Bay of Plenty HRC 17 October 2013 – R 8
ID: JCA11195
Meet Title:
Bay of Plenty HRC - 17 October 2013
Meet Chair:
AGodsalve
Meet Committee Member 1:
BScott
Race Date:
2013/10/17
Race Number:
R8
Decision:
As this breach was admitted we find the charge proved.
Penalty:
For the reasons set out above we impose a fine of $200 upon Mr Brownlee.
Charge:
Improper Driving
Facts:
Following the running of race 8, the Gartshore Group Mobile Pace, an Information was filed pursuant to Rules 869(2)(a) and Rule 867. The Informant, Mr Wallis, alleged that Mr Brownlee used his whip in an improper manner by driving with his foot out of the footrest and striking his horse on numerous occasions throughout the run home.
Mr Brownlee acknowledged that he understood the nature of the charge and that he admitted the breach.
Rule 869(2)(a) states:
"No horseman shall during any race use his whip in an unnecessary, excessive or improper manner"
Rule 867 states:
"Every horseman shall drive throughout the race with both feet in the rests of the sulky provided for that purpose".
Submissions for Decision:
Mr Wallis demonstrated on the video film of the race and showed that as the field turned into the home straight on the final occasion, Mr Brownlee's horse G J SEELSTAR was trailing the leading horse and moved inwards to take advantage of the passing lane. He pointed out that Mr Brownlee then dropped his right foot out of the sulky rest and proceeded to strike his horse twice on the right hand side. He then showed Mr Brownlee striking his horse three times on the left hand side in a 'backhand' fashion.
Mr Brownlee stated that the facts were 'self explanatory' and that as the finish was close he had forgotten about the Rules momentarily and his foot had slipped out of the footrest. He added that the 'backhanders' he had given the horse actually hadn't hit the horse itself but that he had struck the sulky instead.
For the record Mr Brownlee's horse G J SEELSTAR finished second in the race, beaten by one length.
Submissions for Penalty:
Mr Wallis submitted that the JCA penalty guide recommended that a fine of $300 or a 6 drive suspension was the starting point for a breach of this Rule. He added that Mr Brownlee had a 'clear' record in respect of breaches of this type, and that in the Stewards opinion a fine of $200 would be appropriate.
Mr Brownlee stated that he did not drive in races often and that he felt a fine at the lower end of the scale would be appropriate.
Reasons for Penalty:
The Committee considered the evidence and submissions presented.
We take into account Mr Brownlee's frank admission of the breach and that he may have overlooked the Rules governing whip use in his excitement at being in a challenging position. Mr Brownlee is aware that his use of the whip in the home straight of this race was unacceptable.
We assess the breach of the Rule to be at the lower end of the scale of seriousness.
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: 10604faeddfdb1fa3f1a27beca849bc2
informantnumber: A1897
horsename:
hearing_racingtype:
startdate: no date provided
newcharge:
plea: admitted
penaltyrequired: 1
decisiondate: 09/10/2013
hearing_title: Bay of Plenty HRC 17 October 2013 - R 8
charge:
Improper Driving
facts:
Following the running of race 8, the Gartshore Group Mobile Pace, an Information was filed pursuant to Rules 869(2)(a) and Rule 867. The Informant, Mr Wallis, alleged that Mr Brownlee used his whip in an improper manner by driving with his foot out of the footrest and striking his horse on numerous occasions throughout the run home.
Mr Brownlee acknowledged that he understood the nature of the charge and that he admitted the breach.
Rule 869(2)(a) states:
"No horseman shall during any race use his whip in an unnecessary, excessive or improper manner"
Rule 867 states:
"Every horseman shall drive throughout the race with both feet in the rests of the sulky provided for that purpose".
appealdecision:
isappeal:
submissionsfordecision:
Mr Wallis demonstrated on the video film of the race and showed that as the field turned into the home straight on the final occasion, Mr Brownlee's horse G J SEELSTAR was trailing the leading horse and moved inwards to take advantage of the passing lane. He pointed out that Mr Brownlee then dropped his right foot out of the sulky rest and proceeded to strike his horse twice on the right hand side. He then showed Mr Brownlee striking his horse three times on the left hand side in a 'backhand' fashion.
Mr Brownlee stated that the facts were 'self explanatory' and that as the finish was close he had forgotten about the Rules momentarily and his foot had slipped out of the footrest. He added that the 'backhanders' he had given the horse actually hadn't hit the horse itself but that he had struck the sulky instead.
For the record Mr Brownlee's horse G J SEELSTAR finished second in the race, beaten by one length.
reasonsfordecision:
Decision:
As this breach was admitted we find the charge proved.
sumissionsforpenalty:
Mr Wallis submitted that the JCA penalty guide recommended that a fine of $300 or a 6 drive suspension was the starting point for a breach of this Rule. He added that Mr Brownlee had a 'clear' record in respect of breaches of this type, and that in the Stewards opinion a fine of $200 would be appropriate.
Mr Brownlee stated that he did not drive in races often and that he felt a fine at the lower end of the scale would be appropriate.
reasonsforpenalty:
The Committee considered the evidence and submissions presented.
We take into account Mr Brownlee's frank admission of the breach and that he may have overlooked the Rules governing whip use in his excitement at being in a challenging position. Mr Brownlee is aware that his use of the whip in the home straight of this race was unacceptable.
We assess the breach of the Rule to be at the lower end of the scale of seriousness.
penalty:
For the reasons set out above we impose a fine of $200 upon Mr Brownlee.
hearing_type: Hearing
Rules: Rule 869(2)(a)and Rule 867
Informant: Ms S Wallis - Stipendiary Steward
JockeysandTrainer: Mr I Brownlee - Open Horseman
Otherperson:
PersonPresent:
Respondent:
StipendSteward:
raceid: 6ddc5e3334b00f327759012ce0dec1bf
race_expapproval:
racecancelled: 0
race_noreport: 0
race_emailed1: 0
race_emailed2: 0
race_title: R8
submittochair:
race_expappcomment:
race_km:
race_otherexp:
race_chair:
race_pm1:
race_pm2:
meetid: 4f2d84ab2a8413a426d64b9eb87b804e
meet_expapproval:
meet_noreport: 0
waitingforpublication: 0
meet_emailed1: 0
meet_emailed2: 0
meetdate: 17/10/2013
meet_title: Bay of Plenty HRC - 17 October 2013
meet_expappcomment:
meet_km:
meet_otherexp:
tracklocation: bay-of-plenty-hrc
meet_racingtype: harness-racing
meet_chair: AGodsalve
meet_pm1: BScott
meet_pm2: none
name: Bay of Plenty HRC