Wairarapa HRC 2 January 2012 – R 4
ID: JCA14280
Meet Title:
Wairarapa HRC - 2 January 2012
Meet Chair:
PWilliams
Meet Committee Member 1:
NMcCutcheon
Race Date:
2012/01/02
Race Number:
R 4
Decision:
Mr Fleming has therefore struck his horse between 19 and 20 times in the run down the straight with the first 11-12 being continuous. The Committee believes that is an excessive use of the whip and the number of strikes is “too much”. We find the charge proved.
Penalty:
Because of Mr Fleming’s limited driving opportunities the Committee does not feel a period of suspension is appropriate. The Committee believes on this occasion a fine is an appropriate penalty and Mr Fleming is fined $300.
Charge:
Excessive use of the whip.
Facts:
Following the running of race 4, information A5070 was filed by Stipendiary Steward Mr S Renault under Rule 869(2)(a). The information stated that “you (P Fleming) used your whip excessively when driving “Broadway” in the run home”.
Rule 869(2) (a) states – “No horseman shall during any race (a) use his whip in an unnecessary, excessive or improper manner”.
Mr Fleming signed the information saying he did not admit the breach and at the beginning of the hearing confirmed that was correct and also that he understood the rule under which he was charged. When asked if he was aware of the “Use of Whip” guidelines produced by Harness Racing New Zealand he said he wasn’t (despite them having been read to him at a hearing earlier in the year when the same JCA Committee as today were in attendance) . Mr Renault was asked to read out the Guidelines which he did. Mr Fleming said he understood what had been read out but noted the Guidelines did not mention a specific number of strikes that, if exceeded, meant the whip had been used excessively.
Submissions for Decision:
Mr Renault asked Mr Neal to show the side and head on films of the race. Using the side on film Mr Renault identified Mr Fleming at the 375m point at the top of the straight leading the race. He said from that point Mr Fleming had used his whip 20 times with the first 11-12 being continuous without a pause which he said was clearly outside the guideline that no horseman shall use a whip continuously. He said he then used his reins for a couple of strides and at the same time struck his horse a further four times. Mr Renault said the Guidelines say that excessive use of the whip means “too much” and he said the view of the Stewards, was that 20 strikes in the home straight was too much and such actions by drivers was a bad look for Harness Racing.
Mr Fleming said the film the Stewards had shown would not have been seen by the public at home. He was advised by the Committee the Trackside coverage of all harness races from the course today had shown the side on view down the straight followed by a head film of approximately the final 150m. Mr Fleming said he believed he had paused in his whip action half way down the straight but was conscious of the need to drive the horse out. He said had he stopped hitting the horse it might not have run 3rd as the 4th horse ended up only a long head away. He also said he was conscious of a conversation with the Stewards at the 15 December 2011 harness race meeting in Palmerston North where he was advised he should have shown more vigour at the end of the race. He said had he not finished 3rd on that day he would have been charged by the Stewards for failing to drive out.
To a question from the Committee Mr Fleming agreed he had hit his horse 19-20 times but reiterated that nowhere did it say how many strikes were deemed to be excessive. To a further question from the Committee Mr Fleming could not say what number of strikes he thought could be given to a horse before the use of the whip could be described as excessive. He repeated that what he did “was fine”, his horse had stuck on for 3rd, he did not strike the horse continuously to the finish and the punters would not be disappointed with the effort put in by the horse.
Reasons for Decision:
The Committee has reviewed all the available films and considered the submissions of the Stipendiary Stewards and Mr Fleming. The side on film clearly shows Mr Fleming striking his horse 11-12 times from the 350m to approximately the 200m mark. At that point other horses come up on Mr Fleming’s outside blocking a clear view of his driving action. At that point it appears Mr Fleming then runs the reins over the horses’ rump a couple of times whilst also continuing to use his whip. For the last 100m or so of the race, the only film that clearly shows Mr Fleming’s whip action is the head on and after a brief pause he can be seen striking the horse at least 4-5 more times albeit not overly forcefully.
