Archive Decision

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Hawke’s Bay RI 28 June 2014 – R 5

ID: JCA13115

Applicant:
J Oatham - Stipendiary Steward

Respondent(s):
D Miller - Apprentice Rider

Other Person:
T Hazlett - Assisting Apprentice Miller

Information Number:
A6579

Hearing Type:
Hearing

New Charge:
Excessive Use of the Whip

Rules:
Rule 638(3)(b)

Plea:
admitted

Code:
Thoroughbred

Meet Title:
Hawkes Bay RI - 28 June 2014

Meet Chair:
TUtikere

Meet Committee Member 1:
TCastles

Race Date:
2014/06/28

Race Number:
R 4

Decision:

As the charge was admitted, the committee found the charge proved.

Penalty:

Mr Miller was fined $250.

Facts:

Following the running of Race 5 (JUST A SWAGGER HAWKE'S BAY HUNT MAIDEN CHASE 4000m), Information A6579 was filed with the judicial committee. It alleged a breach of Rule 638(3)(b) in that "D Miller (AUTHENTIC) used his whip excessively prior to the 200m". Mr Miller was assisted by Mr T Hazlett. Mr Miller confirmed he understood the rule and that he admitted the breach.

Mr Goodwin used the available films to identify Mr Miller's mount (AUTHENTIC) entering the straight on the final occasion. He identified Mr Miller use the whip excessively prior to the 200m approximately 15-16 times without the required 6 stride break, and that Mr Miller had gone on to win the race.

Mr Hazlett stated that whilst the film was self-explanatory, AUTHENTIC was a horse that required a "fair bit of encouragement". He believed that Mr Miller saw an opportunity to win the race and did what he had to do to win the race. Mr Miller told the committee that every time he used the whip, his horse responded and appeared to thrive on this.

Submissions for Penalty:

Mr Oatham indicated that Mr Miller had one previous breach of this rule on 28 May 2014 at Counties which resulted in a $150 fine. He also submitted that Mr Miller had started riding 12 months ago and the stewards placed the level of offending in the mid-range as a whip offence in a jumping race. Mr Oatham noted that Mr Miller, through his own admission, had benefited from his excessive use on this occasion. The stipendiary stewards viewed Mr Miller's winning of the race as an aggravating factor and submitted a fine of $300-$500 as appropriate.

Mr Hazlett understood that a clear breach of the rule had occurred, but asked the judicial committee to consider that Mr Miller was an apprentice rider on an apprentice wage. He indicated that Mr Miller currently resided with him and his partner in Matamata and that he would be providing some additional tutorage to curtail this problem. Mr Miller indicated that he had had approximately 60 rides in his career thus far.

Reasons for Penalty:

It was clear from the films that Mr Miller was in clear breach of the excessive use of the whip rule. While Mr Miller advised that AUTHENTIC seemed to respond positively to each occasion he used the whip, that was no excuse to break the rules in an attempt to potentially gain an unfair advantage over other runners. Of concern to the committee was the fact that this was Mr Miller's second breach of this particular rule in a month. He was advised that a further breach in quick succession may result in a period of suspension in the future. In mitigation, the committee considered his early admission of the breach, his status as an apprentice rider and the steps that would be taken by Mr Hazlett in an attempt to tutor Mr Miller's whip use. The committee determined a fine of $250 as an appropriate penalty.

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: 4432425e786ae91fc93c0a7ac29be83b


informantnumber: A6579


horsename:


hearing_racingtype:


startdate: no date provided


newcharge: Excessive Use of the Whip


plea: admitted


penaltyrequired: 1


decisiondate: 17/06/2014


hearing_title: Hawke's Bay RI 28 June 2014 - R 5


charge:


facts:

Following the running of Race 5 (JUST A SWAGGER HAWKE'S BAY HUNT MAIDEN CHASE 4000m), Information A6579 was filed with the judicial committee. It alleged a breach of Rule 638(3)(b) in that "D Miller (AUTHENTIC) used his whip excessively prior to the 200m". Mr Miller was assisted by Mr T Hazlett. Mr Miller confirmed he understood the rule and that he admitted the breach.

Mr Goodwin used the available films to identify Mr Miller's mount (AUTHENTIC) entering the straight on the final occasion. He identified Mr Miller use the whip excessively prior to the 200m approximately 15-16 times without the required 6 stride break, and that Mr Miller had gone on to win the race.

Mr Hazlett stated that whilst the film was self-explanatory, AUTHENTIC was a horse that required a "fair bit of encouragement". He believed that Mr Miller saw an opportunity to win the race and did what he had to do to win the race. Mr Miller told the committee that every time he used the whip, his horse responded and appeared to thrive on this.


appealdecision:


isappeal:


submissionsfordecision:


reasonsfordecision:


Decision:

As the charge was admitted, the committee found the charge proved.

sumissionsforpenalty:

Mr Oatham indicated that Mr Miller had one previous breach of this rule on 28 May 2014 at Counties which resulted in a $150 fine. He also submitted that Mr Miller had started riding 12 months ago and the stewards placed the level of offending in the mid-range as a whip offence in a jumping race. Mr Oatham noted that Mr Miller, through his own admission, had benefited from his excessive use on this occasion. The stipendiary stewards viewed Mr Miller's winning of the race as an aggravating factor and submitted a fine of $300-$500 as appropriate.

Mr Hazlett understood that a clear breach of the rule had occurred, but asked the judicial committee to consider that Mr Miller was an apprentice rider on an apprentice wage. He indicated that Mr Miller currently resided with him and his partner in Matamata and that he would be providing some additional tutorage to curtail this problem. Mr Miller indicated that he had had approximately 60 rides in his career thus far.


reasonsforpenalty:

It was clear from the films that Mr Miller was in clear breach of the excessive use of the whip rule. While Mr Miller advised that AUTHENTIC seemed to respond positively to each occasion he used the whip, that was no excuse to break the rules in an attempt to potentially gain an unfair advantage over other runners. Of concern to the committee was the fact that this was Mr Miller's second breach of this particular rule in a month. He was advised that a further breach in quick succession may result in a period of suspension in the future. In mitigation, the committee considered his early admission of the breach, his status as an apprentice rider and the steps that would be taken by Mr Hazlett in an attempt to tutor Mr Miller's whip use. The committee determined a fine of $250 as an appropriate penalty.


penalty:

Mr Miller was fined $250.

hearing_type: Hearing


Rules: Rule 638(3)(b)


Informant: J Oatham - Stipendiary Steward


JockeysandTrainer: D Miller - Apprentice Rider


Otherperson: T Hazlett - Assisting Apprentice Miller


PersonPresent:


Respondent:


StipendSteward:


raceid: dc16285c74759c36d02eeb8ac95b0fe9


race_expapproval:


racecancelled: 0


race_noreport: 0


race_emailed1: 0


race_emailed2: 0


race_title: R 4


submittochair:


race_expappcomment:


race_km:


race_otherexp:


race_chair:


race_pm1:


race_pm2:


meetid: 69a167b51fbf20a823592bce9211fe83


meet_expapproval:


meet_noreport: 0


waitingforpublication: 0


meet_emailed1: 0


meet_emailed2: 0


meetdate: 28/06/2014


meet_title: Hawkes Bay RI - 28 June 2014


meet_expappcomment:


meet_km:


meet_otherexp:


tracklocation: hawkes-bay-ri


meet_racingtype: thoroughbred-racing


meet_chair: TUtikere


meet_pm1: TCastles


meet_pm2: none


name: Hawkes Bay RI