Rangiora HRC 22 December 2019 – R 6 – Chair, Ms O Jarvis
ID: JCA13894
Meet Title:
Rangiora HRC - 22 December 2019
Meet Chair:
OJarvis
Meet Committee Member 1:
SChing
Race Date:
2019/12/22
Race Number:
R 6
Decision:
The charge was found proved.
Penalty:
Mr Houghton's request for a deferment until after racing 29 December was granted.
Mr Houghton’s licence is suspended for six days from the conclusion of racing on 29 December 2019 up to, and including, 17 January 2020.
The dates included are as follow; Rangiora 3 January 2020, Timaru 7 January 2020, Nelson 10 January 2020, Nelson 12 January 2020, Timaru 15 January 2020, and Marlborough 17 January 2020.
Facts:
Following the running Race 6, the Jack Thompson Pace, an Information was filed by Stipendiary Steward, Mrs Tibbs, against Licensed Driver, Mr R Houghton, alleging that Mr Houghton, as the driver of CALYPSO ROCK in the race, “used his whip on more occasions than permitted by Clause (b) of the Use of the Whip Regulations”.
Mr Houghton was present at the hearing of the Information and indicated that he denied the charge.
Rule 869 provides as follows:
(2) No horseman shall during any race use a whip in a manner in contravention of the Use of the Whip Regulations made by the Board.
The Use of Whip Regulations (effective from 30 November 2017) provide:
(b) No horseman is permitted to use their whip in a striking motion on more than ten occasions inside the final 400 metres. This is inclusive of “backhanders” and the use applies to the horse, harness and/or sulky.
Submissions for Decision:
Mrs Tibbs outlined that Stewards were alleging that Mr Houghton had used his whip on 12 occasions inside the final 400 metres of the race. She proceeded to show a video replay of the final 400 metres and pointed out Mr Houghton, driving CALYPSO ROCK, who was in the lead approaching the 400 metre mark.
Mrs Tibbs pointed out Mr Houghton activating the gear, commencing to use his whip and alleged that Mr Houghton had used his whip on 12 occasions prior to the finishing line.
The video replay was shown several times to the Committee.
Mr Houghton was asked by the Committee for his submission in relation to the video replay. Mr Houghton outlined that he was disputing the final two alleged strikes. He submitted they were “flicks” to encourage the horse. Mr Houghton outlined that he had stopped using the whip and had his arms up, then has proceeded to use the “flick” to encourage the horse. Mr Houghton discussed his own driving style, elaborating in relation to how he uses the whip and submitted that he was not striking the horse. Mr Houghton outlined he was well aware of the Rule and that is why he used a flicking action and not a strike.
Mr Houghton concluded that if the two strikes or “flicks” of the whip were excluded then the count would be 10 and not a breach of the Regulations.
Reasons for Decision:
Given the competing positions of the parties the hearing focused on the two final alleged strikes of the whip and the videos were studied carefully in relation to those particular actions. Upon reviewing the video footage, the Committee did not accept Mr Houghton’s submission that they were “flicks”. The video footage showed Mr Houghton raise his arm and bring the whip down, displaying two strikes rather than flicks. It was, therefore, clear from the video footage that the whip was utilised by Mr Houghton in a forward striking motion and therefore the action is in contravention of the Rule and Regulations.
Thus, the Committee is satisfied that Mr Houghton has used his whip in a striking motion on 12 occasions inside the final 400 metres in breach of the Rule and the Use of the Whip Regulations and, as a consequence, we find the charge proved.
Submissions for Penalty:
Mrs Tibbs told the Committee that Mr Houghton has had 15 drives in the current season and had a total of 95 drives last season.
Mr Houghton has a previous breach on 23 November 2019, which is inside the ‘six-month reset period’. Mr Houghton was suspended for three days for that breach. Mrs Tibbs outlined that Mr Houghton has had five previous breaches of this Rule in the last 12 months.
Mrs Tibbs highlighted Mr Houghton’s poor record and submitted that the penalty imposed should reflect the fact that Mr Houghton has had repeated breaches of this Rule.
Reasons for Penalty:
In determining penalty, the Committee had regard to the Penalty Guide in the Use of the Whip Regulations. With reference to the Guide, this was a second breach in the six month reset period, the Committee took a starting point of a three day suspension. This took into account the number of strikes and the nature of them. The Committee was of the view that there were no aggravating factors directly relating to this race.
However, an aggravating factor was Mr Houghton’s history of breaches of this Rule. In this case the Committee has decided, given the history of repeated breaches by Mr Houghton, that personal deterrence must be paramount in this case. Thus, it is the combination of the second breach within 5 drives and the previous 8 breaches of the Rule within the last 18 months which has led the Committee to determine that an uplift of 3 days is appropriate.
Accordingly, taking into account all of the above the Committee was satisfied that a 6 days suspension was appropriate.
Mr Houghton sought a deferment of penalty until after racing at Banks Peninsula on 29 December.
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: 7dba7ed18d94951abf51eaa9ee33e97f
informantnumber: A11239
horsename:
hearing_racingtype:
startdate: no date provided
newcharge: Contravention of the Use of the Whip Regulations
plea: denied
penaltyrequired: 1
decisiondate: 28/12/2019
hearing_title: Rangiora HRC 22 December 2019 - R 6 - Chair, Ms O Jarvis
charge:
facts:
Following the running Race 6, the Jack Thompson Pace, an Information was filed by Stipendiary Steward, Mrs Tibbs, against Licensed Driver, Mr R Houghton, alleging that Mr Houghton, as the driver of CALYPSO ROCK in the race, “used his whip on more occasions than permitted by Clause (b) of the Use of the Whip Regulations”.
