Manawatu HRC 13 October 2016 – R6 – Chair, Mr P Williams
ID: JCA11219
Meet Title:
Manawatu HRC - 13 October 2016
Meet Chair:
PWilliams
Meet Committee Member 1:
TUtikere
Race Date:
2016/10/13
Race Number:
R6
Decision:
Penalty:
Facts:
Following the running of Race 6, the “Peter Sinclair Lynx Finishes Handicap Trot” Information A3784 was filed by Senior Stipendiary Steward Mr J Muirhead alleging a breach of Rule 869(2)(a) by Graduation Horseman Mr D Moore. The Information stated “you used your whip in a manner Stewards deem to be excessive”.
Mr Moore signed the Information admitting the breach and at the beginning of the hearing confirmed that was the case and also that he understood the Rule he had been charged under.
Rule 869(2)(a) states:- “No horseman shall during any race use his whip in an unnecessary, excessive or improper manner.”
Submissions for Decision:
Mr Muirhead used the side-on film to identify Mr Moore driving “Awa Cathrine” positioned on the leader's back as the horses entered the home straight. Mr Muirhead said Mr Moore shifted his horse to the outside of the leader for a final run and then from approximately the 250m point through to the finish used his whip 23 times. Mr Muirhead noted that many of the strikes were on the dust sheet and not the horse and felt Mr Moore had got caught up in the excitement of the moment as it became apparent to him that his horse was in with a chance of winning the race.
Mr Moore did not dispute Mr Muirhead’s evidence. He said “Awa Cathrine” often “didn’t run to the line” and sometimes went flat over the concluding stages of a race. He said it had been a long time since he won a race (as he did on “Awa Cathrine” tonight) and he admitted he had got over excited when he realised he had a chance of winning. To a question from the Committee Mr Moore confirmed he was aware of the “Use of Whip” guidelines published by Harness Racing New Zealand which state:- “Stewards deem the “use of the whip” throughout the race as………..on the sulky or dust sheet”. He also confirmed that he normally only drives his own horses.
Submissions for Penalty:
Mr Muirhead said Mr Moore had not breached this Rule in the previous 12 months. He said he was aware the JCA Guidelines stated the starting point for a breach of the Rule was a $500 fine or a 2 day suspension but believed a suspension would not be appropriate in this case given the very limited number of drives Mr Moore has had so far this season. He added that he believed Mr Moore was entitled to a fine lower than the starting point of $500 because of his good record and admittance of the breach. To a question from the Committee he said Mr Moore had only had 4 drives this season (including the 1 tonight) and 33 in the 2015/2016 season.
Mr Moore said he would prefer a suspension to a fine but conceded that now “Awa Cathrine” had won a race he would consider having a professional driver in the sulky in her future races.
Reasons for Penalty:
The Committee has reviewed the side-on film of the final 250m of the race and notes Mr More used his whip approximately 23 times over that distance. Whilst some of the strikes may have been on the dust sheet Mr Moore’s actions were a clear breach of the Rule and very visible to those watching the televised coverage of the race. The Committee also believes that the number of strikes places the offending in the mid range. The Committee notes Mr Moore has a clear record in relation to this Rule and has admitted today’s breach. We also note Mr Muirhead did not specifically submit what, in his view, was an appropriate penalty.
The JCA Penalty Guidelines state the starting point for a breach of this Rule is a $500 fine or 2 day suspension. The Committee has considered whether to impose a fine or a suspension and on this occasion we believe a fine is an appropriate penalty as a suspension would be a meaningless penalty if, as Mr Moore indicated, he is going to look at engaging another driver for “Awa Cathrine” in her upcoming races. The Committee believes the mitigating factors outlined above justify a reduction of $100 for his admission of the breach and a further $100 for his clear penalty record in regard to this rule. Whilst we then considered whether the number of strikes justified an uplift from the $300 point we decided on this occasion not to impose any increase.
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: 1720b010b86d9d15839babf5a6c28e17
informantnumber: A3784
horsename:
hearing_racingtype:
startdate: no date provided
newcharge: Excessive Use of Whip
plea: admitted
penaltyrequired: 1
decisiondate: 13/10/2016
hearing_title: Manawatu HRC 13 October 2016 - R6 - Chair, Mr P Williams
charge:
facts:
Following the running of Race 6, the “Peter Sinclair Lynx Finishes Handicap Trot” Information A3784 was filed by Senior Stipendiary Steward Mr J Muirhead alleging a breach of Rule 869(2)(a) by Graduation Horseman Mr D Moore. The Information stated “you used your whip in a manner Stewards deem to be excessive”.
