Archive Decision

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Wanganui JC 13 September 2017 – R 2 – Chair, Mrs N Moffatt

ID: JCA11420

Applicant:
Mr N Goodwin - Stipendiary Steward

Respondent(s):
Mr S McKay - Apprentice Rider

Other Person:
Mr J Riddell - Senior Rider assisting Mr McKay

Information Number:
A8784

Hearing Type:
Hearing

New Charge:
Excessive use of the whip

Rules:
638(3)(b(ii)

Plea:
admitted

Code:
Thoroughbred

Meet Title:
Wanganui JC - 13 September 2017

Meet Chair:
NMoffatt

Meet Committee Member 1:
NMcCutcheon

Race Date:
2017/09/13

Race Number:
R 2

Decision:

As Mr McKay admitted the breach the charge was found to be proved.

Penalty:

Accordingly Mr McKay is fined the sum of $500.

Facts:

Following Race 2 , Wanganui Chronicle 2040, Mr Goodwin lodged an information with the Judicial Committee alleging a breach of Rule 638 (3)(b)(ii) in that Jockey S McKay used his whip excessively prior to the 100m without the necessary respite on his mount GO TO MAN.

Rule 638(3)(b)(ii) provides: A Rider shall not:
(ii) strike a horse with a whip in a manner or to an extent which is excessive

The “Guidelines with Respect to Acceptable Use of the Whip” state:
Without affecting the generality of Rule 638(3) (b) a rider may be penalised if their whip use is outside of the following guidelines:

Inside the final 600 metres of any Race, official trial or jump-out a horse may be struck with the drawn whip up to five times after which the rider must cease their use of the whip for a minimum of five strides before striking the horse again with the drawn whip, with this restriction to apply prior to the final 100 metres. The whip may then be used at the rider’s discretion until the winning post is reached. Prior to the final 600 metres of a race, official trial or jump-out the use of the drawn whip is acceptable if used in moderation and not continually.

Mr McKay acknowledged he understood the rule and confirmed his admission of the breach. He was assisted at the hearing by senior rider Mr Riddell.

Mr Goodwin used the video to show the Committee where Mr McKay had exceeded the whip guidelines. From the 200m mark up until the 100m mark he struck his horse approximately 10 times without the required respite of five strides.

Mr McKay agreed with the Stewards’ calculation of his whip use and admitted he was clearly over the guidelines.

Submissions for Penalty:

Mr Goodwin said Mr McKay last breached this rule at the Taranaki meeting on August 26th 2017 where he received a $400 fine. In relation to today’s breach Mr Goodwin said it was below midrange in severity and submitted that a fine was an appropriate penalty.

Mr McKay explained that he was still adjusting to the new guidelines. In today’s race he was wide out on the track and there were no 100m markers on the outside rail to help riders know when they had reached that point.

Mr Riddell said Mr McKay was only 5 strikes outside of the guidelines and the absence of markers on the outside fence did not help. He believed it was low range in severity.

Reasons for Penalty:

New whip guidelines were introduced on 1st August this year (1/8/17). To reflect these changes the penalty guidelines for Judicial Committees were also adjusted.

The updated starting points for breaches of Rule 638(3) (b) (ii) are:
1st breach $300
2nd breach $500
3rd breach 3-5 day suspension

As Mr McKay was facing his second charge of excessive whip use the Committee adopted a starting point of $500. In our assessment ten strikes was in the low range and did not warrant any uplift to penalty. It was our opinion that a $500 monetary penalty was appropriate on this occasion.

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: 1b53e9b5bdd08d43567bb19d23bede57


informantnumber: A8784


horsename:


hearing_racingtype:


startdate: no date provided


newcharge: Excessive use of the whip


plea: admitted


penaltyrequired: 1


decisiondate: 13/09/2017


hearing_title: Wanganui JC 13 September 2017 - R 2 - Chair, Mrs N Moffatt


charge:


facts:

Following Race 2 , Wanganui Chronicle 2040, Mr Goodwin lodged an information with the Judicial Committee alleging a breach of Rule 638 (3)(b)(ii) in that Jockey S McKay used his whip excessively prior to the 100m without the necessary respite on his mount GO TO MAN.

