R Te Aroha 29 September 2019 – R 9 – Chair, Mr G Jones
ID: JCA14078
Code:
Thoroughbred
Meet Title:
Racing Te Aroha - 29 September 2019
Meet Chair:
GJones
Meet Committee Member 1:
ADooley
Race Date:
2019/09/29
Race Number:
R9
Decision:
As Mr Harrison admitted the breach the charge is proved.
Penalty:
Accordingly, Mr Harrison was fined the sum of $650.
Facts:
This charge arises from the running of race 9, the Geoff Brindley Memorial 1600 (Amateur Riders). Stipendiary Steward Mr Jones filed an Information pursuant to Rule 638(3)(b)(ii) alleging that Class E Rider Mr Harrison used the whip excessively on his mount MEANT TO BE prior to the 100 metres.
Mr Harrison acknowledged he understood the nature of the charge; the relevant rule and he confirmed his admission of the breach.
Rule 638(3)(b)(ii) provides that a Rider shall not:
(ii) strike a horse with a whip in a manner or to an extent which is excessive
The “Guidelines with Respect to Acceptable Use of the Whip” provide:
Without affecting the generality of Rule 638(3) (b) a rider may be penalised if their whip use is outside of the following guidelines:
Inside the final 600 metres of any Race, official trial or jump-out a horse may be struck with the drawn whip up to five times after which the rider must cease their use of the whip for a minimum of five strides before striking the horse again with the drawn whip, with this restriction to apply prior to the final 100 metres. The whip may then be used at the rider’s discretion until the winning post is reached.
Prior to the final 600 metres of a race, official trial or jump-out the use of the drawn whip is acceptable if used in moderation and not continually.
Using available video footage Mr Williamson identified MEANT TO BE (B Harrison) rounding the home turn on the extreme outside of the field. He demonstrated that Mr Harrison used his whip 18 times from this point to the 100 metre mark. He said that the strikes were not forceful and there were some breaks, but not the required 5 and therefore his whip use was outside the use of whip guidelines. Mr Jones added that at 18 strikes, this placed the breach in the high range.
In response, Mr Harrison said that he agreed with the number of strikes and had nothing further to add.
Submissions for Penalty:
Mr Jones produced Mr Harrison’s record which showed one previous breach under this Rule within the last 12 months. That breach occurred at the Waverly meeting on 27 June 2019 and Mr Harrison incurred a fine. He further submitted that the number of strikes was in the high range, but reiterated they were not forceful. He said that due to the high range Stewards would normally seek a suspension, but as this was the last jumps meeting for the current season, and dates for next season have not been notified, a fine may suffice. He further submitted that amateur riders generally receive a discount, but would leave any decision as to discount for the Committee to determine.
Mr Harrison said that he agreed with the Stewards' submission. He said he was well aware of the whip rule and guidelines. In response to questions from the Committee Mr Harrison said that he has had 6 or 7 rides this season and was contemplating seeking a license to ride in jumps races next season. He also said that he was in a financial position to pay any proposed fine.
Reasons for Penalty:
The Committee considered all the evidence and submissions presented. After reviewing the race films we confirmed that Mr Harrison struck his mount 18 times over a prolonged distance. We observed that many of the strikes occurred when his mount was at the rear of the field and not in contention, albeit his mount did run on over the concluding stages of the race to finish in 7th place. We also observed that the strikes were not forceful and there was some respite.
In assessing penalty we would generally afford an amateur rider some discount due to their status. However, on this occasion due to the number of strikes we assess this breach to be in the high range and do not consider any reduction in penalty to be appropriate. In addition this is Mr Harrison’s second whip breach from just a handful of rides which we deemed to be a further aggravating factor.
The JCA Penalty Guide establishes the starting point for (first, second, or third) breaches of Rule 638(3) (b) (ii) as follows:
1st breach $300
2nd breach $500
3rd or subsequent breach 6-8 national riding day suspension
As this is Mr Harrison’s second breach we adopted a $500 fine as a starting point. After taking into account all the above factors the Committee considered a $650 fine to be appropriate under the circumstances. Due to this being the last jumps and amateur riders meeting for the season, and having no indication of next year’s programme dates or schedule we did not consider a suspension.
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: 95cabea820b2dfa196e9519ec48ffe5a
informantnumber: A09699
horsename:
hearing_racingtype:
startdate: no date provided
newcharge: Excessive use of the whip
plea: admitted
penaltyrequired: 1
decisiondate: 29/09/2019
hearing_title: R Te Aroha 29 September 2019 - R 9 - Chair, Mr G Jones
charge:
facts:
This charge arises from the running of race 9, the Geoff Brindley Memorial 1600 (Amateur Riders). Stipendiary Steward Mr Jones filed an Information pursuant to Rule 638(3)(b)(ii) alleging that Class E Rider Mr Harrison used the whip excessively on his mount MEANT TO BE prior to the 100 metres.
