Preliminary audio system in the course of the 72nd Annual Spherical Desk Convention on Issues Pertaining to Racing in Saratoga Springs, N.Y., mentioned profitable initiatives and technological developments aimed toward bettering the horse racing trade.
The Aug. 1 convention, introduced by The Jockey Membership, started with a welcome from TJC chair Stuart Janney III and remarks from Jim Gagliano, TJC’s president and COO. The Spherical Desk was livestreamed, and a replay can be posted at jockeyclub.com.
Gagliano famous TJC’s funding in numerous initiatives to revitalize the Thoroughbred racing trade, reminiscent of a profitable influencer marketing campaign with America’s Greatest Racing and different stakeholders known as “A Stake in Stardom,” which generated giant will increase in on-line engagement and video views, as proven in a current video beneath with social media influencer Griffin Johnson as he visits Churchill Downs. He additionally outlined the group’s strategic plan for the longer term.
America’s Greatest Racing, like BloodHorse, is a TJC firm. BloodHorse is owned in partnership by The Jockey Membership Data Techniques and the Thoroughbred Homeowners and Breeders’ Affiliation.
Gagliano mentioned the TJC and its corporations, reminiscent of Equibase, proceed to pursue equine security enhancements, a tracing and naming-assistance element to its breed registry, monitoring know-how known as real-time kinematics, a pilot ratings-and-handicap system, and a serious information licensing settlement with Fox Design Pondering, also called Halo AI, which plans to construct software program methods to help stakeholders with breeding, gross sales, and racing choices.
He spotlighted one other challenge headed by monitor floor knowledgeable Dr. Mick Peterson that helps the event of latest moisture-sensing know-how.
“Bettering the security of Thoroughbred horse racing stays a longtime precedence for The Jockey Membership,” Gagliano mentioned.
He additional introduced the TJC’s buy of TLore, a racehorse administration system, and mentioned plans to introduce later this fall a brand new value-added service for each breeder of a registered Thoroughbred that may enable them to entry free lifetime previous performances for each horse they register.
He concluded by sharing two suggestions of The Jockey Membership Thoroughbred Security Committee: calling for all racetracks to completely take part within the Upkeep High quality System and recommending that each one racing-related necropsies be carried out utilizing the 2020 American Affiliation Equine Practitioners Tips for the Necropsy of Racehorses at least commonplace.
Replace From California
Later, towards the tip of the pre-intermission session of audio system, Dr. Dionne Benson, chief veterinary officer for 1/ST Racing, shared her expertise from Santa Anita Park and different tracks operated by the corporate throughout the nation, which incorporates Gulfstream Park in Florida and Laurel Park and Pimlico Race Course in Maryland.
Noting the dramatic discount in equine fatalities at Santa Anita since a cluster of catastrophic accidents there in 2019 threatened racing within the state, she additional spoke of technological advances by 1/ST Racing by means of its 1/ST Know-how division.
One in every of these is Racehorse 360, a program that assists tracks with writing situation books and figuring out eligible horses for races. It additionally gives notifications to trainers and permits for the prioritization of exercise requests based mostly on threat elements. Observe veterinarians use Racehorse 360 to make better-informed choices, she mentioned.
1/ST Racing additional makes use of synthetic intelligence to investigate video footage and establish horses on a monitor, offering veterinarians with real-time info. Using monitor optics can establish potential points in racehorses, she mentioned.
She mentioned they’ve twice retrained the AI program, which she mentioned would turn out to be smarter as extra information is collected and this system refined.
“The development in figuring out horses with points has been spectacular from my perspective,” she mentioned. “As of in the present day, of the clips despatched by monitor optics, roughly 75% are decided to be value following up by monitor veterinarians.”
Previous Benson’s presentation have been feedback from Gary Fenton, chair of Thoroughbred Homeowners of California. Fenton expressed the significance of California racing to the whole nation and known as for unity and collaboration to guard and protect horse racing in his state. Not like most different main racing states, the racing trade in California shouldn’t be supplemented by gaming.
Talking from Del Mar, with a stay video of his remarks delivered to the Spherical Desk through FanDuel Racing, he requested that California be thought of by homeowners and trainers for racing, noting how the addition of 200 horses would bolster racing there. He mentioned that might come by 4 main trainers opting to convey strings of fifty horses apiece to California.
“It gained’t take a lot to enhance California’s already premium model,” he mentioned.
Security Runs First
Meghan Rodgers, senior vice chairman of public affairs for the Nationwide Thoroughbred Racing Affiliation, spoke earlier than Fenton and emphasised the achievements of the NTRA’s “Security Runs First” promoting marketing campaign, which goals to advertise the present initiatives in place. She confirmed an commercial that appeared on NBC previous to this 12 months’s Kentucky Derby Offered by Woodford Reserve.
She mentioned the “Security Runs First” marketing campaign has “resulted in 190 million complete impressions. And now that’s those who stopped and truly registered our message and it contributed to 100,000 clicks and ‘Security Runs First’ web site,” she famous. “Our message was seen by hundreds of thousands of individuals, and analytics and anecdotal proof each point out that our message is resonating.”
Earlier than the Spherical Desk’s intermission, a video hosted by legendary monitor announcer Tom Durkin paid tribute to Nancy Kelly, a longtime TJC worker who died in February at age 71. Janney introduced that revered Kelly would posthumously obtain the Dinny Phipps Award, and he inspired donations in her identify to the Grayson-Jockey Membership Analysis Basis, the place she served as vice chairman of improvement. She additionally was the chief director of The Jockey Membership Security Web Basis.