Submissions for Penalty:
Mr Renault said that Mr Fleming had been charged under this rule on 23 January 2011 (the earlier date referred to above) and been suspended for 2 days. He said he had had 315 lifetime drives, 13 last season and 17 so far this season. He referred to the JCA Penalty Guide and submitted a $300 fine was an appropriate penalty.
Mr Fleming said that $300 was excessive. He agreed he had struck his horse 11-12 times from the 350m mark but had then paused. He again said he did not think the television audience would describe his use of the whip as excessive.
Reasons for Penalty:
The Committee has listened to the penalty submissions. Mr Renault’s reference to the JCA Penalty Guide’s starting point being a fine of $300 is not correct. As this is Mr Flemings 2nd breach of this Rule in the previous 12 months the starting point is a suspension for 10 drives or a $500 fine with consideration to be given to the number of drives the driver has had and likely to have in the coming days and weeks. The Committee believes Mr Fleming’s use of the whip to be excessive but considers the severity of the offending to be in the low/mid range. It is also nearly 12 months since Mr Fleming’s last breach of this Rule and we are aware he has limited driving opportunities throughout the season. Nevertheless, his horse has finished 3rd in the race and it could be said that he gained an advantage over those who finished behind him by his excessive use of the whip. It also cannot be a defense to the charge that, to not have used the whip would have meant the horse would have not finished in the position it did. Finally the Committee believes the general public do not like to see horses being struck excessively with the whip and as such the penalty given must act not only as deterrent to Mr Fleming but also to others in the industry.
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: 6ff573004e3d38b4eaed9c755b256361
informantnumber: A5070
horsename:
hearing_racingtype:
startdate: no date provided
newcharge:
plea: denied
penaltyrequired: 1
decisiondate: 01/01/2012
hearing_title: Wairarapa HRC 2 January 2012 - R 4
charge:
Excessive use of the whip.
facts:
Following the running of race 4, information A5070 was filed by Stipendiary Steward Mr S Renault under Rule 869(2)(a). The information stated that “you (P Fleming) used your whip excessively when driving “Broadway” in the run home”.
Rule 869(2) (a) states – “No horseman shall during any race (a) use his whip in an unnecessary, excessive or improper manner”.
Mr Fleming signed the information saying he did not admit the breach and at the beginning of the hearing confirmed that was correct and also that he understood the rule under which he was charged. When asked if he was aware of the “Use of Whip” guidelines produced by Harness Racing New Zealand he said he wasn’t (despite them having been read to him at a hearing earlier in the year when the same JCA Committee as today were in attendance) . Mr Renault was asked to read out the Guidelines which he did. Mr Fleming said he understood what had been read out but noted the Guidelines did not mention a specific number of strikes that, if exceeded, meant the whip had been used excessively.
appealdecision:
isappeal:
submissionsfordecision:
Mr Renault asked Mr Neal to show the side and head on films of the race. Using the side on film Mr Renault identified Mr Fleming at the 375m point at the top of the straight leading the race. He said from that point Mr Fleming had used his whip 20 times with the first 11-12 being continuous without a pause which he said was clearly outside the guideline that no horseman shall use a whip continuously. He said he then used his reins for a couple of strides and at the same time struck his horse a further four times. Mr Renault said the Guidelines say that excessive use of the whip means “too much” and he said the view of the Stewards, was that 20 strikes in the home straight was too much and such actions by drivers was a bad look for Harness Racing.