Mr Harrison acknowledged he understood the nature of the charge; the relevant rule and he confirmed his admission of the breach.
Rule 638(3)(b)(ii) provides that a Rider shall not:
(ii) strike a horse with a whip in a manner or to an extent which is excessive
The “Guidelines with Respect to Acceptable Use of the Whip” provide:
Without affecting the generality of Rule 638(3) (b) a rider may be penalised if their whip use is outside of the following guidelines:
Inside the final 600 metres of any Race, official trial or jump-out a horse may be struck with the drawn whip up to five times after which the rider must cease their use of the whip for a minimum of five strides before striking the horse again with the drawn whip, with this restriction to apply prior to the final 100 metres. The whip may then be used at the rider’s discretion until the winning post is reached.
Prior to the final 600 metres of a race, official trial or jump-out the use of the drawn whip is acceptable if used in moderation and not continually.
Using available video footage Mr Williamson identified MEANT TO BE (B Harrison) rounding the home turn on the extreme outside of the field. He demonstrated that Mr Harrison used his whip 18 times from this point to the 100 metre mark. He said that the strikes were not forceful and there were some breaks, but not the required 5 and therefore his whip use was outside the use of whip guidelines. Mr Jones added that at 18 strikes, this placed the breach in the high range.
In response, Mr Harrison said that he agreed with the number of strikes and had nothing further to add.
appealdecision:
isappeal:
submissionsfordecision:
reasonsfordecision:
Decision:
As Mr Harrison admitted the breach the charge is proved.
sumissionsforpenalty:
Mr Jones produced Mr Harrison’s record which showed one previous breach under this Rule within the last 12 months. That breach occurred at the Waverly meeting on 27 June 2019 and Mr Harrison incurred a fine. He further submitted that the number of strikes was in the high range, but reiterated they were not forceful. He said that due to the high range Stewards would normally seek a suspension, but as this was the last jumps meeting for the current season, and dates for next season have not been notified, a fine may suffice. He further submitted that amateur riders generally receive a discount, but would leave any decision as to discount for the Committee to determine.
Mr Harrison said that he agreed with the Stewards' submission. He said he was well aware of the whip rule and guidelines. In response to questions from the Committee Mr Harrison said that he has had 6 or 7 rides this season and was contemplating seeking a license to ride in jumps races next season. He also said that he was in a financial position to pay any proposed fine.
reasonsforpenalty:
The Committee considered all the evidence and submissions presented. After reviewing the race films we confirmed that Mr Harrison struck his mount 18 times over a prolonged distance. We observed that many of the strikes occurred when his mount was at the rear of the field and not in contention, albeit his mount did run on over the concluding stages of the race to finish in 7th place. We also observed that the strikes were not forceful and there was some respite.
In assessing penalty we would generally afford an amateur rider some discount due to their status. However, on this occasion due to the number of strikes we assess this breach to be in the high range and do not consider any reduction in penalty to be appropriate. In addition this is Mr Harrison’s second whip breach from just a handful of rides which we deemed to be a further aggravating factor.
The JCA Penalty Guide establishes the starting point for (first, second, or third) breaches of Rule 638(3) (b) (ii) as follows:
1st breach $300
2nd breach $500
3rd or subsequent breach 6-8 national riding day suspension
As this is Mr Harrison’s second breach we adopted a $500 fine as a starting point. After taking into account all the above factors the Committee considered a $650 fine to be appropriate under the circumstances. Due to this being the last jumps and amateur riders meeting for the season, and having no indication of next year’s programme dates or schedule we did not consider a suspension.
penalty:
Accordingly, Mr Harrison was fined the sum of $650.
hearing_type: Hearing
Rules: 638(3)(b)(ii)
Informant: Mr B Jones - Stipendiary Steward
JockeysandTrainer: Mr B Harrison - Class E Rider
Otherperson: Mr M Williamson - Senior Stipendiary Steward
PersonPresent:
Respondent:
StipendSteward:
raceid: 7bc1d282abc05895bd9cafc450dcc5d9
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race_noreport: 0
race_emailed1: 0
race_emailed2: 0
race_title: R9
submittochair:
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meetdate: 29/09/2019
meet_title: Racing Te Aroha - 29 September 2019
meet_expappcomment:
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meet_racingtype: thoroughbred-racing
meet_chair: GJones
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name: Racing Te Aroha