Gore HRC 26 August 2018 – R 5 – Chair, Mr M Conway
ID: JCA16013
Meet Title:
Gore HRC - 26 August 2018
Meet Chair:
MConway
Meet Committee Member 1:
GHall
Race Date:
2018/08/26
Race Number:
R 5
Decision:
Mr Ferguson has admitted the breach and we find the breach proved. With the parties in agreement and it making no material difference to the grading of the offence, the Committee accepts that Mr Ferguson used his whip in a striking motion 12 times inside the final 400 metres.
Penalty:
Mr Ferguson is suspended from the end of racing on 2 September 2018 up to and including 23 September 2018. This takes into account his request for a 7 day deferment and represents a suspension for 3 Otago/Southland meetings.
Facts:
Following the running of Race 5, the Food Affair/Carpet Plus Willy’s Flooring Mobile Pace, an Information was filed by Stipendiary Steward, Mr Renault against Mr Ferguson, the driver of JACKS N JAZZ, alleging that he “used his whip on more occasions than permitted by clause (b) of the Use of Whip Regulations.”
Mr Ferguson signed the Information indicating that he admitted the breach and that he did not wish to be present at the hearing.
The Respondent had had an opportunity to view the race films, Mr Renault confirmed.
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 the Whip Regulations 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.
Using the race films, Mr Quirk identified JACKS N JAZZ leading for Mr Ferguson as the field ran past the 400 metre mark. Switching between the main race film and vision from the back straight, Mr Renault then counted for the benefit of the Committee what he considered to be 13 whip strikes by Mr Ferguson in the final 400 metres. Stewards contended three of the whip strikes came before he attempted to activate sliding blinds near the 220 metre mark. Mr Ferguson subsequently informed Stewards that the cord had broken and this action could not be completed. After the failed attempt to activate the sliding blinds, Mr Ferguson can be seen using the whip 10 more times in the home straight.
Mr Renault said that the Respondent had disputed the counting of one of the whip strikes while viewing the films with Stewards. The particular strike being questioned by Mr Ferguson was not specified, Mr Renault said.
Under the sliding scale outlined in the JCA Penalty Guide, a low-end breach is defined as 11 to 13 strikes inside the final 400 metres. Mr Renault pointed out that the one whip strike that had been challenged by Mr Ferguson made no difference to the grading of the alleged offence. Stewards accordingly accepted the count as 12 strikes.
Submissions for Penalty:
Mr Renault put Mr Ferguson’s record before the Committee. Mr Ferguson has had 7 drives this season and had 278 drives last season. He previously breached the rule on 9 June 2018 when he was found to have used the whip 11 times inside the final 400 metres. The penalty on that occasion was a $200 fine. Since then, Mr Ferguson has had 30 drives.
As this was the Respondent’s second breach of the rule within a six month period, Mr Renault submitted a 3 day suspension was appropriate. Mr Renault stated that Mr Ferguson was aware this was the penalty Stewards would be seeking.
Mr Ferguson had asked for any suspension to be deferred to allow him to drive at the Forbury Park meeting on Sunday 2 September. Stewards had no objections. Mr Renault said he discussed with Mr Ferguson the prospect of a suspension for the three subsequent Otago/Southland meetings, these being Winton on 8 September, Invercargill on 22 September and Oamaru on 23 September. Mr Renault said Mr Ferguson had accepted these were the meetings that would be affected by the deferral of a 3 day suspension.
Mr Renault added that Mr Ferguson had no plans to accept drives north of Oamaru in the upcoming period.
Reasons for Penalty:
Mr Ferguson used his whip 12 times inside the final 400 metres. This is his second breach of the rule in less than 3 months and, as his number of drives since the previous offence is less than 200, does not meet the threshold for a reset.
The starting point in the JCA Penalty Guide in these circumstances is a 3-day suspension.
The breach is low-range and there is no need to increase the starting point. There are no aggravating or mitigating factors.
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: af01a0666477500f507e44b8d54d0da5
informantnumber: A10536
horsename:
hearing_racingtype:
startdate: no date provided
newcharge: Excessive use of the whip
plea: admitted
penaltyrequired: 1
decisiondate: 29/08/2018
hearing_title: Gore HRC 26 August 2018 - R 5 - Chair, Mr M Conway
charge:
facts:
Following the running of Race 5, the Food Affair/Carpet Plus Willy’s Flooring Mobile Pace, an Information was filed by Stipendiary Steward, Mr Renault against Mr Ferguson, the driver of JACKS N JAZZ, alleging that he “used his whip on more occasions than permitted by clause (b) of the Use of Whip Regulations.”
