Counties RC 25 February 2021 – R 4 – Chair, Mr A Smith
ID: JCA10835
Code:
Thoroughbred
Meet Title:
Counties RC - 25 February 2021
Meet Chair:
ASmith
Meet Committee Member 1:
BScott
Race Date:
2021/02/25
Race Number:
R4
Decision:
As Mr May admitted the breach the charge is proved.
Penalty:
Mr May’s license to ride in races is suspended from the conclusion of racing on the 27th of February to the conclusion of racing on the 10th of March (4 national days). In addition we impose a $500 fine.
Facts:
This charge arises from the running of Race No 4, the NZB Insurance Pearl Series Race (1400m). Stipendiary Steward Mr Coles filed an Information pursuant to Rule 638(3)(b)(ii) alleging that Class A Rider Mr B May used the whip excessively on his mount DESERT ROSE prior to the 100 metres.
Mr May acknowledged he understood the nature of the charge and the relevant Rule. He confirmed his admission of the breach.
Rule 638 (3)(b)(ii) provides:
A Rider shall not strike a horse with a whip in a manner or to an extent which is:
(i)-Unnecessary, or
(ii)-Excessive, or
(iii)-Improper
Without effecting the generality of Rule 638(3)(b), a rider may be penalised if their whip use is outside of the following guidelines:
Flat Races
Prior to the 100-metre mark in a race, official trial or jump out:
(i)The whip should not be used on more than 5 occasions.
(ii)The whip should not be used in consecutive strides.
(iii)The rider may at their discretion use the whip with a slapping motion down the shoulder, with the whip hand remaining on the reins.
In the final 100 metres, the whip may be used at the rider’s discretion.
Using available video footage Miss Algar demonstrated that Mr May used his whip on 8 occasions from the straight entrance to the 100-metre mark. Mr Coles added that Mr May stopped using his whip between 200m and the 100m, but at that point the breach had already occurred.
In response Mr May agreed that he struck his mount 8 times and had nothing further to add.
Submissions for Penalty:
Mr Coles produced Mr May’s record which showed two previous breaches in the preceding 6 months, this being his 3rd breach. The previous breaches had occurred on the 5th of September which resulted in a $300 fine and the 8th of November which resulted in a $500 fine. Mr Coles submitted that the starting point for a 3rd breach was a $2000 fine and a 2 day suspension, however added that due to Mr May’s limited riding opportunities that the fine could be difficult for Mr May to pay and asked if the judicial panel could consider an extended suspension with a smaller fine.
Mr May confirmed that a monetary penalty of $2000 would cause him some difficulty and asked if the Committee could consider an increased term of suspension in lieu of a fine.
Mr May confirmed that he was not seeking a deferment of any proposed suspension.
Reasons for Penalty:
The Committee considered all the evidence and submissions presented. When reviewing the video films, we confirmed that Mr May struck his mount on 8 occasions. The strikes were not continuous or overly forceful.
The JCA Penalty Guide establishes the starting point for a third breach of Rule 638(3) (b) (ii) has a starting point of $2000 fine and 2 day suspension. We also note that the starting point for a 4th breach does not reference a fine but is simply a suspension of 5 days.
Although the Penalty Guide sets out recommended starting points there is limited discretion to impose penalties that are significantly less than the starting point for whip breaches, as whip breaches are quite rightly viewed as an animal welfare issue. In order to deviate from the Guide there would need to be compelling mitigation or exceptional circumstances.
In determining penalty the Committee had regard for the submissions from both the Stipendiary Stewards and Mr May in relation to the difficulty a $2000 fine would impose on Mr May’s personal circumstances and financial situation. On this basis the Committee accepts that a reduced fine and an increased period of suspension is appropriate.
At the conclusion of the hearing Mr May was reminded by the Committee of his obligations in relation to the whip and that he needed to improve the level of his whip use to remain within the Guidelines.
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: 0b53ce4519bad88e7bf6e0cf39b02c76
informantnumber: A13838
horsename:
hearing_racingtype:
startdate: no date provided
newcharge: Excessive use of whip
plea: admitted
penaltyrequired: 1
decisiondate: 26/02/2021
hearing_title: Counties RC 25 February 2021 - R 4 - Chair, Mr A Smith
charge:
facts:
This charge arises from the running of Race No 4, the NZB Insurance Pearl Series Race (1400m). Stipendiary Steward Mr Coles filed an Information pursuant to Rule 638(3)(b)(ii) alleging that Class A Rider Mr B May used the whip excessively on his mount DESERT ROSE prior to the 100 metres.
