Auckland RC 3 June 2019 – R 5 – Chair, Mr G Jones
ID: JCA12592
Code:
Thoroughbred
Meet Title:
Auckland RC - 3 June 2019
Meet Chair:
GJones
Meet Committee Member 1:
ADooley
Race Date:
2019/06/03
Race Number:
R4
Decision:
As Mr Myers admitted the breach the charge is proved.
Penalty:
Accordingly, Mr Myers is fined the sum of $400.
Facts:
This charge arises from the running of race 5, the Celebrating Glory Days Avondale and Auckland Cup Victories 2200. An Information was filed pursuant to Rule 638(3)(b)(ii) alleging that Class E (Amateur Rider) Mr L Myers used his whip excessively when riding MIZZENA prior to the 100 metres.
Mr Myers acknowledged that he understood the nature of the charge and the relevant Rule. He confirmed his admission of the breach. Mr Myers is 15 years old and accordingly due to his youth he was offered support at the hearing. He declined the offer.
Rule 638(3)(b)(ii) provides that a Rider shall not:
(ii) strike a horse with a whip in a manner or to an extent which is excessive
The “Guidelines with Respect to Acceptable Use of the Whip” provide:
Without affecting the generality of Rule 638(3) (b) a rider may be penalised if their whip use is outside of the following guidelines:
Inside the final 600 metres of any Race, official trial or jump-out a horse may be struck with the drawn whip up to five times after which the rider must cease their use of the whip for a minimum of five strides before striking the horse again with the drawn whip, with this restriction to apply prior to the final 100 metres. The whip may then be used at the rider’s discretion until the winning post is reached.
Prior to the final 600 metres of a race, official trial or jump-out the use of the drawn whip is acceptable if used in moderation and not continually.
Using available video footage Stipendiary Steward Mr B Jones demonstrated the breach. He identified MIZZENA entering the home straight wide out on the track. He said that Mr Myers used his whip at least 14 times prior to the final 100 metres and added that there was no more than 4 strides respite between any of the strikes.
Mr Myers advised the Committee that he agreed with the Stewards' interpretation of the breach and had nothing further to say by way of explanation.
Submissions for Penalty:
Mr Oatham produced Mr Myers' record which showed one previous breach under this Rule in the last 12 months. This occurred on 15 August 2018 and resulted in a $250 fine. He said that a fine would be an appropriate penalty for this breach and he reminded the Committee that Amateur Jockeys ride infrequently for no monetary gain. He said Mr Myers' riding style was untidy and there was a pause for 4 strides, albeit not the required 5. He added that although he incurred a $250 fine for his first breach of the rule, a similar ($250) monetary fine would suffice on this occasion due to Mr Myers' status.
Mr Myers said that he accepted the Stewards' submission as to quantum of fine. In response to questions from the Committee Mr Myers said that he was still attending school and had no financial means to pay a fine, but if given the choice between a suspension or fine he would prefer a fine.
The Committee was advised that Mr Myers has had 8 career rides to date.
Reasons for Penalty:
The Committee considered all the evidence and submissions presented. Given that this was a whip breach, animal welfare was at the forefront of our decision making. We reviewed the race film and confirmed that Mr Myers struck his mount 14 times with no more than 4 strides respite. It is also noteworthy that MIZZENA won the race by a short margin (a head).
The JCA Guide establishes the starting point for a 2nd admitted breach is a $500 fine. Ordinarily for whip breaches we are reluctant to impose a fine less than the starting point unless there are exceptional or extenuating circumstances, in which case we may do so in the exercise of our discretion.
We assessed the breach as mid-range after taking into account the number of strikes and the force used by Mr Myers.
In mitigation we had due regard for Mr Myers' Amateur status; his limited number of career rides and the fact that he is a student with no earning capacity.
We did consider a suspension as an option but given the limited number of available meetings providing races for Amateur riders, we opted for a fine; and therefore after taking into account all the above factors the Committee considers a fine of $400 appropriate. This reflects the fact that professional riders are able to off-set any fine, in part, with their riding fee, whereas Amateur riders do not receive a riding fee. Further as a 15 year old college student, we recognised that Mr Myers has limited means to pay a fine. The $100 reduction from the starting point reflects these two factors.
Mr Myers was reminded by the Committee of his future obligations. Specifically he was advised that a 3rd breach of this Rule within 12 months would result in a suspension.
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: 3bd7c3cd3bc559c9a98fc6df3e42d525
informantnumber: A11516
horsename:
hearing_racingtype:
startdate: no date provided
newcharge: Excessive use of whip
plea: admitted
penaltyrequired: 1
decisiondate: 04/06/2019
hearing_title: Auckland RC 3 June 2019 – R 5 - Chair, Mr G Jones
charge:
facts:
This charge arises from the running of race 5, the Celebrating Glory Days Avondale and Auckland Cup Victories 2200. An Information was filed pursuant to Rule 638(3)(b)(ii) alleging that Class E (Amateur Rider) Mr L Myers used his whip excessively when riding MIZZENA prior to the 100 metres.
