Archive Decision

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Auckland TC 8 February 2019 – R 10 – Chair, Mr G Jones

ID: JCA11934

Applicant:
Mr J Muirhead – Senior Stipendiary Steward

Respondent(s):
Mr T Mitchell - Licensed Open Horseman

Information Number:
A10719

Hearing Type:
Hearing

New Charge:
Contravention of Whip Regulations

Rules:
Breach of Rule 869(2)(a)

Plea:
admitted

Meet Title:
Auckland TC - 8 February 2019

Meet Chair:
GJones

Meet Committee Member 1:
ASmith

Race Date:
2019/02/08

Race Number:
R10

Decision:

The charge is admitted and therefore proved.

Penalty:

We fine Mr Mitchell sum of $200. 

Facts:

This charge arises from the running of Race 10, the Breckon Farms Young Guns Series (Heat 4) Mobile Pace 1700. An Information was filed by Senior Stipendiary Steward Mr J Muirhead alleging Licensed Open Horseman; Mr T Mitchell breached Rule 869(2)(a) in that he used his whip driving EAGLE WATCH over the final 400 metres on more occasions than permitted by the use of whip regulations.

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 Mitchell admitted the breach and indicated that he did not wish to be present at the hearing and endorsed the information accordingly.

Senior Stipendiary Steward Mr Muirhead used available video footage to demonstrate the breach. He identified that inside the concluding 400 metres of the race, EAGLE WATCH (Mr Mitchell) was racing near the rear of the field. He said that from the straight entrance to the winning post Mr Mitchell used his whip 11 times.

As Mr Mitchell did not attend the hearing, he did not offer an explanation.

Submissions for Penalty:

Mr Muirhead advised that Mr Mitchell has a clear record under the whip rule. He did not identify any aggravating factors and submitted that a $200 fine would be an appropriate penalty.

Reasons for Penalty:

The JCA Penalty Guide for a 1st breach of this rule establishes starting points, on a graduated scale, based on the number of strikes.

These are as follows:

11 - 13 $200
14 - 16 $300
17 and over $500

The Committee has reviewed the video footage of the final 400 meters of the race. It is clear that Mr Mitchell used his whip 11 times. The force used was moderate. There are no aggravating factors and accordingly we have no compelling reasons 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: 31520b45a4a1419042e95c511214ef0c


informantnumber: A10719


horsename:


hearing_racingtype:


startdate: no date provided


newcharge: Contravention of Whip Regulations


plea: admitted


penaltyrequired: 1


decisiondate: 09/02/2019


hearing_title: Auckland TC 8 February 2019 - R 10 – Chair, Mr G Jones


charge:


facts:

This charge arises from the running of Race 10, the Breckon Farms Young Guns Series (Heat 4) Mobile Pace 1700. An Information was filed by Senior Stipendiary Steward Mr J Muirhead alleging Licensed Open Horseman; Mr T Mitchell breached Rule 869(2)(a) in that he used his whip driving EAGLE WATCH over the final 400 metres on more occasions than permitted by the use of whip regulations.

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 Mitchell admitted the breach and indicated that he did not wish to be present at the hearing and endorsed the information accordingly.

Senior Stipendiary Steward Mr Muirhead used available video footage to demonstrate the breach. He identified that inside the concluding 400 metres of the race, EAGLE WATCH (Mr Mitchell) was racing near the rear of the field. He said that from the straight entrance to the winning post Mr Mitchell used his whip 11 times.

As Mr Mitchell did not attend the hearing, he did not offer an explanation.


appealdecision:


isappeal:


submissionsfordecision:


reasonsfordecision:


Decision:

The charge is admitted and therefore proved.


sumissionsforpenalty:

Mr Muirhead advised that Mr Mitchell has a clear record under the whip rule. He did not identify any aggravating factors and submitted that a $200 fine would be an appropriate penalty.


reasonsforpenalty:

The JCA Penalty Guide for a 1st breach of this rule establishes starting points, on a graduated scale, based on the number of strikes.

These are as follows:

11 - 13 $200
14 - 16 $300
17 and over $500

The Committee has reviewed the video footage of the final 400 meters of the race. It is clear that Mr Mitchell used his whip 11 times. The force used was moderate. There are no aggravating factors and accordingly we have no compelling reasons to deviate from the $200 starting point. 


penalty:

We fine Mr Mitchell sum of $200. 


hearing_type: Hearing


Rules: Breach of Rule 869(2)(a)


Informant: Mr J Muirhead – Senior Stipendiary Steward


JockeysandTrainer: Mr T Mitchell - Licensed Open Horseman


Otherperson:


PersonPresent:


Respondent:


StipendSteward:


raceid: 3294948d675ec74c576dd5f56e858d68


race_expapproval:


racecancelled: 0


race_noreport: 0


race_emailed1: 0


race_emailed2: 0


race_title: R10


submittochair:


race_expappcomment:


race_km:


race_otherexp:


race_chair:


race_pm1:


race_pm2:


meetid: 8081c27a95b153600499a388ce6d9004


meet_expapproval:


meet_noreport: 0


waitingforpublication: 0


meet_emailed1: 0


meet_emailed2: 0


meetdate: 08/02/2019


meet_title: Auckland TC - 8 February 2019


meet_expappcomment:


meet_km:


meet_otherexp:


tracklocation: auckland-tc


meet_racingtype: harness-racing


meet_chair: GJones


meet_pm1: ASmith


meet_pm2: none


name: Auckland TC