Sectional Timing to be used in QIPCO races this year

[BillyHills]

This week we have heard the news that Sectional timing will used in many of the QIPCO Championship races, now i'm not a great fan of speed ratings due to the constant changes of the layouts in our tracks from meeting to meeting but do see that they can be useful in certain places and the AW tracks is a perfect example, same course, same going etc.... Sectional timing is a whole new ball game and would love to see that implemented across the board like in many other countries, apparently its too expensive to do it, I have no idea how much it would cost. I'd be interested to know how this will help the punter being such a small sample or is it just a bit of a publicity stunt for the sponsors and another excercise in pandering to the best races. Surely it wouldn't cost too much to get it installed at the 4 AW tracks but is that thought of as a waste of money as the class of horse at those tracks doesn't warrant it?

Following a successful test run last season, most of the races in this year’s QIPCO British Champions Series will record sectional timing from TurfTrax. Fractional times will be available from about two-thirds of the 35 races in the series. The plan is a joint deal between the series and four tracks, Newmarket, Ascot, Goodwood, and York. A total of 19 race days will be covered, including the whole of five racing festivals: the QIPCO Guineas Festival at Newmarket, Royal Ascot, Glorious Goodwood, and the Welcome to Yorkshire Ebor Festival at York, as well as Betfair King George day at Ascot. Every race will be covered on the participating racedays, which comprise 16 QIPCO British Champions Series fixtures and three days which do not feature a Series race, Dubai Future Champions Day at Newmarket, when many of the stars of next year’s series are likely to be in action, and days one and four of Glorious Goodwood. Discussions will start soon with the host broadcasters to help them achieve maximum benefit from the data with which they will be provided. Rod Street, chief executive of the QIPCO British Champions Series, said he is looking forward to the added information. “We are delighted to be bringing sectional timing to over 60% of our series races this year in partnership with Ascot, Goodwood, Newmarket, and York,” Street said. “As well as providing invaluable data to enrich broadcasts and post-race reporting, we hope that it will prove another step along the road towards even more extensive use of this excellent TurfTrax product in the future. “All sports need to embrace technology and although installing sectional timing at British racecourses is challenging and costly given the unique layout of many of our tracks, it is something which we believe can play an increasingly important role in the appreciation and analysis of our sport.”

For those that are not familiar with sectional timing; What are TurfTrax sectional times? A ‘sectional time’ is the time (in seconds) recorded for a horse to cover a furlong (or section) on the track. They allow us to better assess the pace at different stages of a race and the associated performances of each horse. How does it work? TurfTrax use a world-first speed and positioning system to track each horse in real-time. Using a very small transmitter in the horse’s saddlecloth, fixed receivers placed at various points alongside the course accurately plot the progress of the horse as it travels along the course. Can the speed and positioning system reveal any additional information about a race? Yes, the TurfTrax system records:

• the horse’s in-running speed
• the horse’s acceleration or deceleration
• the horse’s distance travelled
• the in-running race positions

How do sectional times help us? Knowledge is power, and sectional timing is an integral aid for punters to keep one step ahead. By quantifying the sectional times and speeds, we can more accurately study the performances of horses and the effect of pace on their racing styles. One can also reveal if a horse fails to stay or is simply outpaced. Sectional timings can basically show you where a horse was using up his energy. How do I know what a good sectional time is? Assessing a good or bad performance comes from studying and comparing TurfTrax RaceData from previous races and factoring in the race conditions on the day. By doing this one can judge what pace a horse requires to at different stages of the race to deliver it’s best results.

[erhaab1965]

Re: Sectional Timing to be used in QIPCO races this year This technology has been around for years , it has only been sparingly used at only a handful of meetings , I can't see why its not employed everyday.