Mr Myers acknowledged that he understood the nature of the charge and the relevant Rule. He confirmed his admission of the breach. Mr Myers is 15 years old and accordingly due to his youth he was offered support at the hearing. He declined the offer.
Rule 638(3)(b)(ii) provides that a Rider shall not:
(ii) strike a horse with a whip in a manner or to an extent which is excessive
The “Guidelines with Respect to Acceptable Use of the Whip” provide:
Without affecting the generality of Rule 638(3) (b) a rider may be penalised if their whip use is outside of the following guidelines:
Inside the final 600 metres of any Race, official trial or jump-out a horse may be struck with the drawn whip up to five times after which the rider must cease their use of the whip for a minimum of five strides before striking the horse again with the drawn whip, with this restriction to apply prior to the final 100 metres. The whip may then be used at the rider’s discretion until the winning post is reached.
Prior to the final 600 metres of a race, official trial or jump-out the use of the drawn whip is acceptable if used in moderation and not continually.
Using available video footage Stipendiary Steward Mr B Jones demonstrated the breach. He identified MIZZENA entering the home straight wide out on the track. He said that Mr Myers used his whip at least 14 times prior to the final 100 metres and added that there was no more than 4 strides respite between any of the strikes.
Mr Myers advised the Committee that he agreed with the Stewards' interpretation of the breach and had nothing further to say by way of explanation.
appealdecision:
isappeal:
submissionsfordecision:
reasonsfordecision:
Decision:
As Mr Myers admitted the breach the charge is proved.
sumissionsforpenalty:
Mr Oatham produced Mr Myers' record which showed one previous breach under this Rule in the last 12 months. This occurred on 15 August 2018 and resulted in a $250 fine. He said that a fine would be an appropriate penalty for this breach and he reminded the Committee that Amateur Jockeys ride infrequently for no monetary gain. He said Mr Myers' riding style was untidy and there was a pause for 4 strides, albeit not the required 5. He added that although he incurred a $250 fine for his first breach of the rule, a similar ($250) monetary fine would suffice on this occasion due to Mr Myers' status.
Mr Myers said that he accepted the Stewards' submission as to quantum of fine. In response to questions from the Committee Mr Myers said that he was still attending school and had no financial means to pay a fine, but if given the choice between a suspension or fine he would prefer a fine.
The Committee was advised that Mr Myers has had 8 career rides to date.
reasonsforpenalty:
The Committee considered all the evidence and submissions presented. Given that this was a whip breach, animal welfare was at the forefront of our decision making. We reviewed the race film and confirmed that Mr Myers struck his mount 14 times with no more than 4 strides respite. It is also noteworthy that MIZZENA won the race by a short margin (a head).
The JCA Guide establishes the starting point for a 2nd admitted breach is a $500 fine. Ordinarily for whip breaches we are reluctant to impose a fine less than the starting point unless there are exceptional or extenuating circumstances, in which case we may do so in the exercise of our discretion.
We assessed the breach as mid-range after taking into account the number of strikes and the force used by Mr Myers.
In mitigation we had due regard for Mr Myers' Amateur status; his limited number of career rides and the fact that he is a student with no earning capacity.
We did consider a suspension as an option but given the limited number of available meetings providing races for Amateur riders, we opted for a fine; and therefore after taking into account all the above factors the Committee considers a fine of $400 appropriate. This reflects the fact that professional riders are able to off-set any fine, in part, with their riding fee, whereas Amateur riders do not receive a riding fee. Further as a 15 year old college student, we recognised that Mr Myers has limited means to pay a fine. The $100 reduction from the starting point reflects these two factors.
Mr Myers was reminded by the Committee of his future obligations. Specifically he was advised that a 3rd breach of this Rule within 12 months would result in a suspension.
penalty:
Accordingly, Mr Myers is fined the sum of $400.
hearing_type: Hearing
Rules: 638(3)(b)(ii)
Informant: Mr J Oatham - Chief Stipendiary Steward
JockeysandTrainer: Mr L Myers – Amateur (Class E) Rider of MIZZENA
Otherperson: Mr B Jones - Stipendiary Steward
PersonPresent:
Respondent:
StipendSteward:
raceid: f2bd115e19af509ce1c56f33d6c45f60
race_expapproval:
racecancelled: 0
race_noreport: 0
race_emailed1: 0
race_emailed2: 0
race_title: R4
submittochair:
race_expappcomment:
race_km:
race_otherexp:
race_chair:
race_pm1:
race_pm2:
meetid: 4829d63f96e1438b74606363610868b4
meet_expapproval:
meet_noreport: 0
waitingforpublication: 0
meet_emailed1: 0
meet_emailed2: 0
meetdate: 03/06/2019
meet_title: Auckland RC - 3 June 2019
meet_expappcomment:
meet_km:
meet_otherexp:
tracklocation: auckland-rc
meet_racingtype: thoroughbred-racing
meet_chair: GJones
meet_pm1: ADooley
meet_pm2: none
name: Auckland RC