Mr Ferguson signed the Information indicating that he admitted the breach and that he did not wish to be present at the hearing.
The Respondent had had an opportunity to view the race films, Mr Renault confirmed.
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 the Whip Regulations 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.
Using the race films, Mr Quirk identified JACKS N JAZZ leading for Mr Ferguson as the field ran past the 400 metre mark. Switching between the main race film and vision from the back straight, Mr Renault then counted for the benefit of the Committee what he considered to be 13 whip strikes by Mr Ferguson in the final 400 metres. Stewards contended three of the whip strikes came before he attempted to activate sliding blinds near the 220 metre mark. Mr Ferguson subsequently informed Stewards that the cord had broken and this action could not be completed. After the failed attempt to activate the sliding blinds, Mr Ferguson can be seen using the whip 10 more times in the home straight.
Mr Renault said that the Respondent had disputed the counting of one of the whip strikes while viewing the films with Stewards. The particular strike being questioned by Mr Ferguson was not specified, Mr Renault said.
Under the sliding scale outlined in the JCA Penalty Guide, a low-end breach is defined as 11 to 13 strikes inside the final 400 metres. Mr Renault pointed out that the one whip strike that had been challenged by Mr Ferguson made no difference to the grading of the alleged offence. Stewards accordingly accepted the count as 12 strikes.
appealdecision:
isappeal:
submissionsfordecision:
reasonsfordecision:
Decision:
Mr Ferguson has admitted the breach and we find the breach proved. With the parties in agreement and it making no material difference to the grading of the offence, the Committee accepts that Mr Ferguson used his whip in a striking motion 12 times inside the final 400 metres.
sumissionsforpenalty:
Mr Renault put Mr Ferguson’s record before the Committee. Mr Ferguson has had 7 drives this season and had 278 drives last season. He previously breached the rule on 9 June 2018 when he was found to have used the whip 11 times inside the final 400 metres. The penalty on that occasion was a $200 fine. Since then, Mr Ferguson has had 30 drives.
As this was the Respondent’s second breach of the rule within a six month period, Mr Renault submitted a 3 day suspension was appropriate. Mr Renault stated that Mr Ferguson was aware this was the penalty Stewards would be seeking.
Mr Ferguson had asked for any suspension to be deferred to allow him to drive at the Forbury Park meeting on Sunday 2 September. Stewards had no objections. Mr Renault said he discussed with Mr Ferguson the prospect of a suspension for the three subsequent Otago/Southland meetings, these being Winton on 8 September, Invercargill on 22 September and Oamaru on 23 September. Mr Renault said Mr Ferguson had accepted these were the meetings that would be affected by the deferral of a 3 day suspension.
Mr Renault added that Mr Ferguson had no plans to accept drives north of Oamaru in the upcoming period.
reasonsforpenalty:
Mr Ferguson used his whip 12 times inside the final 400 metres. This is his second breach of the rule in less than 3 months and, as his number of drives since the previous offence is less than 200, does not meet the threshold for a reset.
The starting point in the JCA Penalty Guide in these circumstances is a 3-day suspension.
The breach is low-range and there is no need to increase the starting point. There are no aggravating or mitigating factors.
penalty:
Mr Ferguson is suspended from the end of racing on 2 September 2018 up to and including 23 September 2018. This takes into account his request for a 7 day deferment and represents a suspension for 3 Otago/Southland meetings.
hearing_type: Hearing
Rules: 869(2) and Use of the Whip Regulations
Informant: Mr S Renault - Stipendiary Steward
JockeysandTrainer: Mr C Ferguson - Licensed Open Driver
Otherperson: Mr R Quirk - Stipendiary Steward
PersonPresent:
Respondent:
StipendSteward:
raceid: b0d74c4be5821016224e6fb418abe6f0
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race_title: R 5
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meetdate: 26/08/2018
meet_title: Gore HRC - 26 August 2018
meet_expappcomment:
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tracklocation: gore-hrc
meet_racingtype: harness-racing
meet_chair: MConway
meet_pm1: GHall
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name: Gore HRC