HR Waikato 25 October 2015 – R 1 – Chair, Mr A Dooley
ID: JCA10912
Meet Title:
Harness Racing Waikato - 25 October 2015
Meet Chair:
ADooley
Meet Committee Member 1:
AGodsalve
Race Date:
2015/10/25
Race Number:
R1
Decision:
As Mr Cronin has admitted the breach we find the charge proved.
Penalty:
Accordingly, Mr Cronin had his license to drive in races suspended for a period to commence after racing on 25 October and conclude after racing on 24 December 2015 and in addition we impose a $300 fine.
Facts:
Following the running of Race 1, Fancy A Drive In A Sulky Amateurs Drivers Mobile Pace, an Information was lodged by Mr Muirhead alleging that Amateur Driver Mr G Cronin had breached Rule 869(2)(a). The charge read that Mr Cronin used his whip excessively driving LOLA JONES over the concluding stages.
Mr Cronin was present at the hearing and admitted the breach. He had Open Horseman Mr J Abernethy to assist him.
Rule 869(2)(a) provides ' No horseman shall during any race use his whip in an unnecessary, excessive, or improper manner'.
Mr Muirhead identified LOLA JONES had been racing 3 wide without cover during the 1700 metre race. He stated Mr Cronin struck his horse approximately 22 times from just prior to the home turn until the finish line. He advised that LOLA JONES finished in 4th place.
Mr Cronin conceded he struck LOLA JONES 22 times but said a small factor in his defence was the strikes did not touch his horse every time.
Mr Abernethy had nothing to add.
Submissions for Penalty:
Mr Muirhead produced Mr Cronin's driving record which showed 1 previous breach of this Rule. This was for excessive and unnecessary whip use on 14 May 2015 which incurred a 5 week suspension. He said that Mr Cronin had admitted the breach and referred to the JCA Penalty Guide regarding this rule. He said Mr Cronin’s repetitive offending was a concern and the Stewards are trying to eliminate excessive use of the whip.
Mr Muirhead recommended a combination of a fine and suspension given the fact Amateur Drivers generally have only 2 opportunities to drive per month. He made reference to Mr Mangos incurring a $400 fine last week when it was his 1st breach of this rule in a long period of time.
Mr Cronin submitted that he was an Amateur Driver and all the costs associated with LOLA JONES were his. He added if he got a suspension he would have no income.
Mr Abernethy confirmed that Amateur Drivers generally have 2 opportunities per month to compete.
Reasons for Penalty:
The Committee carefully considered the evidence and submissions presented. The only mitigating factor was Mr Cronin’s admission of the breach for which he has been given credit. We assessed the number of strikes (22) in the mid to high range, the severity in the low to mid – range. The JCA Penalty Guide recommends a starting point for a 2nd breach of this rule within 6 months at 3 to 5 day suspension and Committees to have regard for a repeat offender. When we reviewed the incident the video footage clearly shows that Mr Cronin was striking his horse regularly. We are mindful of the public perception when an incident like this occurs.
After taking into account of the above factors we consider an appropriate penalty is a combination of a fine and suspension given Mr Cronin’s status.
JCA Decision Fields (raw)
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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: 0e6a23ecb1034269fda276ce6b7134bf
informantnumber: A3679
horsename:
hearing_racingtype:
startdate: no date provided
newcharge: Excessive whip use
plea: admitted
penaltyrequired: 1
decisiondate: 27/10/2015
hearing_title: HR Waikato 25 October 2015 - R 1 - Chair, Mr A Dooley
charge:
facts:
Following the running of Race 1, Fancy A Drive In A Sulky Amateurs Drivers Mobile Pace, an Information was lodged by Mr Muirhead alleging that Amateur Driver Mr G Cronin had breached Rule 869(2)(a). The charge read that Mr Cronin used his whip excessively driving LOLA JONES over the concluding stages.
Mr Cronin was present at the hearing and admitted the breach. He had Open Horseman Mr J Abernethy to assist him.
Rule 869(2)(a) provides ' No horseman shall during any race use his whip in an unnecessary, excessive, or improper manner'.
Mr Muirhead identified LOLA JONES had been racing 3 wide without cover during the 1700 metre race. He stated Mr Cronin struck his horse approximately 22 times from just prior to the home turn until the finish line. He advised that LOLA JONES finished in 4th place.
Mr Cronin conceded he struck LOLA JONES 22 times but said a small factor in his defence was the strikes did not touch his horse every time.
Mr Abernethy had nothing to add.
appealdecision:
isappeal:
submissionsfordecision:
reasonsfordecision:
Decision:
As Mr Cronin has admitted the breach we find the charge proved.
sumissionsforpenalty:
Mr Muirhead produced Mr Cronin's driving record which showed 1 previous breach of this Rule. This was for excessive and unnecessary whip use on 14 May 2015 which incurred a 5 week suspension. He said that Mr Cronin had admitted the breach and referred to the JCA Penalty Guide regarding this rule. He said Mr Cronin’s repetitive offending was a concern and the Stewards are trying to eliminate excessive use of the whip.
Mr Muirhead recommended a combination of a fine and suspension given the fact Amateur Drivers generally have only 2 opportunities to drive per month. He made reference to Mr Mangos incurring a $400 fine last week when it was his 1st breach of this rule in a long period of time.
Mr Cronin submitted that he was an Amateur Driver and all the costs associated with LOLA JONES were his. He added if he got a suspension he would have no income.
Mr Abernethy confirmed that Amateur Drivers generally have 2 opportunities per month to compete.
reasonsforpenalty:
The Committee carefully considered the evidence and submissions presented. The only mitigating factor was Mr Cronin’s admission of the breach for which he has been given credit. We assessed the number of strikes (22) in the mid to high range, the severity in the low to mid – range. The JCA Penalty Guide recommends a starting point for a 2nd breach of this rule within 6 months at 3 to 5 day suspension and Committees to have regard for a repeat offender. When we reviewed the incident the video footage clearly shows that Mr Cronin was striking his horse regularly. We are mindful of the public perception when an incident like this occurs.
After taking into account of the above factors we consider an appropriate penalty is a combination of a fine and suspension given Mr Cronin’s status.
penalty:
Accordingly, Mr Cronin had his license to drive in races suspended for a period to commence after racing on 25 October and conclude after racing on 24 December 2015 and in addition we impose a $300 fine.
hearing_type: Hearing
Rules: 869(2)(a)
Informant: Mr J Muirhead - Stipendiary Steward
JockeysandTrainer: Mr G Cronin - Amateur Horseman, Mr J Abernethy - assisting Mr Cronin
Otherperson: Mr B Jones - Stipendiary Steward
PersonPresent:
Respondent:
StipendSteward:
raceid: 8fdbaeadb26d12ba06887d0c9d26d166
race_expapproval:
racecancelled: 0
race_noreport: 0
race_emailed1: 0
race_emailed2: 0
race_title: R1
submittochair:
race_expappcomment:
race_km:
race_otherexp:
race_chair:
race_pm1:
race_pm2:
meetid: a9d09eb1aa4b815e602b9ed098f27b6a
meet_expapproval:
meet_noreport: 0
waitingforpublication: 0
meet_emailed1: 0
meet_emailed2: 0
meetdate: 25/10/2015
meet_title: Harness Racing Waikato - 25 October 2015
meet_expappcomment:
meet_km:
meet_otherexp:
tracklocation: harness-racing-waikato
meet_racingtype: harness-racing
meet_chair: ADooley
meet_pm1: AGodsalve
meet_pm2: none
name: Harness Racing Waikato