Methven TC 4 December 2016 – R 9 – Chair, Mr R McKenzie
ID: JCA17842
Meet Title:
Methven TC - 4 December 2016
Meet Chair:
RMcKenzie
Meet Committee Member 1:
DAnderson
Race Date:
2016/12/04
Race Number:
R9
Decision:
Mr Cox having admitted the charge, the charge was found proved.
Penalty:
Mr Cox’s Open Horseman’s Licence is suspended from after the close of racing up to and including 8th December 2016. This is a suspension for one day – the meeting of NZ Metropolitan TC at Addington on 8th December 2016. In addition, Mr Cox is fined the sum of $150.
Facts:
Following the running of Race 9, Hanley Formula Geraldine/Methven Graduation Pace, an information was filed by Stipendiary Steward, Mr S W Wallis, against Licensed Open Driver, Mr J W Cox, alleging a breach of Rule 869 (2) (a) in that, as the driver of MYIDEALSON in the race, he “used his whip excessively over the concluding stages”.
Mr Cox had signed the Statement by the Respondent on the Information form indicating that he admitted the breach and had endorsed on the form that he did not wish to be present at the hearing of the information. Mr Wallis confirmed to the Committee that Mr Cox did not wish to be present.
Rule 869 provides as follows:
(2) No horseman shall during any race:-
(a) use his whip in an unnecessary, excessive or improper manner.
The amendment to the Use of the Whip Guidelines effective from 1 December 2016 provides that:
The whip shall not be used more than 10 times in the last 400m of a race, otherwise this will be deemed excessive pursuant to these Guidelines.
Mr Wallis showed a video replay of the final 300-400 metres of the race. He pointed out Mr Cox, driving MYIDEALSON which was trailing the leader as the field entered the final straight. Mr Cox then improved to the inside of the leader and began striking his horse with the whip, Mr Wallis said. Stewards counted Mr Cox using his whip 11 times in the final 400 metres, he said.
Submissions for Penalty:
Mr Wallis described Mr Cox as “a busy driver”. Last season he had a total of 550 drives and in the current season, to date, has had 116 drives. There are no previous breaches of the whip Rule on his record over the last 12 months, Mr Wallis said.
Mr Wallis submitted that credit should be given for that good record and Mr Cox’s admission of the charge. Mr Wallis told the Committee that Stewards would be asking for a fine of $300 but added that Mr Cox had asked if the Committee would consider a mix of a 1-day suspension and a fine. Mr Wallis said that the Stewards would be happy with the proposed penalty.
Mr Wallis was questioned by the Committee, firstly, as to how many drives a 1-day suspension would be likely to involve for Mr Cox and, secondly, whether the proposed suspension would be a genuine one. Mr Wallis said that Mr Cox would average 3 drives per meeting. He added that Stewards believed that Mr Cox would be genuinely forgoing 3 drives at the meeting of NZ Metropolitan TC on 8 December were he to be suspended for that meeting.
Reasons for Penalty:
In arriving at penalty, the Committee took the starting point of a $500 fine as suggested in the Penalty Guide. There were no aggravating factors but mitigating factors were Mr Cox’s good record and his admission of the breach. We assessed the appropriate discount for those mitigating factors at $200.
The Committee was prepared to regard favourably Mr Cox’s preference for a combined penalty. The Penalty Guide provides that a Judicial Committee is to “equate 1 drive with a fine of $50”. On that basis, the 1-day suspension would equate, in Mr Cox’s case, to $150. That, plus a fine of $150, would therefore be equivalent to a fine of $300 which the Committee considers to be appropriate.
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: f555ce12b89755519a03ade01e54a13a
informantnumber: A8424
horsename:
hearing_racingtype:
startdate: no date provided
newcharge: Excessive Use of Whip
plea: admitted
penaltyrequired: 1
decisiondate: 06/12/2016
hearing_title: Methven TC 4 December 2016 - R 9 - Chair, Mr R McKenzie
charge:
facts:
Following the running of Race 9, Hanley Formula Geraldine/Methven Graduation Pace, an information was filed by Stipendiary Steward, Mr S W Wallis, against Licensed Open Driver, Mr J W Cox, alleging a breach of Rule 869 (2) (a) in that, as the driver of MYIDEALSON in the race, he “used his whip excessively over the concluding stages”.
