NZ Metropolitan TC 4 July 2013 – R 6
ID: JCA13383
Meet Title:
NZ Metro TC - 4 July 2013
Meet Chair:
RMcKenzie
Meet Committee Member 1:
KHales
Race Date:
2013/07/04
Race Number:
R6
Decision:
Mr Kerr having admitted the charge, the charge was found proved.
Penalty:
Mr Kerr was fined the sum of $200.
Charge:
Excessive use of the whip.
Facts:
Following the running of Race 6, McMillan Equine Feeds – NZ Junior Drivers Championship (Heat 3) Mobile Pace, an information was filed by Stipendiary Steward, Mr N M Ydgren, against Licensed Junior Horseman, Mr M P Kerr, alleging that Mr Kerr, as the driver of CALL ME DANNY in the race, “used his whip excessively when driving CALL ME DANNY”.
Mr Kerr was present at the hearing of the information. He confirmed to the Committee that he waived the right to be assisted by a Senior Horseman. He indicated that he admitted the charge.
Rule 869 provides as follows:
(2) No horseman shall during any race:-
(a) use his whip in an unnecessary, excessive or improper manner.
Submissions for Decision:
Mr Ydgren showed a video replay of the final 300-400 metres of the race. He pointed out Mr Kerr, driving CALL ME DANNY, racing in 3rd to last position. He said that Stewards were alleging that, from the 400 metres, Mr Kerr had used his whip 24 times which could be clearly seen from the video. Mr Ydgren conceded that there were several pauses in Mr Kerr’s use of the whip. However, the Stewards were concerned about the number of times he used his whip.
Mr Kerr, when asked by the Committee, agreed with the numbers of strikes alleged by the Stewards. Mr Ydgren agreed with the Committee that none of the strikes was very forceful. He said that it was not the worst case but 24 was too many times.
Mr Kerr told the Committee that he is not a “big hitter” of horses. He submitted that a number of the strikes had been on the sulky shaft. He had been told by the horse’s trainer prior to the race that the horse needed to be hit to be “urged along”. He said that, at about the 800 metres, he had been forced out 4-wide due to the horse being lazy. The reason why he had started hitting the horse at the 400 metres was purely to keep the horse on the bit and to avoid getting pushed off the track. The horse had responded well to the use of the whip, he said.
Submissions for Penalty:
Mr Ydgren told the Committee that Mr Kerr is one of the busier and more successful junior horsemen. In the 2011/2012 season he had 275 drives and, in the current season to date, has had 179 drives. He has a clear record under the Rule and, having regard to that and his admission of the breach, Mr Ydgren submitted that a fine of $200 was appropriate.
Mr Kerr told the Committee that had never previously been charged with any breach of the whip Rule. He said that $200 was a significant penalty. He had only three drives at tonight’s meeting and a $200 fine would be his driving fees. He added that it was his last season as a junior driver and “money is hard to come by”.
Reasons for Penalty:
In determining penalty, the Committee adopted the starting point of a fine of $300 for a breach of the Rule. Mr Kerr was entitled to a discount from that starting point for the two principal mitigating factors – that is to say, his excellent record and his admission of the breach. The Committee assessed the seriousness of the breach as being at the lower end of the scale.
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: 6ae3932a2ea131919455cee4ba4df96e
informantnumber: A1610
horsename:
hearing_racingtype:
startdate: no date provided
newcharge:
plea: admitted
penaltyrequired: 1
decisiondate: 24/06/2013
hearing_title: NZ Metropolitan TC 4 July 2013 - R 6
charge:
Excessive use of the whip.
facts:
Following the running of Race 6, McMillan Equine Feeds – NZ Junior Drivers Championship (Heat 3) Mobile Pace, an information was filed by Stipendiary Steward, Mr N M Ydgren, against Licensed Junior Horseman, Mr M P Kerr, alleging that Mr Kerr, as the driver of CALL ME DANNY in the race, “used his whip excessively when driving CALL ME DANNY”.
Mr Kerr was present at the hearing of the information. He confirmed to the Committee that he waived the right to be assisted by a Senior Horseman. He indicated that he admitted the charge.
Rule 869 provides as follows:
(2) No horseman shall during any race:-
(a) use his whip in an unnecessary, excessive or improper manner.
appealdecision:
isappeal:
submissionsfordecision:
Mr Ydgren showed a video replay of the final 300-400 metres of the race. He pointed out Mr Kerr, driving CALL ME DANNY, racing in 3rd to last position. He said that Stewards were alleging that, from the 400 metres, Mr Kerr had used his whip 24 times which could be clearly seen from the video. Mr Ydgren conceded that there were several pauses in Mr Kerr’s use of the whip. However, the Stewards were concerned about the number of times he used his whip.
Mr Kerr, when asked by the Committee, agreed with the numbers of strikes alleged by the Stewards. Mr Ydgren agreed with the Committee that none of the strikes was very forceful. He said that it was not the worst case but 24 was too many times.
Mr Kerr told the Committee that he is not a “big hitter” of horses. He submitted that a number of the strikes had been on the sulky shaft. He had been told by the horse’s trainer prior to the race that the horse needed to be hit to be “urged along”. He said that, at about the 800 metres, he had been forced out 4-wide due to the horse being lazy. The reason why he had started hitting the horse at the 400 metres was purely to keep the horse on the bit and to avoid getting pushed off the track. The horse had responded well to the use of the whip, he said.
reasonsfordecision:
Decision:
Mr Kerr having admitted the charge, the charge was found proved.
sumissionsforpenalty:
Mr Ydgren told the Committee that Mr Kerr is one of the busier and more successful junior horsemen. In the 2011/2012 season he had 275 drives and, in the current season to date, has had 179 drives. He has a clear record under the Rule and, having regard to that and his admission of the breach, Mr Ydgren submitted that a fine of $200 was appropriate.
Mr Kerr told the Committee that had never previously been charged with any breach of the whip Rule. He said that $200 was a significant penalty. He had only three drives at tonight’s meeting and a $200 fine would be his driving fees. He added that it was his last season as a junior driver and “money is hard to come by”.
reasonsforpenalty:
In determining penalty, the Committee adopted the starting point of a fine of $300 for a breach of the Rule. Mr Kerr was entitled to a discount from that starting point for the two principal mitigating factors – that is to say, his excellent record and his admission of the breach. The Committee assessed the seriousness of the breach as being at the lower end of the scale.
penalty:
Mr Kerr was fined the sum of $200.
hearing_type: Hearing
Rules: 869(2)(a)
Informant: N M Ydgren, Stipendiary Steward
JockeysandTrainer: M P Kerr, Licensed Junior Horseman
Otherperson:
PersonPresent:
Respondent:
StipendSteward:
raceid: cb232553c697926ca87fe91eb7c657b6
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: f566805d9a5df67c8391bdcdde2109f6
meet_expapproval:
meet_noreport: 0
waitingforpublication: 0
meet_emailed1: 0
meet_emailed2: 0
meetdate: 04/07/2013
meet_title: NZ Metro TC - 4 July 2013
meet_expappcomment:
meet_km:
meet_otherexp:
tracklocation: nz-metro-tc
meet_racingtype: harness-racing
meet_chair: RMcKenzie
meet_pm1: KHales
meet_pm2: none
name: NZ Metro TC