Racing,where new technology is welcome

One equipment constantly getting updated is the photo-finish camera. “When two or more horses have had a very tight finish,which the naked eye cannot catch,a photograph gives the winner. Today,even before the horse has left the track,we have the winner. even then,constant improvements are being made to get results even faster,” said Jain.

Jeffrey Nagpal,a horse owner,said with technological innovation,any injury a horse might have picked up can be pinned immediately. Technology has also been a great help to punters. “The betting system was computerised around 15 years ago because it is fairly complex and has a large number of rules. What this does is that dividends can be calculated immediately,” said Ajit Gulanikar,IT consultant to the RWITC. “The merging of pools across centres has resulted in the combined jackpot,started seven years ago,with a larger payout that attracts more people,” he added.

Other innovations help those behind the scenes. “This season,we launched a website exclusively for owners and trainers,where they get information on other horses,races,and so on. For example,for big races,entries need to be made upto a year in advance. The website will help the owner keep track of such things. It will help the trainer with his paperwork,” says Gulanikar.

Everyone acknowledges some parts of racing cannot be computerised. Deepak Rajpal,a commentator said,“Commentating,jockeying,cannot be done by a machine.”

Jain adds,“The race itself,how to select winners… cannot be done by machines. Granted,machines can give the most logical winner. But races don’t work on logic alone. Sometimes you need luck.”