Westport TC 28 December 2016 – R 3 – Chair, Mr S Ching
ID: JCA14281
Meet Title:
Westport TC - 28 December 2016
Meet Chair:
SChing
Meet Committee Member 1:
DAnderson
Race Date:
2016/12/28
Race Number:
R3
Decision:
As Mr Butt had admitted this breach of the Rules it was found to be proved in accordance with Rule 1111(1)(d).
Penalty:
Accordingly, Mr Butt is fined the sum of $300.
Facts:
Following the running of Race 3, the Frank Higgins Memorial Pace, an Information was filed by Stipendiary Steward, Mr S Renault against Licensed Open Horseman, Mr R J Butt, alleging a breach of Rule 869(2)(a) in that he used his whip excessively inside the final 400m.
Rule 869(2)(a) reads as follows:
“(2) No horseman shall during any race:-
(a) Use his whip in an unnecessary, excessive or improper manner.”
Use of the Whip Guidelines provides:
-The whip shall not be used more than 10 times in the last 400m of a race, otherwise this will be deemed excessive use pursuant to these guidelines.
Mr Butt had endorsed the Information that this breach of the Rules was admitted. Mr Butt had also informed the Stewards that he did not wish to be present at the hearing.
Mr Renault gave evidence and showed video replays of the final 400m of the race. He pointed out Mr Butt driving OLDE OAK EMMA passing the 400m when racing 3 back on the pylons. He stated that Mr Butt used his whip freehand on 12 occasions over the final 400m which was in breach of the Whip Guidelines. Mr Renault submitted that the level of the breach was at a low level. He also said that Mr Butt used the whip approximately 6 times inside the 400m with his hand on the rein which was not continuous and therefore not in breach of the Guidelines.
Submissions for Penalty:
Mr Renault stated that Mr Butt had driven on 149 occasions last season with drives this season 64 to date. He said that Mr Butt had a clear record in regard to this rule and had admitted the breach at the first opportunity. Mr Renault submitted that after taking all factors into consideration, including Mr Butt’s frank admission of the breach, his good record and the low level of the breach, that a fine of $300 be considered as penalty in this case.
Mr Renault stated that Mr Butt had informed the Stewards that he would prefer a fine as penalty.
Reasons for Penalty:
The JCA Penalty Guide recommends a $500 fine as a starting point for a breach of this Rule. In adopting the starting point of a $500 fine the Committee determined that there were no aggravating factors which would command an uplift in penalty. We were however, able to afford Mr Butt a discount of $100 for his ready admission of the breach and a further discount of $100 for his good record and the low level of the breach. We therefore determined that an appropriate penalty on this occasion was a fine of $300.
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: 6fff77f6c8e9c959b9140c30d03acdc1
informantnumber: A8440
horsename:
hearing_racingtype:
startdate: no date provided
newcharge: Excessive use of the whip
plea: admitted
penaltyrequired: 1
decisiondate: 30/12/2016
hearing_title: Westport TC 28 December 2016 - R 3 - Chair, Mr S Ching
charge:
facts:
Following the running of Race 3, the Frank Higgins Memorial Pace, an Information was filed by Stipendiary Steward, Mr S Renault against Licensed Open Horseman, Mr R J Butt, alleging a breach of Rule 869(2)(a) in that he used his whip excessively inside the final 400m.
Rule 869(2)(a) reads as follows:
“(2) No horseman shall during any race:-
(a) Use his whip in an unnecessary, excessive or improper manner.”
Use of the Whip Guidelines provides:
-The whip shall not be used more than 10 times in the last 400m of a race, otherwise this will be deemed excessive use pursuant to these guidelines.
Mr Butt had endorsed the Information that this breach of the Rules was admitted. Mr Butt had also informed the Stewards that he did not wish to be present at the hearing.
Mr Renault gave evidence and showed video replays of the final 400m of the race. He pointed out Mr Butt driving OLDE OAK EMMA passing the 400m when racing 3 back on the pylons. He stated that Mr Butt used his whip freehand on 12 occasions over the final 400m which was in breach of the Whip Guidelines. Mr Renault submitted that the level of the breach was at a low level. He also said that Mr Butt used the whip approximately 6 times inside the 400m with his hand on the rein which was not continuous and therefore not in breach of the Guidelines.
appealdecision:
isappeal:
submissionsfordecision:
reasonsfordecision:
Decision:
As Mr Butt had admitted this breach of the Rules it was found to be proved in accordance with Rule 1111(1)(d).
sumissionsforpenalty:
Mr Renault stated that Mr Butt had driven on 149 occasions last season with drives this season 64 to date. He said that Mr Butt had a clear record in regard to this rule and had admitted the breach at the first opportunity. Mr Renault submitted that after taking all factors into consideration, including Mr Butt’s frank admission of the breach, his good record and the low level of the breach, that a fine of $300 be considered as penalty in this case.
Mr Renault stated that Mr Butt had informed the Stewards that he would prefer a fine as penalty.
reasonsforpenalty:
The JCA Penalty Guide recommends a $500 fine as a starting point for a breach of this Rule. In adopting the starting point of a $500 fine the Committee determined that there were no aggravating factors which would command an uplift in penalty. We were however, able to afford Mr Butt a discount of $100 for his ready admission of the breach and a further discount of $100 for his good record and the low level of the breach. We therefore determined that an appropriate penalty on this occasion was a fine of $300.
penalty:
Accordingly, Mr Butt is fined the sum of $300.
hearing_type: Hearing
Rules: 869(2)(a)
Informant: Mr S Renault - Stipendiary Steward
JockeysandTrainer: Mr RJ Butt - Licensed Open Horseman
Otherperson:
PersonPresent:
Respondent:
StipendSteward:
raceid: 97e9b6e4a6fd4a27d1d90bc4d012f204
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: 24814172f0b8662995d73a1c659f6803
meet_expapproval:
meet_noreport: 0
waitingforpublication: 0
meet_emailed1: 0
meet_emailed2: 0
meetdate: 28/12/2016
meet_title: Westport TC - 28 December 2016
meet_expappcomment:
meet_km:
meet_otherexp:
tracklocation: westport-tc
meet_racingtype: harness-racing
meet_chair: SChing
meet_pm1: DAnderson
meet_pm2: none
name: Westport TC