Two separate panels, one highlighting “Racing Success Stories” and the other addressing “The Threat of Illegal Betting to the Racing Industry”, created the rationale for both industry optimism and concern on the final day of the University of Arizona Racing Program Global Symposium on December 7.
Positivity was the first order of the day in “Race Success Stories” at the Loews Ventana Canyon Resort in Tucson, Ariz., in which four speakers and a moderator delivered innovations. , reform and collaboration across segments of the racing horse industry by 2022. The most advanced of these is the development of a video system that analyzes the mechanics and sounds of horses competing at the tracks. racing 1/ST Racing.
Among the races that 1/ST Racing operates are Gulfstream Park, Laurel Park, Racecourse Pimlico, Golden Gate Field, and Santa Anita . Park—The Southern California racetrack has weathered the equine welfare crisis following a spike in early 2019.
Since then, the number of deaths has plummeted in Santa Anita, plummeting from 3.01 deaths per 1,000 beginning in 2019 to 0.65 year-to-date in 2022, according to the report. Data provided by Dr. Dionne Benson, veterinary director of 1/ST Racing. Many factors are thought to be responsible for that decline, from changes in dosing rules to pre-race vet checks and cultural changes.
“What we have seen is the commitment of everyone on our track, especially in Santa Anita, to safety,” she said.
That commitment extends to 1/ST Racing itself, with the operator deciding in 2019 to pursue the development of the aforementioned video analytics system, along with RaceHorse360, an automated risk identification system to More precise identification of horses ensures close inspection before the race.
“That was three years ago and several million dollars,” Benson said.
Watch: Benson discusses innovations in racing technology 1/ST
Benson credited Paul Williams, chief executive officer of 1/ST Racing, CEO of the 1/ST Technology division, for leading the projects, enabling the continuation of horse tracking with video technology in morning training at Santa Anita.
Other achievements noted in the “Race Success Stories” panel include We Are New York Horse Racing’s beneficial partnership advocacy efforts, the introduction of fish dollar breaking betting in Kentucky, and the development of handles and wallets in Kentucky Downs.
Kentucky State Representative Adam Koenig described the introduction of a coin-break, which offers higher payouts to bettors and modernizes pari-mutuel tax laws in the state, amid challenges in the promote gambling-related problems in socially conservative Bluegrass.
Kentucky Downs Ted Nicholson, vice president of horse racing there, said that he started offering the historic race in 2012 and it has become a “miracle pill” for the track. Since that time, the track has seen wallets skyrocket and riders embrace the live racing product, with bets rising to more than $80 million on the seven-day race in this year.
Betting was also the focus of the late-morning session of the panel “The Threat of Illegal Betting to the Racing Industry”, which also featured examples of pool manipulation illustrated by Pat Cummings , executive director of the Thoroughbred Idea Foundation. Cummings said foreign betting markets have infiltrated American races, and manipulating a group provides a means for such players to achieve higher scores. He cited five dozen incidents over the past six to seven months to look at trends.
Adam Koenig Dionne Benson diversity Dr. Dionne Benson Global symposium on racing illegal betting include Pat Cummings Racing success story swimming pool manipulation Tom Rooney University of Arizona Track Industry Program