Mr Fleming said the film the Stewards had shown would not have been seen by the public at home. He was advised by the Committee the Trackside coverage of all harness races from the course today had shown the side on view down the straight followed by a head film of approximately the final 150m. Mr Fleming said he believed he had paused in his whip action half way down the straight but was conscious of the need to drive the horse out. He said had he stopped hitting the horse it might not have run 3rd as the 4th horse ended up only a long head away. He also said he was conscious of a conversation with the Stewards at the 15 December 2011 harness race meeting in Palmerston North where he was advised he should have shown more vigour at the end of the race. He said had he not finished 3rd on that day he would have been charged by the Stewards for failing to drive out.
To a question from the Committee Mr Fleming agreed he had hit his horse 19-20 times but reiterated that nowhere did it say how many strikes were deemed to be excessive. To a further question from the Committee Mr Fleming could not say what number of strikes he thought could be given to a horse before the use of the whip could be described as excessive. He repeated that what he did “was fine”, his horse had stuck on for 3rd, he did not strike the horse continuously to the finish and the punters would not be disappointed with the effort put in by the horse.
reasonsfordecision:
The Committee has reviewed all the available films and considered the submissions of the Stipendiary Stewards and Mr Fleming. The side on film clearly shows Mr Fleming striking his horse 11-12 times from the 350m to approximately the 200m mark. At that point other horses come up on Mr Fleming’s outside blocking a clear view of his driving action. At that point it appears Mr Fleming then runs the reins over the horses’ rump a couple of times whilst also continuing to use his whip. For the last 100m or so of the race, the only film that clearly shows Mr Fleming’s whip action is the head on and after a brief pause he can be seen striking the horse at least 4-5 more times albeit not overly forcefully.
Decision:
Mr Fleming has therefore struck his horse between 19 and 20 times in the run down the straight with the first 11-12 being continuous. The Committee believes that is an excessive use of the whip and the number of strikes is “too much”. We find the charge proved.
sumissionsforpenalty:
Mr Renault said that Mr Fleming had been charged under this rule on 23 January 2011 (the earlier date referred to above) and been suspended for 2 days. He said he had had 315 lifetime drives, 13 last season and 17 so far this season. He referred to the JCA Penalty Guide and submitted a $300 fine was an appropriate penalty.
Mr Fleming said that $300 was excessive. He agreed he had struck his horse 11-12 times from the 350m mark but had then paused. He again said he did not think the television audience would describe his use of the whip as excessive.
reasonsforpenalty:
The Committee has listened to the penalty submissions. Mr Renault’s reference to the JCA Penalty Guide’s starting point being a fine of $300 is not correct. As this is Mr Flemings 2nd breach of this Rule in the previous 12 months the starting point is a suspension for 10 drives or a $500 fine with consideration to be given to the number of drives the driver has had and likely to have in the coming days and weeks. The Committee believes Mr Fleming’s use of the whip to be excessive but considers the severity of the offending to be in the low/mid range. It is also nearly 12 months since Mr Fleming’s last breach of this Rule and we are aware he has limited driving opportunities throughout the season. Nevertheless, his horse has finished 3rd in the race and it could be said that he gained an advantage over those who finished behind him by his excessive use of the whip. It also cannot be a defense to the charge that, to not have used the whip would have meant the horse would have not finished in the position it did. Finally the Committee believes the general public do not like to see horses being struck excessively with the whip and as such the penalty given must act not only as deterrent to Mr Fleming but also to others in the industry.
penalty:
Because of Mr Fleming’s limited driving opportunities the Committee does not feel a period of suspension is appropriate. The Committee believes on this occasion a fine is an appropriate penalty and Mr Fleming is fined $300.
hearing_type: Hearing
Rules: 869(2)(a)
Informant: Mr S Renault - Stipendiary Steward
JockeysandTrainer: Mr P Fleming - Open Horseman
Otherperson: Mr R Neal - Stipendiary Steward
PersonPresent:
Respondent:
StipendSteward:
raceid: 4d60e6ecc9b0ecb3f64616ce7f2f6467
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race_title: R 4
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meetdate: 02/01/2012
meet_title: Wairarapa HRC - 2 January 2012
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name: Wairarapa HRC