NZ Metro TC 6 October 2017 – R 3 – Chair, Mr R McKenzie
ID: JCA13663
Meet Title:
NZ Metro TC - 6 October 2017
Meet Chair:
RMcKenzie
Meet Committee Member 1:
SChing
Race Date:
2017/10/06
Race Number:
R3
Decision:
Ms Wakelin having admitted the charge, the charge was found proved.
Penalty:
Ms Wakelin was fined the sum of $300.
Facts:
Following the running of Race 3, Christchurch Casino Trot, an information was filed by Chief Stipendiary Steward, Mr NM Ydgren, against Licensed Open Driver, Ms PJ Wakelin, alleging that, as the driver of BK DAWN in the race, she “used her whip in an excessive manner in the final 400 metres”.
Ms Wakelin was present at the hearing of the information and she indicated that she admitted the charge.
Rule 869 provides as follows:
(2) No horseman shall during any race use his whip in a manner in contravention of the Use of the Whip Regulations made by the Board.
The Use of Whip Guidelines (effective from 1 December 2016) provide:
The whip shall not be used more than 10 times in the last 400 metres of a race, otherwise this will be deemed excessive use pursuant to these Guidelines.
Mr Ydgren showed a video replay of the final 400 metres of the race. As the field entered the final straight, Ms Wakelin driving BK DAWN, was racing in 4th position and about a length back behind the leading horse. Ms Wakelin then used her whip a couple of times with the rein in her hand, which was not of concern, Mr Ydgren said. However, from that point, Ms Wakelin commenced using her whip, free of the rein, and thereafter struck the horse approximately 13 times in a forehand manner, in breach of the guidelines. That count was accepted by Ms Wakelin.
Ms Wakelin was very frank in her admission of the breach. She said that she was trying to do the best for her horse and had, simply, omitted to count.
Submissions for Penalty:
Mr Ydgren said that Ms Wakelin has a clear record under the Rule. He referred to the Penalty Guide starting point of a 2-days’ suspension or a $500 fine. He told the Committee that Ms Wakelin would prefer a fine and this was confirmed by her.
Mr Ydgren said that the force of the strikes was “mid-range” but they were not “offensive”. He submitted that a fine of $300 was appropriate.
Reasons for Penalty:
The Committee, in determining penalty, had regard to the Penalty Guide starting point, as referred to by Mr Ydgren, of a $500 fine. We agreed with Mr Ydgren that the breach was no worse than mid-range and, accordingly, no uplift was required to that starting point.
Mitigating factors were Ms Wakelin’s good record and her admission of the breach. The Committee considered that a combination of those factors warranted a discount of $200.
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: 55aabf84b00f5418ca6834231ebffe61
informantnumber: A5534
horsename:
hearing_racingtype:
startdate: no date provided
newcharge: Excessive Use of Whip
plea: admitted
penaltyrequired: 1
decisiondate: 09/10/2017
hearing_title: NZ Metro TC 6 October 2017 - R 3 - Chair, Mr R McKenzie
charge:
facts:
Following the running of Race 3, Christchurch Casino Trot, an information was filed by Chief Stipendiary Steward, Mr NM Ydgren, against Licensed Open Driver, Ms PJ Wakelin, alleging that, as the driver of BK DAWN in the race, she “used her whip in an excessive manner in the final 400 metres”.
Ms Wakelin was present at the hearing of the information and she indicated that she admitted the charge.
Rule 869 provides as follows:
(2) No horseman shall during any race use his whip in a manner in contravention of the Use of the Whip Regulations made by the Board.
The Use of Whip Guidelines (effective from 1 December 2016) provide:
The whip shall not be used more than 10 times in the last 400 metres of a race, otherwise this will be deemed excessive use pursuant to these Guidelines.
Mr Ydgren showed a video replay of the final 400 metres of the race. As the field entered the final straight, Ms Wakelin driving BK DAWN, was racing in 4th position and about a length back behind the leading horse. Ms Wakelin then used her whip a couple of times with the rein in her hand, which was not of concern, Mr Ydgren said. However, from that point, Ms Wakelin commenced using her whip, free of the rein, and thereafter struck the horse approximately 13 times in a forehand manner, in breach of the guidelines. That count was accepted by Ms Wakelin.
Ms Wakelin was very frank in her admission of the breach. She said that she was trying to do the best for her horse and had, simply, omitted to count.
appealdecision:
isappeal:
submissionsfordecision:
reasonsfordecision:
Decision:
Ms Wakelin having admitted the charge, the charge was found proved.
sumissionsforpenalty:
Mr Ydgren said that Ms Wakelin has a clear record under the Rule. He referred to the Penalty Guide starting point of a 2-days’ suspension or a $500 fine. He told the Committee that Ms Wakelin would prefer a fine and this was confirmed by her.
Mr Ydgren said that the force of the strikes was “mid-range” but they were not “offensive”. He submitted that a fine of $300 was appropriate.
reasonsforpenalty:
The Committee, in determining penalty, had regard to the Penalty Guide starting point, as referred to by Mr Ydgren, of a $500 fine. We agreed with Mr Ydgren that the breach was no worse than mid-range and, accordingly, no uplift was required to that starting point.
Mitigating factors were Ms Wakelin’s good record and her admission of the breach. The Committee considered that a combination of those factors warranted a discount of $200.
penalty:
Ms Wakelin was fined the sum of $300.
hearing_type: Hearing
Rules: 869(2)
Informant: Mr NM Ydgren - Chief Stipendiary Steward
JockeysandTrainer: Ms PJ Wakelin - Licensed Open Driver
Otherperson:
PersonPresent:
Respondent:
StipendSteward:
raceid: 0177a8b91ba30dcbcbf49944a88cdb55
race_expapproval:
racecancelled: 0
race_noreport: 0
race_emailed1: 0
race_emailed2: 0
race_title: R3
submittochair:
race_expappcomment:
race_km:
race_otherexp:
race_chair:
race_pm1:
race_pm2:
meetid: cd0f700d5c4e19d54b61139f894fc7fb
meet_expapproval:
meet_noreport: 0
waitingforpublication: 0
meet_emailed1: 0
meet_emailed2: 0
meetdate: 06/10/2017
meet_title: NZ Metro TC - 6 October 2017
meet_expappcomment:
meet_km:
meet_otherexp:
tracklocation: nz-metro-tc
meet_racingtype: harness-racing
meet_chair: RMcKenzie
meet_pm1: SChing
meet_pm2: none
name: NZ Metro TC