Waikato BOP H 17 May 2018 – R 8 – Chair, Mr A Godsalve
ID: JCA14549
Meet Title:
Harness Racing Waikato - 17 May 2018
Meet Chair:
AGodsalve
Meet Committee Member 1:
ADooley
Race Date:
2018/05/17
Race Number:
R8
Decision:
As Mr Neal has admitted the breach we find the charge proved.
Penalty:
We therefore suspended Mr Neals licence to drive in races from after racing on 17 May until after racing on 7 June 2018.
The applicable meetings included in this suspension are:
Auckland Harness - 25 May 2018
Auckland Harness - 1 June 2018
Waikato/BOP Harness - 7 June 2018
Facts:
Following the running of Race 8, the THE BLACK DOG FURNITURE MOBILE TROT 2200, an Information was presented alleging that Open Horseman, Mr A Neal had 'used his whip driving CREDIT MASTER in breach of the Use of the Whip Regulations over the concluding stages.'
Mr Neal was present at the hearing and acknowledged that he understood the nature of the charge and that he admitted the breach.
Rule 869(2) states '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 Regulations (clause b) provide that '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'.
Using the available video films, Mr Mulcay identified the horse CREDIT MASTER as the field neared the 400 metres mark. CREDIT MASTER was trailing the leader at that time. Mr Mulcay pointed out that from the 400 metres to the finish, Mr Neal struck the horse 14 times with his whip. He added that Mr Neal was therefore in breach of the Rules and Regulations pertaining to the use of the whip in races.
Mr Neal agreed that he had struck the horse 14 times,however, he added. that from the 400 metres to about the 200 metres mark he still had both hands on the reins while using his whip. He said that he had paused in his whip use after the field had straightened up and then struck the horse several times towards the finish. Mr Neal said he was under the impression that if he still had both hands on the reins the strikes would not be included in the total whip use over the final 400 metres. He said he had modified his style since the Regulations were modified in November 2017.
The Committee reminded Mr Neal that documentation and an instructional video had been made available to drivers since the Rules were amended to assist them in being able to stay within the Rules and Regulations.
Submissions for Penalty:
In submitting what the Stewards considered to be an appropriate penalty Mr Mulcay advised the Committee that Mr Neal had been fined $200 on 22 February 2018, at Cambridge, for using his whip excessively. Since this latest breach was within the 6 month period referred to in the Guidelines, Mr Mulcay submitted that Mr Neal should be suspended from driving in races for a 3 day period.
Mr Neal advised the Committee that he did not request a deferment to any suspension. He added that he did not intend driving at Palmerston North on 22nd or 24th May. He said that CREDIT MASTER needed a good performance that evening to qualify to race at the Harness Jewells meeting at Cambridge on 2 June, and that he was not confident he would be racing there.
Reasons for Penalty:
The Committee confirmed that (a) the Penalty Guidelines stated that a 2nd breach within a 6 month period called for a 3 day suspension, and that (b) Mr Neal had been fined for a breach of these Rules/Regulations on 22 February 2018.
The Committee spent some time determining Mr Neal's upcoming engagements as we wished to ensure that any penalty we imposed was of a 'meaningful' nature. Mr Neal has a limited driving history.
Having determined the above, we confirmed that a 3 day suspension was an appropriate penalty. It is incumbent on drivers to ensure their whip use in races is within the Rules as the perception by the viewing public regarding animal welfare is paramount in our view. We do not accept that there should be any misconception amongst drivers, especially Open Horseman, regarding what constitutes excessive whip use. Having already breached this Rule it is incumbent on Mr Neal to ensure that he is using his whip in an acceptable manner.
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: 910886be6c0d7dc69cdd65e431a40167
informantnumber: A9153
horsename:
hearing_racingtype:
startdate: no date provided
newcharge: Using whip excessively
plea: admitted
penaltyrequired: 1
decisiondate: 19/05/2018
hearing_title: Waikato BOP H 17 May 2018 - R 8 - Chair, Mr A Godsalve
charge:
facts:
Following the running of Race 8, the THE BLACK DOG FURNITURE MOBILE TROT 2200, an Information was presented alleging that Open Horseman, Mr A Neal had 'used his whip driving CREDIT MASTER in breach of the Use of the Whip Regulations over the concluding stages.'
