Manawatu HRC 4 March 2015 – R 6
ID: JCA11931
Meet Title:
Manawatu HRC - 4 March 2015
Meet Chair:
PWilliams
Race Date:
2015/03/04
Race Number:
R6
Decision:
Penalty:
Facts:
Following the running of race 6, the “ITM Manawatu Mobile Pace” Information A2336 was filed by Stipendiary Steward Mr S Mulcay alleging a breach of Rule 869(2)(a) by Open Horseman Mr S Abernethy. The Information stated “in that he used his whip excessively on “Thats Bettor” over the concluding stages of the race”. Mr Abernethy signed the Information admitting the breach and also that he did not wish to be present at the hearing.
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 Mulcay used the side-on film to identify Mr Abernethy driving “That’s Bettor” racing in the lead as the field approached the 400m point. Mr Mulcay then highlighted Mr Abernethy striking his horse 5 times, pause and then strike it another 5 times by which time the horse was approaching the home straight. Mr Mulcay said as “That’s Bettor” raced inside the final 250m Mr Abernethy struck his horse approximately 12-13 more times during which time the horse was giving ground although he noted it did finish in 6th position and only just over 4 lengths for the winner.
Submissions for Penalty:
Mr Mulcay said Mr Abernethy had not breached this Rule in the previous 12 months. He said he had readily admitted the breach and whilst the JCA Guidelines stated the starting point for a breach of the Rule was a $300 fine or an 6 drives suspension he submitted a fine of $200 was an appropriate penalty in this case.
Reasons for Penalty:
I have reviewed the side-on film of the final 400m of the race and note Mr Abernethy used his whip approximately 23 times in the final 400m of the race with a small number of the strikes being quite forceful. I also note that in administering the strikes there were at least two distinct pauses early on and believe the severity of breach of the rules to be in the low-mid range. This is Mr Abernethy’s first breach of this Rule which he admitted at the earliest opportunity. The JCA Penalty Guidelines state a starting point of a $300 fine or 6 drive suspension for a breach of this Rule but I have also reviewed recent penalties for similar recent breaches of this Rule by “first time offenders” to ensure we are consistent in determining the appropriate penalty. I believe on this occasion a fine is 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: 3098185ba84f4e32c2ab27dc5a93bbc0
informantnumber: A2336
horsename:
hearing_racingtype:
startdate: no date provided
newcharge: Excessive use of the whip
plea: admitted
penaltyrequired: 1
decisiondate: 02/03/2015
hearing_title: Manawatu HRC 4 March 2015 - R 6
charge:
facts:
Following the running of race 6, the “ITM Manawatu Mobile Pace” Information A2336 was filed by Stipendiary Steward Mr S Mulcay alleging a breach of Rule 869(2)(a) by Open Horseman Mr S Abernethy. The Information stated “in that he used his whip excessively on “Thats Bettor” over the concluding stages of the race”. Mr Abernethy signed the Information admitting the breach and also that he did not wish to be present at the hearing.
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 Mulcay used the side-on film to identify Mr Abernethy driving “That’s Bettor” racing in the lead as the field approached the 400m point. Mr Mulcay then highlighted Mr Abernethy striking his horse 5 times, pause and then strike it another 5 times by which time the horse was approaching the home straight. Mr Mulcay said as “That’s Bettor” raced inside the final 250m Mr Abernethy struck his horse approximately 12-13 more times during which time the horse was giving ground although he noted it did finish in 6th position and only just over 4 lengths for the winner.
reasonsfordecision:
Decision:
sumissionsforpenalty:
Mr Mulcay said Mr Abernethy had not breached this Rule in the previous 12 months. He said he had readily admitted the breach and whilst the JCA Guidelines stated the starting point for a breach of the Rule was a $300 fine or an 6 drives suspension he submitted a fine of $200 was an appropriate penalty in this case.
reasonsforpenalty:
I have reviewed the side-on film of the final 400m of the race and note Mr Abernethy used his whip approximately 23 times in the final 400m of the race with a small number of the strikes being quite forceful. I also note that in administering the strikes there were at least two distinct pauses early on and believe the severity of breach of the rules to be in the low-mid range. This is Mr Abernethy’s first breach of this Rule which he admitted at the earliest opportunity. The JCA Penalty Guidelines state a starting point of a $300 fine or 6 drive suspension for a breach of this Rule but I have also reviewed recent penalties for similar recent breaches of this Rule by “first time offenders” to ensure we are consistent in determining the appropriate penalty. I believe on this occasion a fine is an appropriate penalty.
penalty:
hearing_type: Hearing
Rules: 869(2)(a)
Informant: Mr S Mulcay - Stipendiary Steward
JockeysandTrainer: Mr S Abernethy - Open Horseman
Otherperson:
PersonPresent:
Respondent:
StipendSteward:
raceid: c2d542e89451110ab7a8bfc61025681e
race_expapproval:
racecancelled: 0
race_noreport: 0
race_emailed1: 0
race_emailed2: 0
race_title: R6
submittochair:
race_expappcomment:
race_km:
race_otherexp:
race_chair:
race_pm1:
race_pm2:
meetid: 88d1c7808e9df6ba792057b17c7d4d14
meet_expapproval: approved
meet_noreport: 0
waitingforpublication: 0
meet_emailed1: 0
meet_emailed2: 0
meetdate: 04/03/2015
meet_title: Manawatu HRC - 4 March 2015
meet_expappcomment:
meet_km: [{"Comment": [], "MemberRole": "Chair ", "MemberID": "PWilliams", "Member": "", "OtherExpenses": "0", "KMs": "256", "Total": "158.72", "kmprice": 158.72, "Approved": "on"}]
meet_otherexp:
tracklocation: manawatu-hrc
meet_racingtype: harness-racing
meet_chair: PWilliams
meet_pm1: none
meet_pm2: none
name: Manawatu HRC