Mr Crapola
23-03-2002, 14:48
Taken from "SILKS" a English racing booklet written by Ken Martinus, Hong Kongs leading authority on dribble.
The jockey club is soon to introduce a sophisticated timing device known as Sectional Timing and Racing Information for Dynamic Entertainment, or Stride for short.
The sysytem will revolutionalise racing infomation and timing methods and will allow punters to see, at a glance, where the horse is at any stage of a race. The new system will also be able to provide sectional times for each and every horse, information that should help stewards decide whether or not a horse was really trying.
But there is one problem: just how much information should the club release and who will be repsonsible for ensuring the remaining valuable data does not find its way into the wrong hands ?
One reason why the club has decided to use Stride is to give its customers the same opportunity of finding winners as betting syndicates. Unfortunately, not every punter is able to digest or analyse such information and, as such, the main beneficiaries could be the very syndicates the club is trying to stop. After all, they have the sophisticated machinery and the staff to properly analyse the information. Newspapers and form books are already loaded with all sorts of facts and figures and the addition of horse times, speed, acceleration and distance travelled would only further confuse the readers.
The other danger is of corruption, should the club choose to release some but not all the infomation it gets from Stride - its not unknown for sydicates to approach club staff who are in charge of such information.
So while the clubs efforts to provide further information to punters should be applauded, one hopes that the proper safeguards will be in place before Stride enters our racetracks.
The jockey club is soon to introduce a sophisticated timing device known as Sectional Timing and Racing Information for Dynamic Entertainment, or Stride for short.
The sysytem will revolutionalise racing infomation and timing methods and will allow punters to see, at a glance, where the horse is at any stage of a race. The new system will also be able to provide sectional times for each and every horse, information that should help stewards decide whether or not a horse was really trying.
But there is one problem: just how much information should the club release and who will be repsonsible for ensuring the remaining valuable data does not find its way into the wrong hands ?
One reason why the club has decided to use Stride is to give its customers the same opportunity of finding winners as betting syndicates. Unfortunately, not every punter is able to digest or analyse such information and, as such, the main beneficiaries could be the very syndicates the club is trying to stop. After all, they have the sophisticated machinery and the staff to properly analyse the information. Newspapers and form books are already loaded with all sorts of facts and figures and the addition of horse times, speed, acceleration and distance travelled would only further confuse the readers.
The other danger is of corruption, should the club choose to release some but not all the infomation it gets from Stride - its not unknown for sydicates to approach club staff who are in charge of such information.
So while the clubs efforts to provide further information to punters should be applauded, one hopes that the proper safeguards will be in place before Stride enters our racetracks.