Methven TC 11 December 2022 – R4 – Kimberly Butt
ID: RIB14480
Animal Name:
HES SANTAS EXCUSE
Code:
Harness
Race Date:
11/12/2022
Race Club:
Methven Trotting Club
Race Location:
Methven Racecourse - 47 Mount Hutt Station Road, Methven, 7782
Race Number:
R4
Hearing Date:
11/12/2022
Hearing Location:
Methven
Outcome: Proved
Penalty: Driver Kimberly Butt is fined $350
BACKGROUND:
Following the running of Race 4, Ingold Builders Ltd Mobile Pace, the Respondent, Driver Kimberly Butt, as the Driver of HES SANTAS EXCUSE in the race, denied a charge of using her whip in a continuous manner in the run home.
Rule 869 provides:
(2) No driver shall during any race use a whip in a manner in contravention of the Use of the Whip Regulations made by the Board.
The Whip and Rein Regulations provide:
3.3 A driver shall not use a whip in an unapproved manner.
3.4 For the purposes of Clause 3.3 a driver shall be deemed to have used the whip in an unapproved manner in the following circumstances which are not exclusive:
3.4.2 If the whip is applied excessively, continuously, or without allowing the horse time to respond
EVIDENCE:
Stipendiary Steward, Shane Renault, showed a video replay of the final 350 metres of the race. He pointed out HES SANTAS EXCUSE, driven by the Respondent, in the lead as the field turned into the home straight. He alleged that, early in the run home, the Respondent used her whip with pauses but, shortly thereafter, she then commenced using her whip continuously until a very late stage in the race. (The Adjudicative Committee noted that HES SANTAS EXCUSE finished in 3rd placing, the margins being a ½ length and a head).
Mr Renault alleged that, from about the 300 metres, the whip was used continuously without allowing the horse time to respond and without any pauses. The number of times that the Respondent used her whip was “in the high 30’s”, he alleged. There was no force used but the whip use was continuous, he alleged.
The Respondent agreed that she had used the whip a lot, but said her interpretation of the Regulations was that the whip could not be used in a continuous “action”. She had changed her action, she submitted. She believed that she had given the horse time to respond. It had responded and been in a close finish, she said.
The Respondent submitted that her defence revolved around the interpretation of “continuous manner”. Her whip use had not involved the same continuous action. Furthermore, she submitted, she had given her horse time to respond.
DECISION:
The charge is found proved.
REASONS FOR DECISION:
The Respondent’s defence was based on her understanding or misinterpretation of the Regulation as to the prohibition against using the whip “continuously”. “Continuously” simply means “without interruption or gaps”. The Respondent’s use of the whip on this occasion, quite clearly, falls within that definition. None of the strikes were non-compliant or forceful.
SUBMISSIONS FOR PENALTY:
Stipendiary Steward, Shane Renault, produced the Respondent’s record – 169 drives this season and last season 121. Her record is clear, but she did receive a warning on 9 September, 52 drives ago, Mr Renault said. The usual starting point for penalty for a whip breach involving continuous use is a fine of $300. Stewards were concerned that this breach was high-level, Mr Renault said. A fine of between $300-400 would be appropriate, he submitted.
The Respondent said that she now understood how she had breached the Rule. The number of strikes was not that high, she said, as many were through the tail.
REASONS FOR PENALTY:
The Adjudicative Committee agreed that this breach was high-level because of the number of uses and the distance over which the Respondent persisted with using her whip.
The Adjudicative Committee notes that the penalty for continuous use is, in most cases, a fine of $300. The Adjudicative Committee is adding an uplift for the breach being high-level.
CONCLUSION:
The Respondent, Driver Kimberly Butt, is fined $350.
Decision Date: 11/12/2022
Publish Date: 17/01/2023