Wellington RC 15 March 2014 – R 9
ID: JCA15718
Code:
Thoroughbred
Meet Title:
Wellington RC - 15 March 2014
Meet Chair:
NMoffatt
Meet Committee Member 1:
NMcCutcheon
Race Date:
2014/03/15
Race Number:
R 9
Decision:
As the breach was admitted the charge was found to be proved.
Penalty:
Accordingly Mr Parkes is fined the sum of $1000.
Facts:
Following Race 9, the Group 1 Wellfield New Zealand Oaks, an information was lodged by the Stewards alleging a breach of Rule 638(3) (b) in that J Parkes used his whip excessively prior to the 200 metres.
The head on film was shown and Mr Parkes, riding MISS MOSSMAN, could be seen leading the field down the home straight. Prior to the 200 m mark, when riding vigorously, he struck his horse 9 times in succession. The guidelines allow for six strikes before the rider must place his hands back on the reins for six strides. Mr Parkes won the race by 3 ½ lengths from MISS SELBY.
Mr Parkes said at the time he thought he was at the 200m but after viewing the films he realised that he hadn’t been. He agreed that he had struck his horse consecutively nine times.
Submissions for Penalty:
Mr Neal presented Mr Parkes’ record for the current racing season. This showed he had been charged with excessive use of the whip on the following occasions:
8/12/13 $550
26/10/13 $250
10/8/13 $250
Mr Neal said this could not be considered a good record. He reminded the committee that this had been a Group 1 race and Mr Parkes had won the race. He said other riders had faced periods of suspension for continual breaches of this rule and submitted that Mr Parkes be suspended for three days or incur a monetary penalty of not less than $1000.
Mr Parkes said if a suspension was imposed he would need to check with his riding agent as to upcoming riding commitments.
Reasons for Penalty:
In coming to a decision on penalty the committee considered all of the submissions. The penalty guide for Judicial Committees recommends a starting point of $500 for riders who breach this rule a second time (or more) within a year.
Mr Parkes has had three breaches of this rule in the past seven months. We considered this a significant aggravating factor and believed it necessary to impose a penalty with a strong deterrent factor. We also had regard to the severity of the breach, namely the number of strikes and the manner in which the whip was used, placing it in the mid range in our opinion.
The Group 1 status of today’s race was also considered an aggravating factor. Excessive use of the whip presents a very poor look for the racing industry and a major race such as the New Zealand Oaks attracts a much wider audience. Mr Parkes was warned that any future breaches may well result in a suspension of his rider’s license.
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: c795e93790b4772dfc8b078e8e14c6c3
informantnumber: A4027
horsename:
hearing_racingtype:
startdate: no date provided
newcharge: Excessive use of the whip
plea: admitted
penaltyrequired: 1
decisiondate: 21/03/2014
hearing_title: Wellington RC 15 March 2014 - R 9
charge:
facts:
Following Race 9, the Group 1 Wellfield New Zealand Oaks, an information was lodged by the Stewards alleging a breach of Rule 638(3) (b) in that J Parkes used his whip excessively prior to the 200 metres.
The head on film was shown and Mr Parkes, riding MISS MOSSMAN, could be seen leading the field down the home straight. Prior to the 200 m mark, when riding vigorously, he struck his horse 9 times in succession. The guidelines allow for six strikes before the rider must place his hands back on the reins for six strides. Mr Parkes won the race by 3 ½ lengths from MISS SELBY.
Mr Parkes said at the time he thought he was at the 200m but after viewing the films he realised that he hadn’t been. He agreed that he had struck his horse consecutively nine times.
appealdecision:
isappeal:
submissionsfordecision:
reasonsfordecision:
Decision:
As the breach was admitted the charge was found to be proved.
sumissionsforpenalty:
Mr Neal presented Mr Parkes’ record for the current racing season. This showed he had been charged with excessive use of the whip on the following occasions:
8/12/13 $550
26/10/13 $250
10/8/13 $250
Mr Neal said this could not be considered a good record. He reminded the committee that this had been a Group 1 race and Mr Parkes had won the race. He said other riders had faced periods of suspension for continual breaches of this rule and submitted that Mr Parkes be suspended for three days or incur a monetary penalty of not less than $1000.
Mr Parkes said if a suspension was imposed he would need to check with his riding agent as to upcoming riding commitments.
reasonsforpenalty:
In coming to a decision on penalty the committee considered all of the submissions. The penalty guide for Judicial Committees recommends a starting point of $500 for riders who breach this rule a second time (or more) within a year.
Mr Parkes has had three breaches of this rule in the past seven months. We considered this a significant aggravating factor and believed it necessary to impose a penalty with a strong deterrent factor. We also had regard to the severity of the breach, namely the number of strikes and the manner in which the whip was used, placing it in the mid range in our opinion.
The Group 1 status of today’s race was also considered an aggravating factor. Excessive use of the whip presents a very poor look for the racing industry and a major race such as the New Zealand Oaks attracts a much wider audience. Mr Parkes was warned that any future breaches may well result in a suspension of his rider’s license.
penalty:
Accordingly Mr Parkes is fined the sum of $1000.
hearing_type: Hearing
Rules: 638(3)(b)
Informant: Mr R Neal - Chief Stipendiary Steward
JockeysandTrainer: Mr J Parkes - Licensed Rider
Otherperson: Mr L Tidmarsh - Trainee Stipendiary Steward
PersonPresent:
Respondent:
StipendSteward:
raceid: 7f7f3b2aed2fad792e37046cfbce6bfb
race_expapproval:
racecancelled: 0
race_noreport: 0
race_emailed1: 0
race_emailed2: 0
race_title: R 9
submittochair:
race_expappcomment:
race_km:
race_otherexp:
race_chair:
race_pm1:
race_pm2:
meetid: 5750bf1e841364791a77a54a8f54dd67
meet_expapproval:
meet_noreport: 0
waitingforpublication: 0
meet_emailed1: 0
meet_emailed2: 0
meetdate: 15/03/2014
meet_title: Wellington RC - 15 March 2014
meet_expappcomment:
meet_km:
meet_otherexp:
tracklocation: wellington-rc
meet_racingtype: thoroughbred-racing
meet_chair: NMoffatt
meet_pm1: NMcCutcheon
meet_pm2: none
name: Wellington RC