NZ MetroTC 8 December 2016 – R8 – Chair, Mr R McKenzie
ID: JCA15223
Meet Title:
NZ Metro TC - 8 December 2016
Meet Chair:
RMcKenzie
Meet Committee Member 1:
DJackson
Race Date:
2016/12/08
Race Number:
R8
Decision:
Mr Houghton having admitted the charge, the charge was found proved.
Penalty:
Mr Houghton is fined the sum of $300.
Facts:
Following the running of Race 8, Christchurch Casino Mobile Pace, an information was filed by Stipendiary Steward, Mr ST Mulcay, against Licensed Open Driver, Mr RL Houghton, alleging a breach of Rule 869 (2) (a) in that, as the driver of HAYDEN’S MEDDLE in the race, he “used his whip in a manner deemed to be excessive over the final stages”.
Mr Houghton was present at the hearing of the information and he indicated that he admitted the breach.
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 Mulcay showed a video replay of the final 400 metres of the race. He pointed out Mr Houghton, driving HAYDEN’S MEDDLE which was leading the field, activate the removable deafeners passing the 400 metres, Mr Houghton then gave the horse a “flick” with the free left hand and then cross the reins and use the whip again. He crossed the reins again and commenced to drive the horse out with the free hand, using the whip “well in excess” of the allowable number of 10 strikes. Mr Houghton’s horse was narrowly beaten into 2nd place (the margin was a short head). Mr Mulcay estimated that the number of strikes was approximately 16-18.
Mr Houghton accepted that he had clearly exceeded the number of 10 strikes. He submitted that he had broken up his whip use with pauses. Mr Mulcay agreed but said that it was the number of strikes that the Stewards had an issue with on this occasion.
Submissions for Penalty:
Mr Mulcay told the Committee that Mr Houghton had a clear record under the Rule. He referred to the Penalty Guide which suggested a starting point of a $500 fine or a 2-days’ suspension. Mr Houghton was entitled to a discount for his admission of the breach and clear record, Mr Mulcay said.
Mr Houghton was asked by the Committee if he would like to consider a suspension rather than a fine. Mr Houghton indicated that he would prefer a fine.
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, the breach being mid-range in the Committee’s view, but mitigating factors were Mr Houghton’s good record and his admission of the breach. We assessed the appropriate discount for those mitigating factors at $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: 7823c9c8a78065ee13154ab9013e7a83
informantnumber: A8328
horsename:
hearing_racingtype:
startdate: no date provided
newcharge: Excessive Use of Whip
plea: admitted
penaltyrequired: 1
decisiondate: 09/12/2016
hearing_title: NZ MetroTC 8 December 2016 - R8 - Chair, Mr R McKenzie
charge:
facts:
Following the running of Race 8, Christchurch Casino Mobile Pace, an information was filed by Stipendiary Steward, Mr ST Mulcay, against Licensed Open Driver, Mr RL Houghton, alleging a breach of Rule 869 (2) (a) in that, as the driver of HAYDEN’S MEDDLE in the race, he “used his whip in a manner deemed to be excessive over the final stages”.
Mr Houghton was present at the hearing of the information and he indicated that he admitted the breach.
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 Mulcay showed a video replay of the final 400 metres of the race. He pointed out Mr Houghton, driving HAYDEN’S MEDDLE which was leading the field, activate the removable deafeners passing the 400 metres, Mr Houghton then gave the horse a “flick” with the free left hand and then cross the reins and use the whip again. He crossed the reins again and commenced to drive the horse out with the free hand, using the whip “well in excess” of the allowable number of 10 strikes. Mr Houghton’s horse was narrowly beaten into 2nd place (the margin was a short head). Mr Mulcay estimated that the number of strikes was approximately 16-18.
Mr Houghton accepted that he had clearly exceeded the number of 10 strikes. He submitted that he had broken up his whip use with pauses. Mr Mulcay agreed but said that it was the number of strikes that the Stewards had an issue with on this occasion.
appealdecision:
isappeal:
submissionsfordecision:
reasonsfordecision:
Decision:
Mr Houghton having admitted the charge, the charge was found proved.
sumissionsforpenalty:
Mr Mulcay told the Committee that Mr Houghton had a clear record under the Rule. He referred to the Penalty Guide which suggested a starting point of a $500 fine or a 2-days’ suspension. Mr Houghton was entitled to a discount for his admission of the breach and clear record, Mr Mulcay said.
Mr Houghton was asked by the Committee if he would like to consider a suspension rather than a fine. Mr Houghton indicated that he would prefer a fine.
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, the breach being mid-range in the Committee’s view, but mitigating factors were Mr Houghton’s good record and his admission of the breach. We assessed the appropriate discount for those mitigating factors at $200.
penalty:
Mr Houghton is fined the sum of $300.
hearing_type: Hearing
Rules: 869(2)(a)
Informant: Mr ST Mulcay - Stipendiary Steward
JockeysandTrainer: Mr RL Houghton - Licensed Open Horseman
Otherperson:
PersonPresent:
Respondent:
StipendSteward:
raceid: 55f263f18021eac653115fed0bedf0fc
race_expapproval:
racecancelled: 0
race_noreport: 0
race_emailed1: 0
race_emailed2: 0
race_title: R8
submittochair:
race_expappcomment:
race_km:
race_otherexp:
race_chair:
race_pm1:
race_pm2:
meetid: 0fd6c25428bada0e49e393e5e0e46a59
meet_expapproval:
meet_noreport: 0
waitingforpublication: 0
meet_emailed1: 0
meet_emailed2: 0
meetdate: 08/12/2016
meet_title: NZ Metro TC - 8 December 2016
meet_expappcomment:
meet_km:
meet_otherexp:
tracklocation: nz-metro-tc
meet_racingtype: harness-racing
meet_chair: RMcKenzie
meet_pm1: DJackson
meet_pm2: none
name: NZ Metro TC