Mr Houghton was present at the hearing of the Information and indicated that he denied the charge.
Rule 869 provides as follows:
(2) No horseman shall during any race use a whip in a manner in contravention of the Use of the Whip Regulations made by the Board.
The Use of Whip Regulations (effective from 30 November 2017) provide:
(b) No horseman is permitted to use their whip in a striking motion on more than ten occasions inside the final 400 metres. This is inclusive of “backhanders” and the use applies to the horse, harness and/or sulky.
appealdecision:
isappeal:
submissionsfordecision:
Mrs Tibbs outlined that Stewards were alleging that Mr Houghton had used his whip on 12 occasions inside the final 400 metres of the race. She proceeded to show a video replay of the final 400 metres and pointed out Mr Houghton, driving CALYPSO ROCK, who was in the lead approaching the 400 metre mark.
Mrs Tibbs pointed out Mr Houghton activating the gear, commencing to use his whip and alleged that Mr Houghton had used his whip on 12 occasions prior to the finishing line.
The video replay was shown several times to the Committee.
Mr Houghton was asked by the Committee for his submission in relation to the video replay. Mr Houghton outlined that he was disputing the final two alleged strikes. He submitted they were “flicks” to encourage the horse. Mr Houghton outlined that he had stopped using the whip and had his arms up, then has proceeded to use the “flick” to encourage the horse. Mr Houghton discussed his own driving style, elaborating in relation to how he uses the whip and submitted that he was not striking the horse. Mr Houghton outlined he was well aware of the Rule and that is why he used a flicking action and not a strike.
Mr Houghton concluded that if the two strikes or “flicks” of the whip were excluded then the count would be 10 and not a breach of the Regulations.
reasonsfordecision:
Given the competing positions of the parties the hearing focused on the two final alleged strikes of the whip and the videos were studied carefully in relation to those particular actions. Upon reviewing the video footage, the Committee did not accept Mr Houghton’s submission that they were “flicks”. The video footage showed Mr Houghton raise his arm and bring the whip down, displaying two strikes rather than flicks. It was, therefore, clear from the video footage that the whip was utilised by Mr Houghton in a forward striking motion and therefore the action is in contravention of the Rule and Regulations.
Thus, the Committee is satisfied that Mr Houghton has used his whip in a striking motion on 12 occasions inside the final 400 metres in breach of the Rule and the Use of the Whip Regulations and, as a consequence, we find the charge proved.
Decision:
The charge was found proved.
sumissionsforpenalty:
Mrs Tibbs told the Committee that Mr Houghton has had 15 drives in the current season and had a total of 95 drives last season.
Mr Houghton has a previous breach on 23 November 2019, which is inside the ‘six-month reset period’. Mr Houghton was suspended for three days for that breach. Mrs Tibbs outlined that Mr Houghton has had five previous breaches of this Rule in the last 12 months.
Mrs Tibbs highlighted Mr Houghton’s poor record and submitted that the penalty imposed should reflect the fact that Mr Houghton has had repeated breaches of this Rule.
reasonsforpenalty:
In determining penalty, the Committee had regard to the Penalty Guide in the Use of the Whip Regulations. With reference to the Guide, this was a second breach in the six month reset period, the Committee took a starting point of a three day suspension. This took into account the number of strikes and the nature of them. The Committee was of the view that there were no aggravating factors directly relating to this race.
However, an aggravating factor was Mr Houghton’s history of breaches of this Rule. In this case the Committee has decided, given the history of repeated breaches by Mr Houghton, that personal deterrence must be paramount in this case. Thus, it is the combination of the second breach within 5 drives and the previous 8 breaches of the Rule within the last 18 months which has led the Committee to determine that an uplift of 3 days is appropriate.
Accordingly, taking into account all of the above the Committee was satisfied that a 6 days suspension was appropriate.
Mr Houghton sought a deferment of penalty until after racing at Banks Peninsula on 29 December.
penalty:
Mr Houghton's request for a deferment until after racing 29 December was granted.
Mr Houghton’s licence is suspended for six days from the conclusion of racing on 29 December 2019 up to, and including, 17 January 2020.
The dates included are as follow; Rangiora 3 January 2020, Timaru 7 January 2020, Nelson 10 January 2020, Nelson 12 January 2020, Timaru 15 January 2020, and Marlborough 17 January 2020.
hearing_type: Hearing
Rules: 869(2) and Whip Regulation (b)
Informant: Mrs C Tibbs - Stipendiary Steward
JockeysandTrainer: Mr R Houghton - Licensed Horseman
Otherperson:
PersonPresent:
Respondent:
StipendSteward:
raceid: a76c38546de9ee2abed67244bd4759e8
race_expapproval:
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race_noreport: 0
race_emailed1: 0
race_emailed2: 0
race_title: R 6
submittochair:
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meetid: 776978edd053c6a7967e469ebaa9de6d
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meetdate: 22/12/2019
meet_title: Rangiora HRC - 22 December 2019
meet_expappcomment:
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tracklocation: rangiora-hrc
meet_racingtype: harness-racing
meet_chair: OJarvis
meet_pm1: SChing
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name: Rangiora HRC