One of the challenges those involved in the sport of horse racing have faced over the last few years is how they ensure that audiences in the sport continue to grow. To do that, they have had to find new ways to promote their sport in the digital era.
Here is a look at some examples of how the sport is using technology to make horse racing more appealing.
Horsepower
Andrew Balding is one of the leading horse racing trainers in the UK. His horses often feature in the biggest races in sport, like Coltrane who is the +375 favorite in the bet on racing odds for this year’s British Champions Long Distance Cup. In a fascinating four-part Amazon Prime documentary series, Horsepower, we get to go behind the scenes at Balding’s stable to see how he prepares his horses for the racecourse.
As you may have seen in the horse racing news, Balding is a three-time British Classic winner. He won the 2,000 Guineas at Newmarket earlier this year with Chaldean, one of the five races involving the best three-year-old horses in the sport. His impressive operation includes a swimming pool for horses, gallops for them to improve their stamina, and a whole team of staff whose job it is to care for the thoroughbreds.
We have a big team for #RoyalAscot this year, last big workout session yesterday morning, really looking forward to it pic.twitter.com/GLXDXWhXin
— Andrew Balding (@AndrewBalding2) June 16, 2019
Like Drive To Survive in Formula One, this series will give you a great insight into the sport. After watching all four episodes, those who run the sport will be hoping viewers will attend horse racing meetings and follow the action on television.
Digital headsets
One of the ways horse racing has been able to bring fans of the sport closer to the action is through ‘JockeyCam”. As the name suggests, jockeys wear a camera on their helmets during their race and this provides some amazing footage of them maneuvering their way around the course on board their horses.
CORACH RAMBLER WINS THE 2023 GRAND NATIONAL 🏇 pic.twitter.com/IXDzrs9BK4
— At The Races (@AtTheRaces) April 15, 2023
This footage is often shared on social media, while broadcasters in the sport are increasingly using this technology, especially in big races such as the Grand National and the Derby. The former, which was won in 2023 by Corach Rambler, is the world’s most famous steeplechase and features 40 runners. It is also a unique race in that the obstacles on the course are much bigger than standard fences, so the digital headsets on the jockeys’ helmets have added a new dimension to the coverage of the annual event.
Social media Keeps Fans Connected to The Sport
Like any sport, social media has become a very important communication tool in horse racing over the last few years. Horse racing trainers provide regular updates from their stables on their horses from their phones and then publish them on their social media channels.
This connection trainers in the sport now have with fans of the sport ensures there is transparency with the decisions they are making, particularly when it comes to the entries they make for their horses.
If horse racing continues to find new ways to promote the sport and make it appealing to those who have not experienced it before, it should keep generating new fans and remain in healthy shape for decades to come.
