AFTER a seven-year delay, live in-race timing information is now being provided at 25 Irish racecourses by Coursetrack.

Working with Horse Racing Ireland (HRI) and Association of Irish Racecourses (AIR), and the individual racecourses, Coursetrack began producing Irish racing data for on-screen broadcast on Racing TV from the start of the year.

The system involves horses carrying lightweight GPS trackers, designed to fit within the saddlecloth. In-race data for all races in Ireland – including race clock, leader’s speed, leader’s time per furlong and distance to finish – is provided to networks, including RTÉ and Racing TV, for live broadcasts.

Paul Hensey, AIR chief executive, said: “The roll-out of Coursetrack’s system across all fixtures so far this year has been excellent. We are now providing reliable, accurate tracking data across Irish racing, which is a benefit for racing fans, punters and participants. I look forward to seeing how this data can be used to support innovation and engage fans more deeply in the sport.”

Peter Roe, general manager at Fairyhouse Racecourse, said: “Fairyhouse was involved in the initial trials of Coursetrack in Ireland and we are very pleased that Coursetrack is now delivering new timing data for all of Fairyhouse’s flat and jumps fixtures.

“The new GPS technology ensures exact measurement of our different racing lines and race distances, which supports our efforts to keep moving the sport forward.”

Chris Murtagh of Coursetrack said: “We are delighted that the implementation and operation of Coursetrack has been so well received by racecourses in Ireland.

“Listowel, which raced on Sunday, was the 25th racecourse to successfully deploy the system, and we hope Laytown – which is staged on a beach – will complete the full set of 26 Irish racecourses in September.

“I’d like to thank all Irish racecourses, who have been a pleasure to work with and are now, along with their audiences, benefitting from this ultra-reliable, low-latency and easy-to-interpret data.”

The potential for the sport to harness the power of data and detailed performance can also improve welfare outcomes for racehorses, as was discussed at the inaugural HRI Equine Welfare Symposium held recently in Newbridge.

Jonathan Mullin, director of racing at HRI, said: “A commitment to innovation was a key part of the new media rights arrangements that were agreed with AIR and HRI and our partners SIS and RMG. We are delighted that RMG has brought in Coursetrack to deliver high-quality tracking across the whole of Irish racing and we look forward to further innovation and technical developments that come from this, including on the welfare side.”

Coursetrack is currently operating on 35 British racecourses and the service was originally due to be extended to Irish tracks in 2017, when Racing TV won the right to broadcast live Irish racing, but the rollout was repeatedly delayed for various reasons.

In Britain, bookmakers, including Boylesports, Ladbrokes, Coral, BetVictor and William Hill, are utilising Coursetrack’s data to offer in-play pricing and betting on UK horse racing. There is scope for that now to be extended to Irish racing.