Archive Decision

This decision has been migrated from the JCA website. Information is accurate but formatting may differ from contemporary decisions. Please contact us for any further enquiries.

Woodville-Pahiatua RC 31 August 2017 – R 1 – Chair, Mrs N Moffatt

ID: JCA10618

Applicant:
Mr D Balcombe - Stipendiary Steward

Respondent(s):
Mr T Allen - Licensed Rider

Other Person:
Mr N Goodwin - Stipendiary Steward

Information Number:
A9205

Hearing Type:
Hearing

New Charge:
Excessive use of the whip

Rules:
638(3)(b)(ii)

Plea:
denied

Code:
Thoroughbred

Meet Title:
Woodville - Pahiatua RC - 31 August 2017

Meet Chair:
NMoffatt

Meet Committee Member 1:
NMcCutcheon

Race Date:
2017/08/31

Race Number:
R 1

Decision:

Accordingly the charge of excessive use of the whip was found proved.

Penalty:

Mr Allen was fined the sum of $300.

Facts:

Following Race 1 an information was lodged by Mr D Balcombe alleging a breach of Rule 638(3)(b)(ii) in that jockey Tony Allen used his whip excessively prior to the 100m without the necessary respite.

Mr Allen did not admit the breach and said he did not understand the charge. Rule 638(3)(b)(ii) was read along with the whip guidelines and the Chairman explained to Mr Allen the nature of the charge against him.

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” provides:
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.

Submissions for Decision:

Mr Goodwin used the head on video and counted a total of nine whip strikes prior to the 100m.

Mr Allen said in his opinion it was more like 7-8 strikes of the whip.

Reasons for Decision:

The Committee looked carefully at the films and was satisfied that Mr Allen’s whip use fell outside of the guidelines and that it constituted excessive use. After passing the 300 metres he struck his horse every second stride, approximately 9 times in total, prior to the 100 metres.

Submissions for Penalty:

Mr Balcombe said that Mr Allen had a good record and submitted that a fine was an appropriate penalty.

Mr Allen told the Judicial Committee that he didn’t have any money and he doesn’t get many rides. He said there were a reduced number of meetings in the Central Districts and it cost him to travel up north. He believed that he hadn’t used the whip excessively but had just made an error of judgement. Mr Allen submitted that a one day suspension be imposed.

Reasons for Penalty:

The Judicial Committee Penalty Guide provides that the starting point for a first offence is a $300 fine. Mr Allen was only four strikes over the guidelines but he hit his horse every second stride when the guidelines provide for a 5 stride respite. We considered the breach to sit in the low to mid-range and a neutral factor in considering penalty. All riders’ whip records were reset as of August 1st 2017 therefore we did not consider a clear record to be a mitigating factor for today’s breach.

In order to be consistent with recent penalties imposed for first breaches of this rule, it was our opinion that a $300 was an appropriate penalty.

While we took into account Mr Allen’s comments in regard to his financial position, we explained that he could arrange to pay his fine in smaller increments and could continue riding while doing so. We requested Mr Irving (Racecourse Inspector) help facilitate this process with Mr Allen and NZTR.

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: 0de473dd25305003c6ba8bbb4aba1b05


informantnumber: A9205


horsename:


hearing_racingtype:


startdate: no date provided


newcharge: Excessive use of the whip


plea: denied


penaltyrequired: 1


decisiondate: 02/09/2017


hearing_title: Woodville-Pahiatua RC 31 August 2017 - R 1 - Chair, Mrs N Moffatt


charge:


facts:

Following Race 1 an information was lodged by Mr D Balcombe alleging a breach of Rule 638(3)(b)(ii) in that jockey Tony Allen used his whip excessively prior to the 100m without the necessary respite.

Mr Allen did not admit the breach and said he did not understand the charge. Rule 638(3)(b)(ii) was read along with the whip guidelines and the Chairman explained to Mr Allen the nature of the charge against him.

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” provides:
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.


appealdecision:


isappeal:


submissionsfordecision:

Mr Goodwin used the head on video and counted a total of nine whip strikes prior to the 100m.

Mr Allen said in his opinion it was more like 7-8 strikes of the whip.


reasonsfordecision:

The Committee looked carefully at the films and was satisfied that Mr Allen’s whip use fell outside of the guidelines and that it constituted excessive use. After passing the 300 metres he struck his horse every second stride, approximately 9 times in total, prior to the 100 metres.


Decision:

Accordingly the charge of excessive use of the whip was found proved.


sumissionsforpenalty:

Mr Balcombe said that Mr Allen had a good record and submitted that a fine was an appropriate penalty.

Mr Allen told the Judicial Committee that he didn’t have any money and he doesn’t get many rides. He said there were a reduced number of meetings in the Central Districts and it cost him to travel up north. He believed that he hadn’t used the whip excessively but had just made an error of judgement. Mr Allen submitted that a one day suspension be imposed.


reasonsforpenalty:

The Judicial Committee Penalty Guide provides that the starting point for a first offence is a $300 fine. Mr Allen was only four strikes over the guidelines but he hit his horse every second stride when the guidelines provide for a 5 stride respite. We considered the breach to sit in the low to mid-range and a neutral factor in considering penalty. All riders’ whip records were reset as of August 1st 2017 therefore we did not consider a clear record to be a mitigating factor for today’s breach.

In order to be consistent with recent penalties imposed for first breaches of this rule, it was our opinion that a $300 was an appropriate penalty.

While we took into account Mr Allen’s comments in regard to his financial position, we explained that he could arrange to pay his fine in smaller increments and could continue riding while doing so. We requested Mr Irving (Racecourse Inspector) help facilitate this process with Mr Allen and NZTR.


penalty:

Mr Allen was fined the sum of $300.


hearing_type: Hearing


Rules: 638(3)(b)(ii)


Informant: Mr D Balcombe - Stipendiary Steward


JockeysandTrainer: Mr T Allen - Licensed Rider


Otherperson: Mr N Goodwin - Stipendiary Steward


PersonPresent:


Respondent:


StipendSteward:


raceid: 9fe18129201e271a68c7f3a2ed0f1120


race_expapproval:


racecancelled: 0


race_noreport: 0


race_emailed1: 0


race_emailed2: 0


race_title: R 1


submittochair:


race_expappcomment:


race_km:


race_otherexp:


race_chair:


race_pm1:


race_pm2:


meetid: ce0a32ec2d86e9e7934a8287eea3eb52


meet_expapproval:


meet_noreport: 0


waitingforpublication: 0


meet_emailed1: 0


meet_emailed2: 0


meetdate: 31/08/2017


meet_title: Woodville - Pahiatua RC - 31 August 2017


meet_expappcomment:


meet_km:


meet_otherexp:


tracklocation: woodville-pahiatua-rc


meet_racingtype: thoroughbred-racing


meet_chair: NMoffatt


meet_pm1: NMcCutcheon


meet_pm2: none


name: Woodville - Pahiatua RC