Timaru HRC 6 January 2017 – R 3 Chair, Mr R McKenzie
ID: JCA16344
Meet Title:
Timaru HRC - 6 January 2017
Meet Chair:
RMcKenzie
Meet Committee Member 1:
GClapp
Race Date:
2017/01/06
Race Number:
R3
Decision:
Mr Alfeld having admitted the breach, the charge was found proved.
Penalty:
Mr Alfeld was fined the sum of $300.
Facts:
Following the running of Race 3, Property Brokers Mobile Pace, an information was filed by Stipendiary Steward, Mr SP Renault, against Licensed Open Driver, Mr RJ Alfeld, alleging that, as the driver of SANS LE SOU in the race, he “used his whip in a manner Stewards deemed to be excessive in the final straight”.
Mr Alfeld had signed the Statement by the Respondent on the information form indicating that he admitted the breach. Mr Renault confirmed to the Committee that Mr Alfeld did not wish to be present at the hearing.
Rule 869 provides as follows:
(2) No horseman shall during any race:-
(a) use his whip in an unnecessary, excessive or improper manner.
The Use of Whip Guidelines (effective from 1 December 2016) provide:
The whip shall not be used more than 10 times in the last 400 metres of a race, otherwise this will be deemed excessive use pursuant to these Guidelines.
Mr Renault showed a video replay of the final 400 metres of the race. He pointed out Mr Alfeld, driving SANS LE SOU, racing towards the rear of the field on the markers as the field entered the home straight inside the 400 metres. Shortly after straightening, Mr Alfeld angled the horse off the markers to improve through the middle of runners. He then commenced using his whip and from that point, Mr Renault alleged, Mr Alfeld used his whip on 12 occasions, all free of the rein, the only pause being two “fake” strikes. The Committee noted that SANS LE SOU, finished in 3rd position, 1 length from the winner.
Submissions for Penalty:
Mr Renault told the Committee that Mr Alfeld had a clear record under the Rule. His record showed that he has had 9 drives this season and, in the 2105/2016 season, had a total of 29 drives. Mr Renault submitted that Mr Alfeld should receive credit for his admission of the breach and his good record. Having regard to those factors, Mr Renault submitted, an appropriate penalty was a fine of $300.
Reasons for Penalty:
In determining penalty, the Committee took the starting point of a $500 fine as provided in the Penalty Guide. There were no aggravating factors. The breach, in the Committee’s view, was in the low-to-mid range. Mitigating factors were Mr Alfelds’s admission of the breach and his good driving record. The Committee was satisfied that a combination of those two factors warranted a discount in the sum of $200.
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: a754dfd395ff24205014f9c0f32431cf
informantnumber: A8376
horsename:
hearing_racingtype:
startdate: no date provided
newcharge: Excessive Use of Whip
plea: admitted
penaltyrequired: 1
decisiondate: 09/01/2017
hearing_title: Timaru HRC 6 January 2017 - R 3 Chair, Mr R McKenzie
charge:
facts:
Following the running of Race 3, Property Brokers Mobile Pace, an information was filed by Stipendiary Steward, Mr SP Renault, against Licensed Open Driver, Mr RJ Alfeld, alleging that, as the driver of SANS LE SOU in the race, he “used his whip in a manner Stewards deemed to be excessive in the final straight”.
Mr Alfeld had signed the Statement by the Respondent on the information form indicating that he admitted the breach. Mr Renault confirmed to the Committee that Mr Alfeld did not wish to be present at the hearing.
Rule 869 provides as follows:
(2) No horseman shall during any race:-
(a) use his whip in an unnecessary, excessive or improper manner.
The Use of Whip Guidelines (effective from 1 December 2016) provide:
The whip shall not be used more than 10 times in the last 400 metres of a race, otherwise this will be deemed excessive use pursuant to these Guidelines.
Mr Renault showed a video replay of the final 400 metres of the race. He pointed out Mr Alfeld, driving SANS LE SOU, racing towards the rear of the field on the markers as the field entered the home straight inside the 400 metres. Shortly after straightening, Mr Alfeld angled the horse off the markers to improve through the middle of runners. He then commenced using his whip and from that point, Mr Renault alleged, Mr Alfeld used his whip on 12 occasions, all free of the rein, the only pause being two “fake” strikes. The Committee noted that SANS LE SOU, finished in 3rd position, 1 length from the winner.
appealdecision:
isappeal:
submissionsfordecision:
reasonsfordecision:
Decision:
Mr Alfeld having admitted the breach, the charge was found proved.
sumissionsforpenalty:
Mr Renault told the Committee that Mr Alfeld had a clear record under the Rule. His record showed that he has had 9 drives this season and, in the 2105/2016 season, had a total of 29 drives. Mr Renault submitted that Mr Alfeld should receive credit for his admission of the breach and his good record. Having regard to those factors, Mr Renault submitted, an appropriate penalty was a fine of $300.
reasonsforpenalty:
In determining penalty, the Committee took the starting point of a $500 fine as provided in the Penalty Guide. There were no aggravating factors. The breach, in the Committee’s view, was in the low-to-mid range. Mitigating factors were Mr Alfelds’s admission of the breach and his good driving record. The Committee was satisfied that a combination of those two factors warranted a discount in the sum of $200.
penalty:
Mr Alfeld was fined the sum of $300.
hearing_type: Hearing
Rules: 869(2)(a)
Informant: Stipendiary Steward
JockeysandTrainer: Mr RJ Alfeld - Licensed Open Horseman
Otherperson:
PersonPresent:
Respondent:
StipendSteward:
raceid: 87d5429881cc95a47ea8c5da8643ce1f
race_expapproval:
racecancelled: 0
race_noreport: 0
race_emailed1: 0
race_emailed2: 0
race_title: R3
submittochair:
race_expappcomment:
race_km:
race_otherexp:
race_chair:
race_pm1:
race_pm2:
meetid: 524a22af4d0a1207258d68b0983f49bf
meet_expapproval:
meet_noreport: 0
waitingforpublication: 0
meet_emailed1: 0
meet_emailed2: 0
meetdate: 06/01/2017
meet_title: Timaru HRC - 6 January 2017
meet_expappcomment:
meet_km:
meet_otherexp:
tracklocation: timaru-hrc
meet_racingtype: harness-racing
meet_chair: RMcKenzie
meet_pm1: GClapp
meet_pm2: none
name: Timaru HRC