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It is fair to say that the sport of horse racing is a very old fashioned one, and technology is used very sparingly by those in the sport. However, we are now at a time when pretty much every sport has some kind of technology in play, and horse racing is beginning to look dated and left behind.
There is one area where we can offer help to horse racing stewards and that would be to use body cams on the jockeys, as we have seen in the past, but to have every single jockey in every single race wearing one.
What Can a Jockey Cam Give the Sport?
These cameras would be perfect evidence for stewards enquiries. At the moment, should horses interfere with each other, a steward at the race track reviews the race to see what has happened and who is at fault. A decision is made and based on that, we may see the result of a race changed, so this does have a big impact on things.
This is especially the case with those betting on horse racing. A decision made by the stewards can be the difference between a win and a nice pay out for punters or nothing. With many racing betting offers available to use, a lot of bets are wagered on racing each day in the UK and further afield around the world.
A jockey cam on the two jockeys that are deemed to have been in the incident could provide vital evidence to support the case for one of them, and show who was at fault. This would be a close up shot where the stewards would be put right in the mix of the action, and that can only help them.
The camera angles used now are from further away and often make it tough to see what exactly happened when horses or jockeys brushed past each other. A jockey cam would be able to pick up these tiny details and ensure the right decision was made.
Is Technology Already Available for This?
Yes, it is and we have seen evidence of it in the past. We have seen in big races, usually the Aintree Grand National and Cheltenham Gold Cup, jockeys wearing head cams on their helmets to give those watching at home an experience of what it is like to ride in a race.
These are not perfect quality, but only put there by TV people to add to the viewer experience. Those who run horse racing would have a lot more to buy, but there is no reason why they couldn’t do that and buy better quality ones to improve the picture quality they receive from the cameras.
Conclusion
Horse racing as a sport is often one that appears to stand still when it comes to technology. There has been little added over the past few decades, a time when other sports have been making huge advancements. Now is the time for the sport to step forward, and jockey cams seem the logical starting point.