Archive Decision

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Stratford TC 27 February 2016 – R 6 – Chair, Mr P Williams

ID: JCA11343

Applicant:
Mr S Mulcay - Stipendiary Steward

Respondent(s):
Mr T Briskie - Open Horseman

Other Person:
Mr M Austin - Stipendiary Steward

Information Number:
A3723

Hearing Type:
Hearing

New Charge:
Improper use of whip when foot out of sulky footrest

Rules:
869(2)(a)

Plea:
admitted

Meet Title:
Stratford TC - 27 February 2016

Meet Chair:
PWilliams

Meet Committee Member 2:
TBird

Race Date:
2016/02/27

Race Number:
R6

Decision:

As Mr Briskie admitted the breach the charge was found proved.

Penalty:

Mr Briskie is fined $200.

Facts:

Following the running of Race 6, the “Brian Darth Funeral Services Handicap Trot” Information A3723 was filed by Stipendiary Steward Mr S Mulcay alleging a breach of Rule 869(2)(a) by Open Horseman Mr T Briskie. The Information stated “that he used his whip improperly over the final stages when applying the whip with his left foot out of the sulky footrest”.

Mr Briskie signed the Information admitting the breach and also endorsed the Information that he did not wish to be present for the hearing.

Rule 869(2)(a) states:- “No horseman shall during any race use his whip in an unnecessary, excessive or improper manner.”

The “Use of Whip Guidelines” issued by Harness Racing New Zealand includes the following:- “Improper use of the whip includes …….Using the whip while having a foot out of the footrest……”.

Submissions for Decision:

Mr Mulcay used the side-on film to identify Mr Briskie driving “Notre Dame” racing towards the rear of the field as the horses raced inside the final 100m. Mr Mulcay said as Mr Briskie moved his horse to the outside of the field for a final run the film clearly showed his left foot come out of the sulky footrest. He said Mr Briskie then struck his horse approximately 6 times without returning his foot to the sulky footrest. Mr Mulcay told the Committee that Mr Briskie, in using the whip as he did, was in clear breach of the “Use of Whip” guidelines which defined such use as improper.

Submissions for Penalty:

Mr Mulcay said Mr Briskie had not breached this Rule in the previous 12 months. Mr Mulcay said he was aware that the JCA Guidelines stated the starting point for a breach of the Rule was a $500 fine or a 2 day suspension but submitted an appropriate penalty on this occasion was a fine of $200.

Reasons for Penalty:

The Committee has reviewed the side-on film of the final 150m of the race and notes Mr Briskie used his whip approximately 6-7 times in the final 50m of the race whilst his left foot was not in the sulky footrest. Such actions are a clear breach of the “Use of Whip” guidelines issued by Harness racing New Zealand. The Committee believes the strikes were quite forceful because using the whip whilst a foot is out of the footrest allows the driver to get “greater purchase”.

The JCA Penalty Guidelines state the starting point for a breach of this Rule is a $500 fine or 2 day suspension. We have reviewed the range of penalties for similar breaches of this Rule in the past 12 months to ensure as best we can consistency with those decisions. All recent similar first time breaches of this Rule have led to a fine of $200 being imposed and we see no reason to apply a different penalty on this occasion to Mr Briskie.

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: 1d3f89ae88adaa0a657408687b6d72d2


informantnumber: A3723


horsename:


hearing_racingtype:


startdate: no date provided


newcharge: Improper use of whip when foot out of sulky footrest


plea: admitted


penaltyrequired: 1


decisiondate: 28/02/2016


hearing_title: Stratford TC 27 February 2016 - R 6 - Chair, Mr P Williams


charge:


facts:

Following the running of Race 6, the “Brian Darth Funeral Services Handicap Trot” Information A3723 was filed by Stipendiary Steward Mr S Mulcay alleging a breach of Rule 869(2)(a) by Open Horseman Mr T Briskie. The Information stated “that he used his whip improperly over the final stages when applying the whip with his left foot out of the sulky footrest”.

Mr Briskie signed the Information admitting the breach and also endorsed the Information that he did not wish to be present for the hearing.

Rule 869(2)(a) states:- “No horseman shall during any race use his whip in an unnecessary, excessive or improper manner.”

The “Use of Whip Guidelines” issued by Harness Racing New Zealand includes the following:- “Improper use of the whip includes …….Using the whip while having a foot out of the footrest……”.


appealdecision:


isappeal:


submissionsfordecision:

Mr Mulcay used the side-on film to identify Mr Briskie driving “Notre Dame” racing towards the rear of the field as the horses raced inside the final 100m. Mr Mulcay said as Mr Briskie moved his horse to the outside of the field for a final run the film clearly showed his left foot come out of the sulky footrest. He said Mr Briskie then struck his horse approximately 6 times without returning his foot to the sulky footrest. Mr Mulcay told the Committee that Mr Briskie, in using the whip as he did, was in clear breach of the “Use of Whip” guidelines which defined such use as improper.


reasonsfordecision:


Decision:

As Mr Briskie admitted the breach the charge was found proved.

sumissionsforpenalty:

Mr Mulcay said Mr Briskie had not breached this Rule in the previous 12 months. Mr Mulcay said he was aware that the JCA Guidelines stated the starting point for a breach of the Rule was a $500 fine or a 2 day suspension but submitted an appropriate penalty on this occasion was a fine of $200.


reasonsforpenalty:

The Committee has reviewed the side-on film of the final 150m of the race and notes Mr Briskie used his whip approximately 6-7 times in the final 50m of the race whilst his left foot was not in the sulky footrest. Such actions are a clear breach of the “Use of Whip” guidelines issued by Harness racing New Zealand. The Committee believes the strikes were quite forceful because using the whip whilst a foot is out of the footrest allows the driver to get “greater purchase”.

The JCA Penalty Guidelines state the starting point for a breach of this Rule is a $500 fine or 2 day suspension. We have reviewed the range of penalties for similar breaches of this Rule in the past 12 months to ensure as best we can consistency with those decisions. All recent similar first time breaches of this Rule have led to a fine of $200 being imposed and we see no reason to apply a different penalty on this occasion to Mr Briskie.


penalty:

Mr Briskie is fined $200.

hearing_type: Hearing


Rules: 869(2)(a)


Informant: Mr S Mulcay - Stipendiary Steward


JockeysandTrainer: Mr T Briskie - Open Horseman


Otherperson: Mr M Austin - Stipendiary Steward


PersonPresent:


Respondent:


StipendSteward:


raceid: 7dfcaee032faed874e133a5a4ea2ad0a


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: 80feb50ecce615ea34dd5ba4d24ff129


meet_expapproval:


meet_noreport: 0


waitingforpublication: 0


meet_emailed1: 0


meet_emailed2: 0


meetdate: 27/02/2016


meet_title: Stratford TC - 27 February 2016


meet_expappcomment:


meet_km:


meet_otherexp:


tracklocation: stratford-tc


meet_racingtype: harness-racing


meet_chair: PWilliams


meet_pm1: none


meet_pm2: TBird


name: Stratford TC