Archive Decision

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Invercargill HRC 8 June 2019 – R 1 – Chair, Prof G Hall

ID: JCA12326

Applicant:
Mr S Renault - Stipendiary Steward

Respondent(s):
Mr K Franks - Driver

Information Number:
A9817

Hearing Type:
Hearing

New Charge:
Contravention of the Whip Regulations

Rules:
869(2) and cl (c) of the Whip Regulations

Plea:
admitted

Meet Title:
Invercargill HRC - 8 June 2019

Meet Chair:
GHall

Meet Committee Member 1:
MConway

Race Date:
2019/06/08

Race Number:
R 1

Decision:

As Mr Franks has admitted the breach, it is found to be proved.

Penalty:

Mr Franks is fined the sum of $250 and reminded of his obligations with respect to the whip rule.

Facts:

Mr Renault alleged that Mr Franks (SVELT) used his whip in an uninterrupted manner over the concluding stages of race 1, the ALDEBARAN PARK HANDICAP TROT 2700 metres.

Rule 869(2) states: “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.”

Clause (c) of the Whip Regulations provides: “No horseman is permitted to use their whip in an uninterrupted manner.”

Mr Renault demonstrated that Mr Franks used his whip 19 times in the last 100 metres of the race. These were mere flicks of the whip, other than the first strike to the horse.

Mr Franks explained that the horse had “switched off” and he had given her a few wee taps as he thought this was the best way to get the best out of the horse.

Submissions for Penalty:

Mr Renault produced the respondent’s record which was clear of any whip charge for the past 12 months. Mr Franks has had 24 drives this season.

Mr Renault submitted a penalty of $300 as in the Penalty Guide was appropriate. Mr Franks responded that this was “ a bit steep”. He said he only worked in the industry part time.

Reasons for Penalty:

The starting point in the Penalty Guide is a fine of $300. As Mr Renault said in his submission the rapid fire nature of the strikes is a bad look. We are aware that a previous case under this rule (and it is the only case we could find), Keast, resulted in a fine of $350. The circumstances were very different. There were 30 strikes over a distance of 300 to 350 metres and Mr Keast had two previous breaches of the whip rule.

This is Mr Franks’ first breach and the circumstances of the breach are at a much lower level than those of Mr Keast. We believe a reduction of $50 from the starting point is appropriate in the circumstances.

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: 4ed1182e814d9b3e5fa06598294bc16c


informantnumber: A9817


horsename:


hearing_racingtype:


startdate: no date provided


newcharge: Contravention of the Whip Regulations


plea: admitted


penaltyrequired: 1


decisiondate: 12/06/2019


hearing_title: Invercargill HRC 8 June 2019 - R 1 - Chair, Prof G Hall


charge:


facts:

Mr Renault alleged that Mr Franks (SVELT) used his whip in an uninterrupted manner over the concluding stages of race 1, the ALDEBARAN PARK HANDICAP TROT 2700 metres.

Rule 869(2) states: “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.”

Clause (c) of the Whip Regulations provides: “No horseman is permitted to use their whip in an uninterrupted manner.”

Mr Renault demonstrated that Mr Franks used his whip 19 times in the last 100 metres of the race. These were mere flicks of the whip, other than the first strike to the horse.

Mr Franks explained that the horse had “switched off” and he had given her a few wee taps as he thought this was the best way to get the best out of the horse.


appealdecision:


isappeal:


submissionsfordecision:


reasonsfordecision:


Decision:

As Mr Franks has admitted the breach, it is found to be proved.


sumissionsforpenalty:

Mr Renault produced the respondent’s record which was clear of any whip charge for the past 12 months. Mr Franks has had 24 drives this season.

Mr Renault submitted a penalty of $300 as in the Penalty Guide was appropriate. Mr Franks responded that this was “ a bit steep”. He said he only worked in the industry part time.


reasonsforpenalty:

The starting point in the Penalty Guide is a fine of $300. As Mr Renault said in his submission the rapid fire nature of the strikes is a bad look. We are aware that a previous case under this rule (and it is the only case we could find), Keast, resulted in a fine of $350. The circumstances were very different. There were 30 strikes over a distance of 300 to 350 metres and Mr Keast had two previous breaches of the whip rule.

This is Mr Franks’ first breach and the circumstances of the breach are at a much lower level than those of Mr Keast. We believe a reduction of $50 from the starting point is appropriate in the circumstances.


penalty:

Mr Franks is fined the sum of $250 and reminded of his obligations with respect to the whip rule.


hearing_type: Hearing


Rules: 869(2) and cl (c) of the Whip Regulations


Informant: Mr S Renault - Stipendiary Steward


JockeysandTrainer: Mr K Franks - Driver


Otherperson:


PersonPresent:


Respondent:


StipendSteward:


raceid: 84a5e366da3fbd888ccc9a1c589eaceb


race_expapproval:


racecancelled: 0


race_noreport: 0


race_emailed1: 0


race_emailed2: 0


race_title: R 1


submittochair:


race_expappcomment:


race_km:


race_otherexp:


race_chair:


race_pm1:


race_pm2:


meetid: c4a20cbe357513834dcc01c0ecec0cee


meet_expapproval:


meet_noreport: 0


waitingforpublication: 0


meet_emailed1: 0


meet_emailed2: 0


meetdate: 08/06/2019


meet_title: Invercargill HRC - 8 June 2019


meet_expappcomment:


meet_km:


meet_otherexp:


tracklocation: invercargill-hrc


meet_racingtype: harness-racing


meet_chair: GHall


meet_pm1: MConway


meet_pm2: none


name: Invercargill HRC