Mr Moore signed the Information admitting the breach and at the beginning of the hearing confirmed that was the case and also that he understood the Rule he had been charged under.
Rule 869(2)(a) states:- “No horseman shall during any race use his whip in an unnecessary, excessive or improper manner.”
appealdecision:
isappeal:
submissionsfordecision:
Mr Muirhead used the side-on film to identify Mr Moore driving “Awa Cathrine” positioned on the leader's back as the horses entered the home straight. Mr Muirhead said Mr Moore shifted his horse to the outside of the leader for a final run and then from approximately the 250m point through to the finish used his whip 23 times. Mr Muirhead noted that many of the strikes were on the dust sheet and not the horse and felt Mr Moore had got caught up in the excitement of the moment as it became apparent to him that his horse was in with a chance of winning the race.
Mr Moore did not dispute Mr Muirhead’s evidence. He said “Awa Cathrine” often “didn’t run to the line” and sometimes went flat over the concluding stages of a race. He said it had been a long time since he won a race (as he did on “Awa Cathrine” tonight) and he admitted he had got over excited when he realised he had a chance of winning. To a question from the Committee Mr Moore confirmed he was aware of the “Use of Whip” guidelines published by Harness Racing New Zealand which state:- “Stewards deem the “use of the whip” throughout the race as………..on the sulky or dust sheet”. He also confirmed that he normally only drives his own horses.
reasonsfordecision:
Decision:
sumissionsforpenalty:
Mr Muirhead said Mr Moore had not breached this Rule in the previous 12 months. He said he was aware the JCA Guidelines stated the starting point for a breach of the Rule was a $500 fine or a 2 day suspension but believed a suspension would not be appropriate in this case given the very limited number of drives Mr Moore has had so far this season. He added that he believed Mr Moore was entitled to a fine lower than the starting point of $500 because of his good record and admittance of the breach. To a question from the Committee he said Mr Moore had only had 4 drives this season (including the 1 tonight) and 33 in the 2015/2016 season.
Mr Moore said he would prefer a suspension to a fine but conceded that now “Awa Cathrine” had won a race he would consider having a professional driver in the sulky in her future races.
reasonsforpenalty:
The Committee has reviewed the side-on film of the final 250m of the race and notes Mr More used his whip approximately 23 times over that distance. Whilst some of the strikes may have been on the dust sheet Mr Moore’s actions were a clear breach of the Rule and very visible to those watching the televised coverage of the race. The Committee also believes that the number of strikes places the offending in the mid range. The Committee notes Mr Moore has a clear record in relation to this Rule and has admitted today’s breach. We also note Mr Muirhead did not specifically submit what, in his view, was an appropriate penalty.
The JCA Penalty Guidelines state the starting point for a breach of this Rule is a $500 fine or 2 day suspension. The Committee has considered whether to impose a fine or a suspension and on this occasion we believe a fine is an appropriate penalty as a suspension would be a meaningless penalty if, as Mr Moore indicated, he is going to look at engaging another driver for “Awa Cathrine” in her upcoming races. The Committee believes the mitigating factors outlined above justify a reduction of $100 for his admission of the breach and a further $100 for his clear penalty record in regard to this rule. Whilst we then considered whether the number of strikes justified an uplift from the $300 point we decided on this occasion not to impose any increase.
penalty:
hearing_type: Hearing
Rules: 869(2)(a)
Informant: Mr J Muirhead - Senior Stipendiary Steward
JockeysandTrainer: Mr D Moore - Graduation Horseman
Otherperson:
PersonPresent:
Respondent:
StipendSteward:
raceid: bc0326fdce54c6c4d0dcc6403ff56098
race_expapproval:
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race_noreport: 0
race_emailed1: 0
race_emailed2: 0
race_title: R6
submittochair:
race_expappcomment:
race_km:
race_otherexp:
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race_pm1:
race_pm2:
meetid: 50f0011cafffe4d41b4ac93bca928ba6
meet_expapproval:
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meet_emailed1: 0
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meetdate: 13/10/2016
meet_title: Manawatu HRC - 13 October 2016
meet_expappcomment:
meet_km:
meet_otherexp:
tracklocation: manawatu-hrc
meet_racingtype: harness-racing
meet_chair: PWilliams
meet_pm1: TUtikere
meet_pm2: none
name: Manawatu HRC