Rangiora HRC 23 May 2021 – R 1 – Chair, Mr R McKenzie
ID: JCA11060
Meet Title:
Rangiora HRC - 23 May 2021
Meet Chair:
RMcKenzie
Race Date:
2021/05/23
Race Number:
R1
Decision:
Ms Wigg having admitted the charge, it was found proved.
Penalty:
Ms Wigg is fined the sum of $500.
Facts:
Following the running of Race 1, NZ Amateur Drivers Championship Heat 3 Mobile Pace, an Information was filed by Stipendiary Steward, Mr P Williams, against Licensed Advanced Amateur Driver, Ms C M Wigg, alleging that, as the Driver of FLAMBOYANT in the race, she “used her whip with more than a wrist flicking motion in the home straight”.
Ms Wigg had signed the Statement by the Respondent on the Information form indicating that she admitted the breach. She confirmed this at the hearing at, which she was present.
The Whip and Rein Regulations provide as follows:
3.1 A driver may only apply the whip in a wrist only flicking motion whilst holding a rein in each hand with the tip of the whip pointed forward in an action which does not engage the shoulder.
3.3 A driver shall not use a whip in an unapproved manner.
3.4 For the purposes of Clause 3.3 a driver shall be deemed to have used the whip in an unapproved manner in the following circumstances which are not exclusive:
3.4.1 If the whip is applied other than as permitted in clause 3.1.
Mr Williams showed a video replay of the final 200-300 metres of the race. He pointed out FLAMBOYANT, driven by Ms Wigg, improving 3-wide near the lead as the field entered the home straight. He said that it was the Stewards’ contention that Ms Wigg, from that point, used her whip in more than a wrist only flicking motion and in a forceful manner on at least eight occasions to the finishing line.
Ms Wigg said that she needed to “sort out” her whip use.
Submissions for Penalty:
Mr Williams said that Ms Wigg has a clear record. Stewards considered it a mid-range breach, he said, for which the HRNZ Whip Penalty Guide provided a starting point of a $500 fine. He submitted that a fine of that amount would be an appropriate penalty on this occasion.
Ms Wigg said that, while it did not look good, the strikes were not forceful and the horse showed no markings. $500 is a lot of money for her, she said.
Reasons for Penalty:
Mr Williams has submitted that the breach in this case is medium-level. The Committee considers that that may be a rather generous assessment as far as Ms Wigg is concerned and is, perhaps, closer to high-level as defined in the Penalty Guide. It probably sits somewhere in between, in the medium-to-high level. A high-level breach has a starting point of a 3-days suspension, but a suspension is not called for.
Having regard to that, and weighing up the other relevant factors, the Committee has decided that a fine for a medium-level breach is appropriate. That fine, in this case, will be $500.
JCA Decision Fields (raw)
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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: 1233d6f9a45c9361fa73870d90951484
informantnumber: A13322
horsename:
hearing_racingtype:
startdate: no date provided
newcharge: Unapproved Use of Whip
plea: admitted
penaltyrequired: 1
decisiondate: 26/05/2021
hearing_title: Rangiora HRC 23 May 2021 - R 1 - Chair, Mr R McKenzie
charge:
facts:
Following the running of Race 1, NZ Amateur Drivers Championship Heat 3 Mobile Pace, an Information was filed by Stipendiary Steward, Mr P Williams, against Licensed Advanced Amateur Driver, Ms C M Wigg, alleging that, as the Driver of FLAMBOYANT in the race, she “used her whip with more than a wrist flicking motion in the home straight”.
Ms Wigg had signed the Statement by the Respondent on the Information form indicating that she admitted the breach. She confirmed this at the hearing at, which she was present.
The Whip and Rein Regulations provide as follows:
3.1 A driver may only apply the whip in a wrist only flicking motion whilst holding a rein in each hand with the tip of the whip pointed forward in an action which does not engage the shoulder.
3.3 A driver shall not use a whip in an unapproved manner.
3.4 For the purposes of Clause 3.3 a driver shall be deemed to have used the whip in an unapproved manner in the following circumstances which are not exclusive:
3.4.1 If the whip is applied other than as permitted in clause 3.1.
Mr Williams showed a video replay of the final 200-300 metres of the race. He pointed out FLAMBOYANT, driven by Ms Wigg, improving 3-wide near the lead as the field entered the home straight. He said that it was the Stewards’ contention that Ms Wigg, from that point, used her whip in more than a wrist only flicking motion and in a forceful manner on at least eight occasions to the finishing line.
Ms Wigg said that she needed to “sort out” her whip use.
appealdecision:
isappeal:
submissionsfordecision:
reasonsfordecision:
Decision:
Ms Wigg having admitted the charge, it was found proved.
sumissionsforpenalty:
Mr Williams said that Ms Wigg has a clear record. Stewards considered it a mid-range breach, he said, for which the HRNZ Whip Penalty Guide provided a starting point of a $500 fine. He submitted that a fine of that amount would be an appropriate penalty on this occasion.
Ms Wigg said that, while it did not look good, the strikes were not forceful and the horse showed no markings. $500 is a lot of money for her, she said.
reasonsforpenalty:
Mr Williams has submitted that the breach in this case is medium-level. The Committee considers that that may be a rather generous assessment as far as Ms Wigg is concerned and is, perhaps, closer to high-level as defined in the Penalty Guide. It probably sits somewhere in between, in the medium-to-high level. A high-level breach has a starting point of a 3-days suspension, but a suspension is not called for.
Having regard to that, and weighing up the other relevant factors, the Committee has decided that a fine for a medium-level breach is appropriate. That fine, in this case, will be $500.
penalty:
Ms Wigg is fined the sum of $500.
hearing_type: Hearing
Rules: 869(2)& Whip & Rein Regulations
Informant: P Williams, Stipendiary Steward
JockeysandTrainer: C M Wigg, Licensed Advanced Amateur Driver
Otherperson:
PersonPresent:
Respondent:
StipendSteward:
raceid: 5239ba0ec9f02b95dab7f8606eeac315
race_expapproval:
racecancelled: 0
race_noreport: 0
race_emailed1: 0
race_emailed2: 0
race_title: R1
submittochair:
race_expappcomment:
race_km:
race_otherexp:
race_chair:
race_pm1:
race_pm2:
meetid: 9e0ecb9040a52b18ccfe83f4a4b6b497
meet_expapproval:
meet_noreport: 0
waitingforpublication: 1
meet_emailed1: 0
meet_emailed2: 0
meetdate: 23/05/2021
meet_title: Rangiora HRC - 23 May 2021
meet_expappcomment:
meet_km:
meet_otherexp:
tracklocation: rangiora-hrc
meet_racingtype: harness-racing
meet_chair: RMcKenzie
meet_pm1: none
meet_pm2: none
name: Rangiora HRC