Banks Peninsula TC 15 March 2020 – R 5 – Chair, Mr R G McKenzie
ID: JCA11857
Meet Title:
Banks Peninsula TC - 15 March 2020
Meet Chair:
RMcKenzie
Meet Committee Member 1:
LYong
Meet Committee Member 2:
DAnderson
Race Date:
2020/03/15
Race Number:
R 5
Decision:
Mr Hunt having admitted the breach, the charge was found proved.
Penalty:
Mr Hunt is fined the sum of $200.
Facts:
Following the running of Race 5, Enterprise Recruitment Trot, an information was filed by Stipendiary Steward, Mr P Williams, against Licensed Open Driver, Mr G W Hunt, alleging that, as the driver of FOREIGNER in the race, he “used his whip on more occasions than permitted by Clause (b) of the Use of Whip Regulations”.
Mr Hunt had signed the Statement by the Respondent on the information form indicating that he admitted the breach and he confirmed this at the hearing at which he was present.
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 Williams showed to the hearing a video replay of the final 400 metres of the race. He pointed out FOREIGNER, driven by Mr Hunt, one of the widest runners and towards the rear of the field on the turn into the home straight. Mr Williams alleged that, from that point, Mr Hunt used his whip on 11 occasions in the run to the finishing line. There was a “long gap” between the 10th and 11th strikes, Mr Williams said. Mr Hunt accepted that it was plain that there had been 11 strikes. The Committee was satisfied, from its own observation of the replay, that the alleged count was accurate.
Mr Hunt said that the horse had been out of form and, he suspected, not trying and he had probably hit it more than ever before and it had run on the best that it ever has. However, he was clear that he did not wish to excuse his actions.
The Committee noted that FOREIGNER finished in 3rd placing.
Submissions for Penalty:
Mr Williams said that Mr Hunt is an infrequent driver. He has had 17 drives this season and, last season, had a total of 19 drives. His record under the rule is clear.
Mr Williams then referred the Committee to the penalty prescribed in the regulations for an admitted first breach, which this is deemed to be, in the range of 11-13 strikes of a $200 fine.
Mr Hunt said that the breach was only one strike over the limit, but he accepted that the penalty recommended by Mr Williams was the penalty that he had to accept.
Reasons for Penalty:
The Use of the Whip Regulations sets out a penalty of a fine of $200 for a first breach in the range of 11-13 strikes, which was the case here. In this instance, there are no aggravating factors and no relevant mitigating factors so a fine of $200 is applicable.
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: 2881dd9fb0b0a5847145ba1370897f4d
informantnumber: A13169
horsename:
hearing_racingtype:
startdate: no date provided
newcharge: Contravention of the Use of the Whip Regulations
plea: admitted
penaltyrequired: 1
decisiondate: 18/03/2020
hearing_title: Banks Peninsula TC 15 March 2020 - R 5 - Chair, Mr R G McKenzie
charge:
facts:
Following the running of Race 5, Enterprise Recruitment Trot, an information was filed by Stipendiary Steward, Mr P Williams, against Licensed Open Driver, Mr G W Hunt, alleging that, as the driver of FOREIGNER in the race, he “used his whip on more occasions than permitted by Clause (b) of the Use of Whip Regulations”.
Mr Hunt had signed the Statement by the Respondent on the information form indicating that he admitted the breach and he confirmed this at the hearing at which he was present.
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 Williams showed to the hearing a video replay of the final 400 metres of the race. He pointed out FOREIGNER, driven by Mr Hunt, one of the widest runners and towards the rear of the field on the turn into the home straight. Mr Williams alleged that, from that point, Mr Hunt used his whip on 11 occasions in the run to the finishing line. There was a “long gap” between the 10th and 11th strikes, Mr Williams said. Mr Hunt accepted that it was plain that there had been 11 strikes. The Committee was satisfied, from its own observation of the replay, that the alleged count was accurate.
Mr Hunt said that the horse had been out of form and, he suspected, not trying and he had probably hit it more than ever before and it had run on the best that it ever has. However, he was clear that he did not wish to excuse his actions.
The Committee noted that FOREIGNER finished in 3rd placing.
appealdecision:
isappeal:
submissionsfordecision:
reasonsfordecision:
Decision:
Mr Hunt having admitted the breach, the charge was found proved.
sumissionsforpenalty:
Mr Williams said that Mr Hunt is an infrequent driver. He has had 17 drives this season and, last season, had a total of 19 drives. His record under the rule is clear.
Mr Williams then referred the Committee to the penalty prescribed in the regulations for an admitted first breach, which this is deemed to be, in the range of 11-13 strikes of a $200 fine.
Mr Hunt said that the breach was only one strike over the limit, but he accepted that the penalty recommended by Mr Williams was the penalty that he had to accept.
reasonsforpenalty:
The Use of the Whip Regulations sets out a penalty of a fine of $200 for a first breach in the range of 11-13 strikes, which was the case here. In this instance, there are no aggravating factors and no relevant mitigating factors so a fine of $200 is applicable.
penalty:
Mr Hunt is fined the sum of $200.
hearing_type: Hearing
Rules: 869(2)(a) & Use of the Whip Regulations
Informant: Mr P Williams - Stipendiary Steward
JockeysandTrainer: Mr G W Hunt - Licensed Open Driver
Otherperson:
PersonPresent:
Respondent:
StipendSteward:
raceid: b18f155ef75ffeec2b8faab03d11188c
race_expapproval:
racecancelled: 0
race_noreport: 0
race_emailed1: 0
race_emailed2: 0
race_title: R 5
submittochair:
race_expappcomment:
race_km:
race_otherexp:
race_chair:
race_pm1:
race_pm2:
meetid: 0e8fa4deafe240f1006ee45c4438717b
meet_expapproval:
meet_noreport: 0
waitingforpublication: 0
meet_emailed1: 0
meet_emailed2: 0
meetdate: 15/03/2020
meet_title: Banks Peninsula TC - 15 March 2020
meet_expappcomment:
meet_km:
meet_otherexp:
tracklocation: banks-peninsula-tc
meet_racingtype: harness-racing
meet_chair: RMcKenzie
meet_pm1: LYong
meet_pm2: DAnderson
name: Banks Peninsula TC