New Mexico Horse Racetrack Partners with Replay App Developer
(SPORTS TECHNOLOGY)
The Downs Racetrack at Albuquerque (Downs) announced on Wednesday that it had entered into an agreement with Horse Races Now, LLC (HRN) to provide race video for its Horse Races Now app. Users will be able to view races from the Downs using the app when racing resumes at the facility in August.
Lexington, Kent.-based HRN was founded by Kenny McPeek, a horse trainer and Sue McPeek. The app the company developed gives users access to video from numerous racetracks in North America and Dubai. Replays from races in the last two years are available and so are statistics including times, finishes and payouts. It also has access to past radio highlights and live horse sales. The racing app is free and currently available on the iOS and Android (News - Alert) platforms. It appears that HRN makes its money from advertising as the company lists numerous sponsors on its site.
HRN’s app is likely an attempt to capitalize on the fact that the overwhelming majority of horse race wagering is done off-track. According to the Washington Post, this trend started in the 1990s when computerized betting took off. Statistics from Belmont Park are symptomatic of this trend: only 7.6 percent of the money bet Belmont races at that facility last fall was made onsite.
The article concludes that horse racing has fans, but they largely prefer not to go to the track to watch the races. A press release claims that HRN’s app has over 100,000 downloads, evidence that the sport itself remains popular in spite of live attendance dwindling over the years.
HRN has caused horse racing to catch up with other professional sports when it comes to providing current information and highlights. The four major professional sports leagues in North America, the NFL, NBA, MLB (News - Alert) and NHL all provide apps that give scoring information and up to the minute game situations. As far as the sport of horse racing goes, HRN’s app will be embraced by bettors, but will do nothing to encourage them to watch races in person.
Edited by Cassandra Tucker
