Rangiora HRC 7 May 2017 – R 6 – Chair, Mr S Ching
ID: JCA13311
Meet Title:
Rangiora HRC - 7 May 2017
Meet Chair:
SChing
Meet Committee Member 1:
DAnderson
Race Date:
2017/05/07
Race Number:
R6
Decision:
As Mr Close had admitted this breach of the Rules it was found to be proved in accordance with Rule 1111(1)(d).
Penalty:
Accordingly, Mr Close’s Horseman’s Licence was suspended from the conclusion of racing today 7 May up to and including 14 May 2017. Meetings encompassed in this period of suspension are Forbury 11 May, Addington 12 May and Timaru 14 May 2017.
Facts:
Following the running of Race 11, the Fernside Mobile Pace, an Information was filed by Stipendiary Steward Mr S Wallis against Licensed Open Horseman Mr R Close alleging a breach of Rule 869(2)(a) in that he used his whip in an excessive manner over the final 400m.
Rule 869(2)(a) reads as follows:
“(2) No horseman shall during any race:-
(a) Use his whip in an unnecessary, excessive or improper manner.”
Use of the Whip Guidelines provides:
-The whip shall not be used more than 10 times in the last 400m of a race, otherwise this will be deemed excessive use pursuant to these guidelines.
Mr Close had endorsed the information that the breach was admitted which he confirmed at the hearing. He also confirmed that he understood the rule he was being charged with.
Mr Wallis gave evidence and showed video replays, with the assistance of Stipendiary Steward, Mr R Quirk, of the run home. He pointed out Mr Close, driving REAL OBSESSION, positioned 3 back and 1 off the pylons as the field turned for home. Mr Wallis stated that Mr Close initially used the whip twice with the hand on the rein which is not in breach of the Guidelines but shortly afterwards drew the whip and used it free of the rein on 12 occasions over the final stages. Mr Wallis stated that 12 strikes was just over the Guidelines limit of 10 strikes over the last 400m of the race.
Mr Close did not dispute the number of strikes and conceded he was in breach of the Rule.
Submissions for Penalty:
Mr Wallis stated that Mr Close had admitted the breach at the first opportunity and was a busy horseman. He said Mr Close had driven on 425 occasions last season with drives this season, 281 to date. He stated that Mr Close normally drove on 4 to 5 occasions at most relative meetings. Mr Wallis stated that Mr Close had a penalty record which showed 2 breaches of this rule within the previous 6 months being a $300 fine at Addington on 23 February and a 3-day suspension at Waimate on 19 March 2017, which he said, was an aggravating factor. Mr Wallis stated that the JCA Penalty Guide recommended a starting point of a 3 to 5-day suspension for a 2nd or subsequent breach of this rule. He submitted that a 4-day suspension be considered as penalty in this case.
Mr Close submitted that a 3-day suspension be considered as penalty due to the next 2 days at Addington Raceway were both Premier days and a 4-day suspension would include both of these days.
Deferment of penalty was discussed with Mr Close opting to start any suspension immediately.
Reasons for Penalty:
The JCA Penalty Guide recommends a starting point of a 3 to 5-day suspension for a 2nd or subsequent breach of this rule. We assessed this breach to be low level due to the number of strikes being 12, only 2 above the limit of 10. The Committee adopted a 3-day starting point in this case and determined that the aggravating factor of Mr Closes penalty record warranted an uplift in penalty which we set at 1 day. We were however able to afford Mr Close a discount of 1 day for his frank admission of the breach. We therefore determined that a 3-day suspension was an appropriate penalty in this case.
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: 607702316227d6087c4207eb304a0f27
informantnumber: A9055
horsename:
hearing_racingtype:
startdate: no date provided
newcharge: Breach of Rule 869(2)(a)-excessive use of the whip.
plea: admitted
penaltyrequired: 1
decisiondate: 10/05/2017
hearing_title: Rangiora HRC 7 May 2017 - R 6 - Chair, Mr S Ching
charge:
facts:
Following the running of Race 11, the Fernside Mobile Pace, an Information was filed by Stipendiary Steward Mr S Wallis against Licensed Open Horseman Mr R Close alleging a breach of Rule 869(2)(a) in that he used his whip in an excessive manner over the final 400m.
