Auckland TC 29 July 2020 – R 2 – Chair, Mr G Jones
ID: JCA11391
Meet Title:
Auckland TC - 29 July 2020
Meet Chair:
GJones
Race Date:
2020/07/29
Race Number:
R2
Decision:
The charge is admitted and therefore proved.
Penalty:
The Committee issued Mr Macfarlane with a $200 fine.
Facts:
This charge arises from the running of Race 2, the Noel Taylor Hall of Fame Mobile Pace 2200. An Information was filed by the Senior Stipendiary Steward Mr Muirhead alleging Licensed Open Horseman; Mr T Macfarlane breached Rule 869(2)(a) in that he used his whip on more occasions than permitted over the final 400 metres when driving UNFINISHED BUSINESS.
Rule 869(2)(a) provides that:
(2) No horseman shall during any race:-
(a) Use his whip in an unnecessary, excessive or improper manner.
The Use of the Whip Regulations provides that:
-The whip shall not be used more than 10 times in the last 400m of a race, this is inclusive of “backhanders” and the use applies to the horse, harness and/or sulky.
-At no stage of a race will Stewards permit continuous use of the whip. Horseman must show distinct pauses between the whip being used.
Mr MacFarlane admitted the breach and indicated that he wished to be present at the hearing. He endorsed the information accordingly.
Senior Stipendiary Steward Mr Muirhead used available video footage to demonstrate the breach. He identified that inside the final 400 metres of the race, UNFINISHED BUSINESS (Mr Macfarlane) was in the trail following the leader. Approaching the winning post UNFINISHED BUSINESS challenged for the lead and eventually finished in second place. Mr Muirhead said that Mr Macfarlane used his whip 11 times in the run up the straight.
In response Mr Macfarlane advised the Committee that he readily accepted the number of strikes was outside the permitted guidelines. He offered no further explanation.
Submissions for Penalty:
Mr Muirhead said that Mr Macfarlane has a clear record with no previous breaches of the whip rule within the reset period.
He said that the breach is at the low end of culpability and submitted it be dealt with by way of a $200 fine. He added that there are no particular aggravating factors associated with the breach.
Mr Macfarlane submitted that he had no option but to accept whatever fine is recommended in the penalty guide for a first breach of the rule. He made no further submissions as to penalty.
Reasons for Penalty:
The JCA Penalty Guide for a 1st breach of this rule establishes starting points based on the number of the number of strikes. Where the number of strikes is between 11 - 13 the recommended starting point is a $200 fine.
The video evidence shows that Mr Macfarlane used his whip on 11 occasions in the final straight. Although the whip use was not particularly forceful it was clearly outside the Use of Whip Regulations.
There are no aggravating or mitigating factors to be taken into consideration and on that basis no compelling reasons for the Committee to deviate from the $200 starting point.
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: 1a893e97f35ab2a97e9bd56cf8a69462
informantnumber: A12963
horsename:
hearing_racingtype:
startdate: no date provided
newcharge: Contravention of the use of whip regulations
plea: admitted
penaltyrequired: 1
decisiondate: 29/07/2020
hearing_title: Auckland TC 29 July 2020 – R 2 – Chair, Mr G Jones
charge:
facts:
This charge arises from the running of Race 2, the Noel Taylor Hall of Fame Mobile Pace 2200. An Information was filed by the Senior Stipendiary Steward Mr Muirhead alleging Licensed Open Horseman; Mr T Macfarlane breached Rule 869(2)(a) in that he used his whip on more occasions than permitted over the final 400 metres when driving UNFINISHED BUSINESS.
Rule 869(2)(a) provides that:
(2) No horseman shall during any race:-
(a) Use his whip in an unnecessary, excessive or improper manner.
The Use of the Whip Regulations provides that:
-The whip shall not be used more than 10 times in the last 400m of a race, this is inclusive of “backhanders” and the use applies to the horse, harness and/or sulky.
-At no stage of a race will Stewards permit continuous use of the whip. Horseman must show distinct pauses between the whip being used.
Mr MacFarlane admitted the breach and indicated that he wished to be present at the hearing. He endorsed the information accordingly.
Senior Stipendiary Steward Mr Muirhead used available video footage to demonstrate the breach. He identified that inside the final 400 metres of the race, UNFINISHED BUSINESS (Mr Macfarlane) was in the trail following the leader. Approaching the winning post UNFINISHED BUSINESS challenged for the lead and eventually finished in second place. Mr Muirhead said that Mr Macfarlane used his whip 11 times in the run up the straight.
In response Mr Macfarlane advised the Committee that he readily accepted the number of strikes was outside the permitted guidelines. He offered no further explanation.
appealdecision:
isappeal:
submissionsfordecision:
reasonsfordecision:
Decision:
The charge is admitted and therefore proved.
sumissionsforpenalty:
Mr Muirhead said that Mr Macfarlane has a clear record with no previous breaches of the whip rule within the reset period.
He said that the breach is at the low end of culpability and submitted it be dealt with by way of a $200 fine. He added that there are no particular aggravating factors associated with the breach.
Mr Macfarlane submitted that he had no option but to accept whatever fine is recommended in the penalty guide for a first breach of the rule. He made no further submissions as to penalty.
reasonsforpenalty:
The JCA Penalty Guide for a 1st breach of this rule establishes starting points based on the number of the number of strikes. Where the number of strikes is between 11 - 13 the recommended starting point is a $200 fine.
The video evidence shows that Mr Macfarlane used his whip on 11 occasions in the final straight. Although the whip use was not particularly forceful it was clearly outside the Use of Whip Regulations.
There are no aggravating or mitigating factors to be taken into consideration and on that basis no compelling reasons for the Committee to deviate from the $200 starting point.
penalty:
The Committee issued Mr Macfarlane with a $200 fine.
hearing_type: Hearing
Rules: Rule 869(2)(a) and use of whip regulations
Informant: Mr J Muirhead - Senior Stipendiary Steward
JockeysandTrainer: Mr T Macfarlane - Licensed Open Horseman
Otherperson:
PersonPresent:
Respondent:
StipendSteward:
raceid: 7f38a06acece74d1af3c1ccea492367e
race_expapproval:
racecancelled: 0
race_noreport: 0
race_emailed1: 0
race_emailed2: 0
race_title: R2
submittochair:
race_expappcomment:
race_km:
race_otherexp:
race_chair:
race_pm1:
race_pm2:
meetid: b0a3d319ab6634b9fc76a475b6920c47
meet_expapproval:
meet_noreport: 0
waitingforpublication: 0
meet_emailed1: 0
meet_emailed2: 0
meetdate: 29/07/2020
meet_title: Auckland TC - 29 July 2020
meet_expappcomment:
meet_km:
meet_otherexp:
tracklocation: auckland-tc
meet_racingtype: harness-racing
meet_chair: GJones
meet_pm1: none
meet_pm2: none
name: Auckland TC