Reefton TC 30 December 2017 – R 6 – Chair, Mr R McKenzie
ID: JCA11492
Meet Title:
Reefton TC - 30 December 2017
Meet Chair:
RMcKenzie
Meet Committee Member 1:
GClapp
Race Date:
2017/12/30
Race Number:
R6
Decision:
Mr Cox having admitted the charge, the charge was found proved.
Penalty:
Mr Cox was fined the sum of $200.
Facts:
Following the running of Race 6, Reefton Coffin Co Mobile Pace, an Information was filed by Stipendiary Steward, Mr SW Wallis, against Licensed Open Driver, Mr JW Cox, alleging that Mr Cox, as the driver of RAH DE RAH in the race, “used his whip outside the guidelines made by the Board”.
Mr Cox had signed the Statement by the Respondent on the Information form indicating that he admitted the breach. He had also elected the option that he did not wish to be present at the hearing of the information.
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 the Whip Regulations 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.
Mr Wallis showed a video replay of the race as the field passed the 400 metres. He pointed out Mr Cox, driving RAH DE RAH, in the lead at that stage. Mr Cox then activated the removable gear with his foot and struck the horse on two occasions with his hand on the rein. He then used his whip on a further nine occasions, free of the rein, to the finishing line - a total of eleven strikes. Mr Wallis told the Committee that Mr Cox had accepted the alleged count of eleven.
Submissions for Penalty:
Mr Cox is a busy driver, Mr Wallis said. Last season, he drove in 449 drives and, in the current season to date, he has driven in 149 races. Mr Cox had previously breached the Rule at Nelson on 11 June 2017, but that was outside of the six-months’ reset period. He is therefore deemed to have a clear record for the purposes of this breach, Mr Wallis said.
The prescribed penalty in the Use of the Whip Regulation for eleven strikes is a fine of $200, said Mr Wallis, and he submitted that that was an appropriate penalty.
Reasons for Penalty:
The prescribed penalty under the Use of the Whip Regulation in the case of 11-13 strikes is a fine of $200. The Committee agreed, from its own observation of the video, that the relevant number of strikes in this case was eleven. The breach was mid-range and there were no aggravating factors. The Committee understands that the fine prescribed by the Regulation is to be regarded as a minimum penalty in the absence of exceptional circumstances, of which there are none in this case.
Decision Date: 02/01/2018
Publish Date: 02/01/2018
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: 222129b56170f9fd60348a2b82a2b3e9
informantnumber: 10209
horsename:
hearing_racingtype:
startdate: no date provided
newcharge: Excessive Use of the Whip
plea: admitted
penaltyrequired: 1
decisiondate: 02/01/2018
hearing_title: Reefton TC 30 December 2017 - R 6 - Chair, Mr R McKenzie
charge:
facts:
Following the running of Race 6, Reefton Coffin Co Mobile Pace, an Information was filed by Stipendiary Steward, Mr SW Wallis, against Licensed Open Driver, Mr JW Cox, alleging that Mr Cox, as the driver of RAH DE RAH in the race, “used his whip outside the guidelines made by the Board”.
Mr Cox had signed the Statement by the Respondent on the Information form indicating that he admitted the breach. He had also elected the option that he did not wish to be present at the hearing of the information.
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 the Whip Regulations 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.
Mr Wallis showed a video replay of the race as the field passed the 400 metres. He pointed out Mr Cox, driving RAH DE RAH, in the lead at that stage. Mr Cox then activated the removable gear with his foot and struck the horse on two occasions with his hand on the rein. He then used his whip on a further nine occasions, free of the rein, to the finishing line - a total of eleven strikes. Mr Wallis told the Committee that Mr Cox had accepted the alleged count of eleven.
appealdecision:
isappeal:
submissionsfordecision:
reasonsfordecision:
Decision:
Mr Cox having admitted the charge, the charge was found proved.
sumissionsforpenalty:
Mr Cox is a busy driver, Mr Wallis said. Last season, he drove in 449 drives and, in the current season to date, he has driven in 149 races. Mr Cox had previously breached the Rule at Nelson on 11 June 2017, but that was outside of the six-months’ reset period. He is therefore deemed to have a clear record for the purposes of this breach, Mr Wallis said.
The prescribed penalty in the Use of the Whip Regulation for eleven strikes is a fine of $200, said Mr Wallis, and he submitted that that was an appropriate penalty.
reasonsforpenalty:
The prescribed penalty under the Use of the Whip Regulation in the case of 11-13 strikes is a fine of $200. The Committee agreed, from its own observation of the video, that the relevant number of strikes in this case was eleven. The breach was mid-range and there were no aggravating factors. The Committee understands that the fine prescribed by the Regulation is to be regarded as a minimum penalty in the absence of exceptional circumstances, of which there are none in this case.
penalty:
Mr Cox was fined the sum of $200.
hearing_type: Hearing
Rules: 869(2)& Use of the Whip Regulation
Informant: Mr SW Wallis - Stipendiary Steward
JockeysandTrainer: Mr JW Cox - Licensed Open Driver
Otherperson:
PersonPresent:
Respondent:
StipendSteward:
raceid: 30dc19b4bd11ff6ba044e725a744e33f
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: dfce7175f66b6422b936191ec64b52e2
meet_expapproval:
meet_noreport: 0
waitingforpublication: 0
meet_emailed1: 0
meet_emailed2: 0
meetdate: 30/12/2017
meet_title: Reefton TC - 30 December 2017
meet_expappcomment:
meet_km:
meet_otherexp:
tracklocation: reefton-tc
meet_racingtype: harness-racing
meet_chair: RMcKenzie
meet_pm1: GClapp
meet_pm2: none
name: Reefton TC