Rule 638(3)(b)(ii) provides: A Rider shall not:
(ii) strike a horse with a whip in a manner or to an extent which is excessive

The “Guidelines with Respect to Acceptable Use of the Whip” state:
Without affecting the generality of Rule 638(3) (b) a rider may be penalised if their whip use is outside of the following guidelines:

Inside the final 600 metres of any Race, official trial or jump-out a horse may be struck with the drawn whip up to five times after which the rider must cease their use of the whip for a minimum of five strides before striking the horse again with the drawn whip, with this restriction to apply prior to the final 100 metres. The whip may then be used at the rider’s discretion until the winning post is reached. Prior to the final 600 metres of a race, official trial or jump-out the use of the drawn whip is acceptable if used in moderation and not continually.

Mr McKay acknowledged he understood the rule and confirmed his admission of the breach. He was assisted at the hearing by senior rider Mr Riddell.

Mr Goodwin used the video to show the Committee where Mr McKay had exceeded the whip guidelines. From the 200m mark up until the 100m mark he struck his horse approximately 10 times without the required respite of five strides.

Mr McKay agreed with the Stewards’ calculation of his whip use and admitted he was clearly over the guidelines.


appealdecision:


isappeal:


submissionsfordecision:


reasonsfordecision:


Decision:

As Mr McKay admitted the breach the charge was found to be proved.


sumissionsforpenalty:

Mr Goodwin said Mr McKay last breached this rule at the Taranaki meeting on August 26th 2017 where he received a $400 fine. In relation to today’s breach Mr Goodwin said it was below midrange in severity and submitted that a fine was an appropriate penalty.

Mr McKay explained that he was still adjusting to the new guidelines. In today’s race he was wide out on the track and there were no 100m markers on the outside rail to help riders know when they had reached that point.

Mr Riddell said Mr McKay was only 5 strikes outside of the guidelines and the absence of markers on the outside fence did not help. He believed it was low range in severity.


reasonsforpenalty:

New whip guidelines were introduced on 1st August this year (1/8/17). To reflect these changes the penalty guidelines for Judicial Committees were also adjusted.

The updated starting points for breaches of Rule 638(3) (b) (ii) are:
1st breach $300
2nd breach $500
3rd breach 3-5 day suspension

As Mr McKay was facing his second charge of excessive whip use the Committee adopted a starting point of $500. In our assessment ten strikes was in the low range and did not warrant any uplift to penalty. It was our opinion that a $500 monetary penalty was appropriate on this occasion.


penalty:

Accordingly Mr McKay is fined the sum of $500.


hearing_type: Hearing


Rules: 638(3)(b(ii)


Informant: Mr N Goodwin - Stipendiary Steward


JockeysandTrainer: Mr S McKay - Apprentice Rider


Otherperson: Mr J Riddell - Senior Rider assisting Mr McKay


PersonPresent:


Respondent:


StipendSteward:


raceid: b6efd231e582a84a6b039575c758a7b8


race_expapproval:


racecancelled: 0


race_noreport: 0


race_emailed1: 0


race_emailed2: 0


race_title: R 2


submittochair:


race_expappcomment:


race_km:


race_otherexp:


race_chair:


race_pm1:


race_pm2:


meetid: dd0ab98d8801527ee53504294d1dae1d


meet_expapproval:


meet_noreport: 0


waitingforpublication: 0


meet_emailed1: 0


meet_emailed2: 0


meetdate: 13/09/2017


meet_title: Wanganui JC - 13 September 2017


meet_expappcomment:


meet_km:


meet_otherexp:


tracklocation: wanganui-jc


meet_racingtype: thoroughbred-racing


meet_chair: NMoffatt


meet_pm1: NMcCutcheon


meet_pm2: none


name: Wanganui JC