Canterbury Park To Shift To Gate-To-Finish Timing

[5wide]

At least one track will have accurate times nad distances.

racingthinktank.com/blog/canterbury-park-first-north-america-shift-gate-finish-timing

[tenfurlongs]

Oct 18, 2023 9:22:14 GMT -5 5wide said:

At least one track will have accurate times nad distances.

racingthinktank.com/blog/canterbury-park-first-north-america-shift-gate-finish-timing

As long as the gulls and outriders cooperate  ...


From a 2020 Bloodhorse article about NYRA official Anthony Affrunti, who works for American Teletimer and is responsible for timing and photofinish camera operation:

In his job, Affrunti has to manually set and trigger the timing and photo finish equipment.


"Each race has a grid for the timing. There are over 170 variations of poles to switch on for races at different distances. Based on the distance, I'll set up a grid for that particular race. I'll pull a lever down for the timer just before the race starts and then, when the field goes by it, that trips the timer. I'll then turn it off because birds, loose horses, shadows and even raccoons can trigger one of the timers. An alarm will tell me to turn it on when the field is approaching each pole and I'll keeping turning it on and off at each pole to get the times."

With about 50 yards left in the race, Affrunti will then turn on the photo finish camera to capture the images of the horses crossing the finish line.


In 2023, when I can stream a live feed at Saratoga from my smartphone, while making wagers through an ADW platform and checking the weather back at my house, this seems like 'ancient' technology. There has to be a reasonably inexpensive way to use some kind of GPS 'device' in each saddlecloth to acquire fractional times. Timing the full race from the gate is a step in the right direction, I guess. No matter what, there will still be a couple of stopwatches running on-track, as a backup.




TW

[mysaladdays]

Oct 18, 2023 10:38:55 GMT -5 tenfurlongs said:

Oct 18, 2023 9:22:14 GMT -5 5wide said:

At least one track will have accurate times nad distances.

racingthinktank.com/blog/canterbury-park-first-north-america-shift-gate-finish-timing

There has to be a reasonably inexpensive way to use some kind of GPS 'device' in each saddlecloth to acquire fractional times. 



TW

I applaud Canterbury.  It's a uniformity issue and uniformity is a HISA thing for horse welfare and safety.   Its almost too logical to make sense  LOL  

Uniformity just makes sense, not just for horses safety but Mike de Kock explained it well, back in 2013: 

"From prohibited substances, quarantines and rules of racing, each jurisdiction has its own idiosyncrasies, which De Kock believes is stifling the sport from growing further internationally. "I should be able to go and race in any country and know the rules in terms of medication, but also objections and interferences. "Rules should be standardised throughout the world and there is no need to have different ones. Anything that cleans up the sport can only be good for the game. It is a wonderful industry and doesn't need the headlines it is getting."
www.thenationalnews.com/sport/horse-racing-mike-de-kock-calls-for-consistency-1.587690

As for the saddlecloth technology,  I remember when Mubtaahij came over for our TC races, way back in 2015 (Mike de Kock has won G1 level races on how many continents? unmatched at the art of travelling horses globally) he was able to monitor any horse he had, regardless of where they were running, including heart rate, etc.  using software and saddlecloth technology???  

[1hooper]

Equibase publishes GPS charts.
www.equibase.com/static/chart/gps/BAQ101423USA2.html

[tenfurlongs]

Apparently that Equibase GPS-based data isn't always accurate either, according to this article:

racingthinktank.com/blog/equibase-way-base-doubting-beyer-importance-accuracy


I don't use 'Speed Figures' to handicap, so I don't particularly care from a wagering standpoint. But it's hard to argue that bad data in doesn't equal bad calculation out. 


Here's how the Olympics does it:

www.newyorker.com/tech/annals-of-technology/the-olympics-never-ending-struggle-to-keep-track-of-time




TW

[1hooper]

I think they are more accurate than when the article was written (2020) but I don't hand time races so I'm speculating.

[5wide]

Wow, lots of food for thought. And a few extra grains of salt on times and speed figures.

[1hooper]

We could open the run-up distances can of worms.

[docd]

I think I could fix this