Timaru HRC 14 May 2017 – R 8 – Chair, Mr R McKenzie
ID: JCA14289
Meet Title:
Timaru HRC - 14 May 2017
Meet Chair:
RMcKenzie
Meet Committee Member 1:
DAnderson
Race Date:
2017/05/14
Race Number:
R8
Decision:
Mr Ferguson having admitted the breach, the charge was found proved.
Penalty:
Mr Ferguson was fined the sum of $400.
Facts:
Following the running of Race 8, Night ‘N Day Park Store Mobile Pace, an information was filed by Stipendiary Steward, Mr S T Mulcay, against Licensed Open Horseman, Mr C R Ferguson, alleging that, as the driver of HAVINARAVUP in the race, he “used his whip in an unnecessary manner in the home straight”.
Mr Ferguson was present at the hearing of the information and he indicated that he admitted the breach.
Rule 869 provides as follows:
(2) No horseman shall during any race:-
(a) use his whip in an unnecessary, excessive or improper manner.
Mr Mulcay showed to the hearing a video replay of the final 400 metres of the race. He pointed out Mr Ferguson, driving HAVINARAVUP, trailing the leader as the field entered the final straight. The horse was “travelling strongly” but, in looking for a run in the passing lane, the horse “blundered”, went into a break and lost its chance, Mr Mulcay said.
When the horse settled, Mr Mulcay pointed out Mr Ferguson cross his reins and use his whip on the horse with a free right hand, and in an “aggressive manner”, three times. The third strike was applied with a lesser degree of force, Mr Mulcay said. This was unacceptable to the Stewards, he said. The horse was clearly out of contention at the time.
Mr Ferguson was asked by the Committee for his explanation of the incident. He said that he thought he was going to win the race. He had travelled a long way to the race meeting and the horse had enjoyed the run of the race and he thought it was going to win “pretty easily”, he said. In the heat of the moment, he said, he was “not very impressed” with the horse.
Submissions for Penalty:
Mr Ferguson had a clear record under the Rule, Mr Mulcay said. He referred to the Penalty Guide starting point for penalty for a breach of the Rule of a $500 fine or a 2-days suspension. Mitigating factors were Mr Ferguson’s good record and his admission of the breach. The principal aggravating factors was the public perception of the incident, Mr Mulcay said. The breach could be dealt with by way of a fine.
Mr Ferguson asked the Committee to take into account that he has been driving for a long time and this is his first breach of the Rule in that time.
Mr Mulcay then provided to the Committee details of Mr Ferguson’s driving history – 262 drives in the current season and 426 in the 2015/2016 season.
Reasons for Penalty:
In determining penalty, the Committee took the starting point of a $500 fine as provided in the Penalty Guide. We agreed that a fine was an appropriate penalty. There was a significant aggravating factor in that Mr Ferguson’s breach was truly “unnecessary” and did not reflect well on him and neither was it a particularly good look for harness racing. The breach, in the Committee’s view, was in the mid-high range for those reasons. An uplift in the starting point to $600 was, therefore, warranted. Mitigating factors were Mr Ferguson’s admission of the breach and his previous good driving record. The Committee was satisfied that a combination of those two factors warranted a discount in the sum of $200.
The Committee joined the Stewards in expressing its disapproval of Mr Ferguson’s actions.
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: 70d4ccb5a908930c25c7d40ac1c804db
informantnumber: A6292
horsename:
hearing_racingtype:
startdate: no date provided
newcharge: Unnecessary Use of Whip
plea: admitted
penaltyrequired: 1
decisiondate: 16/05/2017
hearing_title: Timaru HRC 14 May 2017 - R 8 - Chair, Mr R McKenzie
charge:
facts:
Following the running of Race 8, Night ‘N Day Park Store Mobile Pace, an information was filed by Stipendiary Steward, Mr S T Mulcay, against Licensed Open Horseman, Mr C R Ferguson, alleging that, as the driver of HAVINARAVUP in the race, he “used his whip in an unnecessary manner in the home straight”.
