Waikato BOP H 22 May 2025 – R5 – Peter Ferguson

Summary of Facts:

Following the running of Race 5, the Respondent P Ferguson defended a breach of Whip Rule 869(2).  The particulars of the charge are that he used his whip in more than a wrist flicking motion in the run home.

Rule 869 provides that:

(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.

Stipendiary Steward S Renault used available video footage to demonstrate the breach.  Mr Renault said that Mr Ferguson used his whip on 5 occasions engaging his elbow & wrist. He showed the video on several occasions and identified the last strike as being the worst.

In response, the Respondent advised the Adjudicative Committee that he had used the whip on only 5 occasions in the straight and it was very hard to use your wrist and not use your arm, when driving a horse out. He said he hadn’t raised his arm beyond 45 degrees and hadn’t used the whip down on the horse.

Decision:

The charge was found proved.

Reasons for Decision:

The Adjudicative Committee took the opportunity to view the video independently. Having viewed the video on numerous occasions at both normal and reduced speed, the Adjudicative Committee was of the opinion that Mr Ferguson had engaged the use of his elbow on up to 2 occasions in the home straight.

The use of the elbow does allow the Driver to generate additional force than they could if only using their wrist and is therefore in breach of the Whip and Rein Regulations, specifically Regulation 3.2 & 3.2.1 which states; for the purpose of clause 3.1 wrist only flicking motion means.

3.2.1 Ensuring no force is generated by the use of the elbow or shoulder when applying the whip

Submissions for Penalty:

Mr Renault produced Mr Ferguson’s record, which was clear.

Mr Renault said that Stewards assessed the breach to be mid range and submitted that it be dealt with by way of a 2 day suspension or a $500 fine.

The Respondent submitted that he would prefer a fine.

Reasons for Penalty:

After consideration of the evidence from all parties concerned and viewing the race films of the concluding stages of the race, the Adjudicative Committee assessed the breach as at a very low level.

A low-level breach is defined as when a driver inadvertently reverts to the old style (freehand, loose reining and or more than a flicking motion) but promptly takes corrective action to return to a compliant style.

The Adjudicative Committee only considered that Mr Ferguson was non compliant for 1-2 strikes.

Having considered all factors, the Adjudicative Committee deemed an appropriate penalty be a $250 fine. This is a $50 reduction from the starting point.

It is highly unusual for an Adjudicative Committee to apply a reduction to a penalty regarding a breach of the Whip & Rein Regulations, however under the circumstances and given the very low level of the breach, the Adjudicative Committee believed a small reduction was justified.

Conclusion:

The Respondent is fined $250.