Mr Cox had signed the Statement by the Respondent on the Information form indicating that he admitted the breach and had endorsed on the form that he did not wish to be present at the hearing of the information. Mr Wallis confirmed to the Committee that Mr Cox did not wish to be present.
Rule 869 provides as follows:
(2) No horseman shall during any race:-
(a) use his whip in an unnecessary, excessive or improper manner.
The amendment to the Use of the Whip Guidelines effective from 1 December 2016 provides that:
The whip shall not be used more than 10 times in the last 400m of a race, otherwise this will be deemed excessive pursuant to these Guidelines.
Mr Wallis showed a video replay of the final 300-400 metres of the race. He pointed out Mr Cox, driving MYIDEALSON which was trailing the leader as the field entered the final straight. Mr Cox then improved to the inside of the leader and began striking his horse with the whip, Mr Wallis said. Stewards counted Mr Cox using his whip 11 times in the final 400 metres, he said.
appealdecision:
isappeal:
submissionsfordecision:
reasonsfordecision:
Decision:
Mr Cox having admitted the charge, the charge was found proved.
sumissionsforpenalty:
Mr Wallis described Mr Cox as “a busy driver”. Last season he had a total of 550 drives and in the current season, to date, has had 116 drives. There are no previous breaches of the whip Rule on his record over the last 12 months, Mr Wallis said.
Mr Wallis submitted that credit should be given for that good record and Mr Cox’s admission of the charge. Mr Wallis told the Committee that Stewards would be asking for a fine of $300 but added that Mr Cox had asked if the Committee would consider a mix of a 1-day suspension and a fine. Mr Wallis said that the Stewards would be happy with the proposed penalty.
Mr Wallis was questioned by the Committee, firstly, as to how many drives a 1-day suspension would be likely to involve for Mr Cox and, secondly, whether the proposed suspension would be a genuine one. Mr Wallis said that Mr Cox would average 3 drives per meeting. He added that Stewards believed that Mr Cox would be genuinely forgoing 3 drives at the meeting of NZ Metropolitan TC on 8 December were he to be suspended for that meeting.
reasonsforpenalty:
In arriving at penalty, the Committee took the starting point of a $500 fine as suggested in the Penalty Guide. There were no aggravating factors but mitigating factors were Mr Cox’s good record and his admission of the breach. We assessed the appropriate discount for those mitigating factors at $200.
The Committee was prepared to regard favourably Mr Cox’s preference for a combined penalty. The Penalty Guide provides that a Judicial Committee is to “equate 1 drive with a fine of $50”. On that basis, the 1-day suspension would equate, in Mr Cox’s case, to $150. That, plus a fine of $150, would therefore be equivalent to a fine of $300 which the Committee considers to be appropriate.
penalty:
Mr Cox’s Open Horseman’s Licence is suspended from after the close of racing up to and including 8th December 2016. This is a suspension for one day – the meeting of NZ Metropolitan TC at Addington on 8th December 2016. In addition, Mr Cox is fined the sum of $150.
hearing_type: Hearing
Rules: 869(2)(a)
Informant: Mr SW Wallis - Stipendiary Steward
JockeysandTrainer: Mr JW Cox - Licensed Open Horseman
Otherperson:
PersonPresent:
Respondent:
StipendSteward:
raceid: aa7a4f2352d7b55b651ab219873d7724
race_expapproval:
racecancelled: 0
race_noreport: 0
race_emailed1: 0
race_emailed2: 0
race_title: R9
submittochair:
race_expappcomment:
race_km:
race_otherexp:
race_chair:
race_pm1:
race_pm2:
meetid: 041337855baaebeb3eda9fc966822c55
meet_expapproval:
meet_noreport: 0
waitingforpublication: 0
meet_emailed1: 0
meet_emailed2: 0
meetdate: 04/12/2016
meet_title: Methven TC - 4 December 2016
meet_expappcomment:
meet_km:
meet_otherexp:
tracklocation: methven-tc
meet_racingtype: harness-racing
meet_chair: RMcKenzie
meet_pm1: DAnderson
meet_pm2: none
name: Methven TC