Mr Ferguson was present at the hearing of the information and he indicated that he admitted the breach.
Rule 869 provides as follows:
(2) No horseman shall during any race:-
(a) use his whip in an unnecessary, excessive or improper manner.
Mr Mulcay showed to the hearing a video replay of the final 400 metres of the race. He pointed out Mr Ferguson, driving HAVINARAVUP, trailing the leader as the field entered the final straight. The horse was “travelling strongly” but, in looking for a run in the passing lane, the horse “blundered”, went into a break and lost its chance, Mr Mulcay said.
When the horse settled, Mr Mulcay pointed out Mr Ferguson cross his reins and use his whip on the horse with a free right hand, and in an “aggressive manner”, three times. The third strike was applied with a lesser degree of force, Mr Mulcay said. This was unacceptable to the Stewards, he said. The horse was clearly out of contention at the time.
Mr Ferguson was asked by the Committee for his explanation of the incident. He said that he thought he was going to win the race. He had travelled a long way to the race meeting and the horse had enjoyed the run of the race and he thought it was going to win “pretty easily”, he said. In the heat of the moment, he said, he was “not very impressed” with the horse.
appealdecision:
isappeal:
submissionsfordecision:
reasonsfordecision:
Decision:
Mr Ferguson having admitted the breach, the charge was found proved.
sumissionsforpenalty:
Mr Ferguson had a clear record under the Rule, Mr Mulcay said. He referred to the Penalty Guide starting point for penalty for a breach of the Rule of a $500 fine or a 2-days suspension. Mitigating factors were Mr Ferguson’s good record and his admission of the breach. The principal aggravating factors was the public perception of the incident, Mr Mulcay said. The breach could be dealt with by way of a fine.
Mr Ferguson asked the Committee to take into account that he has been driving for a long time and this is his first breach of the Rule in that time.
Mr Mulcay then provided to the Committee details of Mr Ferguson’s driving history – 262 drives in the current season and 426 in the 2015/2016 season.
reasonsforpenalty:
In determining penalty, the Committee took the starting point of a $500 fine as provided in the Penalty Guide. We agreed that a fine was an appropriate penalty. There was a significant aggravating factor in that Mr Ferguson’s breach was truly “unnecessary” and did not reflect well on him and neither was it a particularly good look for harness racing. The breach, in the Committee’s view, was in the mid-high range for those reasons. An uplift in the starting point to $600 was, therefore, warranted. Mitigating factors were Mr Ferguson’s admission of the breach and his previous good driving record. The Committee was satisfied that a combination of those two factors warranted a discount in the sum of $200.
The Committee joined the Stewards in expressing its disapproval of Mr Ferguson’s actions.
penalty:
Mr Ferguson was fined the sum of $400.
hearing_type: Hearing
Rules: 869(2)(a)
Informant: S T Mulcay, Stipendiary Steward
JockeysandTrainer: C R Ferguson, Licensed Open Horseman
Otherperson:
PersonPresent:
Respondent:
StipendSteward:
raceid: 5a8dff7d06adcbda1055bf523e64c092
race_expapproval:
racecancelled: 0
race_noreport: 0
race_emailed1: 0
race_emailed2: 0
race_title: R8
submittochair:
race_expappcomment:
race_km:
race_otherexp:
race_chair:
race_pm1:
race_pm2:
meetid: 305de073eb1e186e0f293c94c470fef6
meet_expapproval:
meet_noreport: 0
waitingforpublication: 0
meet_emailed1: 0
meet_emailed2: 0
meetdate: 14/05/2017
meet_title: Timaru HRC - 14 May 2017
meet_expappcomment:
meet_km:
meet_otherexp:
tracklocation: timaru-hrc
meet_racingtype: harness-racing
meet_chair: RMcKenzie
meet_pm1: DAnderson
meet_pm2: none
name: Timaru HRC