Mr Neal was present at the hearing and acknowledged that he understood the nature of the charge and that he admitted the breach.
Rule 869(2) states '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 Regulations (clause b) provide that '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'.
Using the available video films, Mr Mulcay identified the horse CREDIT MASTER as the field neared the 400 metres mark. CREDIT MASTER was trailing the leader at that time. Mr Mulcay pointed out that from the 400 metres to the finish, Mr Neal struck the horse 14 times with his whip. He added that Mr Neal was therefore in breach of the Rules and Regulations pertaining to the use of the whip in races.
Mr Neal agreed that he had struck the horse 14 times,however, he added. that from the 400 metres to about the 200 metres mark he still had both hands on the reins while using his whip. He said that he had paused in his whip use after the field had straightened up and then struck the horse several times towards the finish. Mr Neal said he was under the impression that if he still had both hands on the reins the strikes would not be included in the total whip use over the final 400 metres. He said he had modified his style since the Regulations were modified in November 2017.
The Committee reminded Mr Neal that documentation and an instructional video had been made available to drivers since the Rules were amended to assist them in being able to stay within the Rules and Regulations.
appealdecision:
isappeal:
submissionsfordecision:
reasonsfordecision:
Decision:
As Mr Neal has admitted the breach we find the charge proved.
sumissionsforpenalty:
In submitting what the Stewards considered to be an appropriate penalty Mr Mulcay advised the Committee that Mr Neal had been fined $200 on 22 February 2018, at Cambridge, for using his whip excessively. Since this latest breach was within the 6 month period referred to in the Guidelines, Mr Mulcay submitted that Mr Neal should be suspended from driving in races for a 3 day period.
Mr Neal advised the Committee that he did not request a deferment to any suspension. He added that he did not intend driving at Palmerston North on 22nd or 24th May. He said that CREDIT MASTER needed a good performance that evening to qualify to race at the Harness Jewells meeting at Cambridge on 2 June, and that he was not confident he would be racing there.
reasonsforpenalty:
The Committee confirmed that (a) the Penalty Guidelines stated that a 2nd breach within a 6 month period called for a 3 day suspension, and that (b) Mr Neal had been fined for a breach of these Rules/Regulations on 22 February 2018.
The Committee spent some time determining Mr Neal's upcoming engagements as we wished to ensure that any penalty we imposed was of a 'meaningful' nature. Mr Neal has a limited driving history.
Having determined the above, we confirmed that a 3 day suspension was an appropriate penalty. It is incumbent on drivers to ensure their whip use in races is within the Rules as the perception by the viewing public regarding animal welfare is paramount in our view. We do not accept that there should be any misconception amongst drivers, especially Open Horseman, regarding what constitutes excessive whip use. Having already breached this Rule it is incumbent on Mr Neal to ensure that he is using his whip in an acceptable manner.
penalty:
We therefore suspended Mr Neals licence to drive in races from after racing on 17 May until after racing on 7 June 2018.
The applicable meetings included in this suspension are:
Auckland Harness - 25 May 2018
Auckland Harness - 1 June 2018
Waikato/BOP Harness - 7 June 2018
hearing_type: Hearing
Rules: Rule 869(2) and the Use of the whip Regulations
Informant: Mr S Mulcay - Senior Stipendiary Steward
JockeysandTrainer: Mr A Neal - Open Horseman
Otherperson:
PersonPresent:
Respondent:
StipendSteward:
raceid: 9551e11116af83cce879c197d9366795
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: 942289dd24094613986a30f2849dcca6
meet_expapproval:
meet_noreport: 0
waitingforpublication: 0
meet_emailed1: 0
meet_emailed2: 0
meetdate: 17/05/2018
meet_title: Harness Racing Waikato - 17 May 2018
meet_expappcomment:
meet_km:
meet_otherexp:
tracklocation: harness-racing-waikato
meet_racingtype: harness-racing
meet_chair: AGodsalve
meet_pm1: ADooley
meet_pm2: none
name: Harness Racing Waikato