Rule 869(2)(a) reads as follows:
“(2) No horseman shall during any race:-
(a) Use his whip in an unnecessary, excessive or improper manner.”
Use of the Whip Guidelines provides:
-The whip shall not be used more than 10 times in the last 400m of a race, otherwise this will be deemed excessive use pursuant to these guidelines.
Mr Close had endorsed the information that the breach was admitted which he confirmed at the hearing. He also confirmed that he understood the rule he was being charged with.
Mr Wallis gave evidence and showed video replays, with the assistance of Stipendiary Steward, Mr R Quirk, of the run home. He pointed out Mr Close, driving REAL OBSESSION, positioned 3 back and 1 off the pylons as the field turned for home. Mr Wallis stated that Mr Close initially used the whip twice with the hand on the rein which is not in breach of the Guidelines but shortly afterwards drew the whip and used it free of the rein on 12 occasions over the final stages. Mr Wallis stated that 12 strikes was just over the Guidelines limit of 10 strikes over the last 400m of the race.
Mr Close did not dispute the number of strikes and conceded he was in breach of the Rule.
appealdecision:
isappeal:
submissionsfordecision:
reasonsfordecision:
Decision:
As Mr Close had admitted this breach of the Rules it was found to be proved in accordance with Rule 1111(1)(d).
sumissionsforpenalty:
Mr Wallis stated that Mr Close had admitted the breach at the first opportunity and was a busy horseman. He said Mr Close had driven on 425 occasions last season with drives this season, 281 to date. He stated that Mr Close normally drove on 4 to 5 occasions at most relative meetings. Mr Wallis stated that Mr Close had a penalty record which showed 2 breaches of this rule within the previous 6 months being a $300 fine at Addington on 23 February and a 3-day suspension at Waimate on 19 March 2017, which he said, was an aggravating factor. Mr Wallis stated that the JCA Penalty Guide recommended a starting point of a 3 to 5-day suspension for a 2nd or subsequent breach of this rule. He submitted that a 4-day suspension be considered as penalty in this case.
Mr Close submitted that a 3-day suspension be considered as penalty due to the next 2 days at Addington Raceway were both Premier days and a 4-day suspension would include both of these days.
Deferment of penalty was discussed with Mr Close opting to start any suspension immediately.
reasonsforpenalty:
The JCA Penalty Guide recommends a starting point of a 3 to 5-day suspension for a 2nd or subsequent breach of this rule. We assessed this breach to be low level due to the number of strikes being 12, only 2 above the limit of 10. The Committee adopted a 3-day starting point in this case and determined that the aggravating factor of Mr Closes penalty record warranted an uplift in penalty which we set at 1 day. We were however able to afford Mr Close a discount of 1 day for his frank admission of the breach. We therefore determined that a 3-day suspension was an appropriate penalty in this case.
penalty:
Accordingly, Mr Close’s Horseman’s Licence was suspended from the conclusion of racing today 7 May up to and including 14 May 2017. Meetings encompassed in this period of suspension are Forbury 11 May, Addington 12 May and Timaru 14 May 2017.
hearing_type: Hearing
Rules: 869(2)(a)
Informant: S Wallis-Stipendiary Steward
JockeysandTrainer: R Close- Open Horseman
Otherperson: Mr R Quirk - Stipendiary Steward
PersonPresent:
Respondent:
StipendSteward:
raceid: 953a87732bcfe9ec2b076ac3050db3f2
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: 4fc7c32e046b5738f23d499a21d30886
meet_expapproval:
meet_noreport: 0
waitingforpublication: 0
meet_emailed1: 0
meet_emailed2: 0
meetdate: 07/05/2017
meet_title: Rangiora HRC - 7 May 2017
meet_expappcomment:
meet_km:
meet_otherexp:
tracklocation: rangiora-hrc
meet_racingtype: harness-racing
meet_chair: SChing
meet_pm1: DAnderson
meet_pm2: none
name: Rangiora HRC