e4a93d4cf
informantnumber: A11418
horsename:
hearing_racingtype:
startdate: no date provided
newcharge: Excessive Use of Whip
plea: admitted
penaltyrequired: 1
decisiondate: 05/06/2019
hearing_title: Ashburton TC 2 June 2019 - R 6 - Chair, Mr R McKenzie
charge:
facts:
Following the running Race 6, Chertsey Trotting Club Mobile Pace, an information was filed by Stipendiary Steward, Mr S P Renault, against Licensed Open Driver, Mr R D Close, alleging that Mr Close, as the driver of BRINGITONHOME in the race, “used his whip on more occasions than permitted by Clause (b) of the Use of the Whip Regulations”.
Mr Close had signed the Statement by the Respondent on the information form indicating that he admitted the breach. He had also signed the information indicating that he did not wish to be present at the hearing.
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 Renault had a video replay of the final 400 metres of the race shown to the hearing. He pointed out BRINGITONHOME, driven by Mr Close, racing in the trail behind the leader, ALTA ORLANDO, as the field turned into the final straight. From that point, Mr Renault alleged, Mr Close had used his whip, in his left hand, on eleven occasions to the finishing line, excluding “a little flick” in the middle. The Committee noted that BRINGITONHOME finished in 4th placing.
Mr Renault confirmed that Mr Close had seen the video replay and accepted the alleged count of eleven.
appealdecision:
isappeal:
submissionsfordecision:
reasonsfordecision:
Decision:
Mr Close having admitted the breach, the charge was found proved.
sumissionsforpenalty:
Mr Renault told the Committee that Mr Close has had 323 drives to date in the current season. His last whip offence was in July 2018, so his record is clear, Mr Renault said. He referred the Committee to the sliding scale of penalties under the Regulations – for a first breach in the range of 11-13 strikes, a fine of $200.
reasonsforpenalty:
The penalty is prescribed in the Regulations for a first breach in the range of 11-13 strikes as a fine of $200. In this case, there were no aggravating or mitigating factors requiring an uplift or a discount. The Regulations call for a fine of $200 for this breach.
penalty:
Mr Close is fined the sum of $200.
hearing_type: Hearing
Rules: 869(2)& Use of the Whip Regulations
Informant: S P Renault, Stipendiary Steward
JockeysandTrainer: R D Close, Licensed Open Horseman
Otherperson:
PersonPresent:
Respondent:
StipendSteward:
raceid: 15a2d5aad8146e8e71b74a3b8db8157d
race_expapproval:
racecancelled: 0
race_noreport: 0
race_emailed1: 0
race_emailed2: 0
race_title: R6
submittochair:
race_expappcomment:
race_km:
race_otherexp:
race_chair:
race_pm1:
race_pm2:
meetid: a56c1fcd5b2a9e6cc6d5574a28a74fd5
meet_expapproval:
meet_noreport: 0
waitingforpublication: 0
meet_emailed1: 0
meet_emailed2: 0
meetdate: 02/06/2019
meet_title: Ashburton TC - 2 June 2019
meet_expappcomment:
meet_km:
meet_otherexp:
tracklocation: ashburton-tc
meet_racingtype: harness-racing
meet_chair: RMcKenzie
meet_pm1: GClapp
meet_pm2: none
name: Ashburton TC