Mr May acknowledged he understood the nature of the charge and the relevant Rule. He confirmed his admission of the breach.
Rule 638 (3)(b)(ii) provides:
A Rider shall not strike a horse with a whip in a manner or to an extent which is:
(i)-Unnecessary, or
(ii)-Excessive, or
(iii)-Improper
Without effecting the generality of Rule 638(3)(b), a rider may be penalised if their whip use is outside of the following guidelines:
Flat Races
Prior to the 100-metre mark in a race, official trial or jump out:
(i)The whip should not be used on more than 5 occasions.
(ii)The whip should not be used in consecutive strides.
(iii)The rider may at their discretion use the whip with a slapping motion down the shoulder, with the whip hand remaining on the reins.
In the final 100 metres, the whip may be used at the rider’s discretion.
Using available video footage Miss Algar demonstrated that Mr May used his whip on 8 occasions from the straight entrance to the 100-metre mark. Mr Coles added that Mr May stopped using his whip between 200m and the 100m, but at that point the breach had already occurred.
In response Mr May agreed that he struck his mount 8 times and had nothing further to add.
appealdecision:
isappeal:
submissionsfordecision:
reasonsfordecision:
Decision:
As Mr May admitted the breach the charge is proved.
sumissionsforpenalty:
Mr Coles produced Mr May’s record which showed two previous breaches in the preceding 6 months, this being his 3rd breach. The previous breaches had occurred on the 5th of September which resulted in a $300 fine and the 8th of November which resulted in a $500 fine. Mr Coles submitted that the starting point for a 3rd breach was a $2000 fine and a 2 day suspension, however added that due to Mr May’s limited riding opportunities that the fine could be difficult for Mr May to pay and asked if the judicial panel could consider an extended suspension with a smaller fine.
Mr May confirmed that a monetary penalty of $2000 would cause him some difficulty and asked if the Committee could consider an increased term of suspension in lieu of a fine.
Mr May confirmed that he was not seeking a deferment of any proposed suspension.
reasonsforpenalty:
The Committee considered all the evidence and submissions presented. When reviewing the video films, we confirmed that Mr May struck his mount on 8 occasions. The strikes were not continuous or overly forceful.
The JCA Penalty Guide establishes the starting point for a third breach of Rule 638(3) (b) (ii) has a starting point of $2000 fine and 2 day suspension. We also note that the starting point for a 4th breach does not reference a fine but is simply a suspension of 5 days.
Although the Penalty Guide sets out recommended starting points there is limited discretion to impose penalties that are significantly less than the starting point for whip breaches, as whip breaches are quite rightly viewed as an animal welfare issue. In order to deviate from the Guide there would need to be compelling mitigation or exceptional circumstances.
In determining penalty the Committee had regard for the submissions from both the Stipendiary Stewards and Mr May in relation to the difficulty a $2000 fine would impose on Mr May’s personal circumstances and financial situation. On this basis the Committee accepts that a reduced fine and an increased period of suspension is appropriate.
At the conclusion of the hearing Mr May was reminded by the Committee of his obligations in relation to the whip and that he needed to improve the level of his whip use to remain within the Guidelines.
penalty:
Mr May’s license to ride in races is suspended from the conclusion of racing on the 27th of February to the conclusion of racing on the 10th of March (4 national days). In addition we impose a $500 fine.
hearing_type: Hearing
Rules: 638(3)(b)(ii)
Informant: Mr A Coles - Stipendiary Steward
JockeysandTrainer: Mr B May - Licensed Rider of DESERT ROSE
Otherperson: Ms V Algar - Stipendiary Steward
PersonPresent:
Respondent:
StipendSteward:
raceid: c6989c0e35620af71365db56a31723fd
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: 81bc25d9615d109edbcaf4cd7eaa599e
meet_expapproval:
meet_noreport: 0
waitingforpublication: 0
meet_emailed1: 0
meet_emailed2: 0
meetdate: 25/02/2021
meet_title: Counties RC - 25 February 2021
meet_expappcomment:
meet_km:
meet_otherexp:
tracklocation: counties-rc
meet_racingtype: thoroughbred-racing
meet_chair: ASmith
meet_pm1: BScott
meet_pm2: none
name: Counties RC